Who are we


	The Bruening Group Department of Chemistry Michigan State University

Ultrathin Films for Separations, Analysis and Catalysis


Brush-Modified Membranes for Protein Purification Multilayered Polyelectrolyte Membranes Catalytic Membranes Membrane-Based Antibody Arrays On-probe Capture of Phospho-peptides for Mass Spectrometry Selective Catalysis with Nanoparticles Anti-bacterial Membranes SEM Images Publications Graduate School at MSU MSU chemistry DOE Support NSF Support NSF PIRE Support ACS PRF Support	Who are we? We're a research group in the chemistry department at Michigan State University led by Dr. Merlin Bruening. The group currently consists (winter 2009) of fourteen graduate students, two undergraduate students,and one postdoctoral associate who will join us in February. What do we do? We develop new thin films for protein purification in porous supports, gas separations, membrane-based water reclamation, purification for MALDI mass spectrometry, and selective catalysis. In some cases, students spend a month or two in France or Ukraine in collaborative research. What tools do we use? We use surface infrared spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, electrochemistry, mass spectrometry, ellipsometry, nanofiltration, and atomic force microscopy. Whenever possible we try to exploit characterization techniques that don't require ultrahigh vacuum so we can simulate actual conditions. More Information? Click on any of the links above for other graphics and descriptions. If you are interested in graduate work in chemistry at Michigan State University, click here. We also have a list of publications describing prior work. If you have specific questions, send e-mail to bruening@chemistry.msu.edu	The Bruening group (spring 2008): From left to right, front: Parul Jain, Xiaojie Dong, Fei Xu, Lu Ouyang, and Somnath Bhattacharjee. Not pictured: Elizabeth Igrisan, Yujing Tan. back: Maneesha Adusumilli, Guanqing Liu, Weihan Wang, Jorge Macanás, Sebastian Grajales, David Dotzauer, and Merlin Bruening. Schematic diagram of analytes approaching a multilayer polyelectrolyte membrane. Multilayer membranes can separate monovalent and divalent anions (Cl^-/SO₄^2- selectivities as high as 1000) as well as small organic molecules such as glucose and sucrose. In some cases, we have also separated gases such as O₂ and N₂. Because the membranes are ultrathin, they allow high fluxes.