Who are we


	The Bruening Group Department of Chemistry Michigan State University

Ultrathin Films for Separations, Analysis and Catalysis


Rapid Protein Digestion in Trypsin-Containing Membranes Brush-Modified Membranes for Protein Purification Multilayered Polyelectrolyte Membranes Catalytic Membranes for Pollutant Oxidation On-probe Capture of Phospho-peptides for Mass Spectrometry Selective Catalysis with Nanoparticles SEM Images Alumni Publications Graduate School at MSU MSU chemistry DOE Support NIH Support NSF PIRE 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 2010) of twelve graduate students, two undergraduate students,and one postdoctoral associate. 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. Our graduates move on to a wide range of industrial positions. 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 (2009): From left to right, front: Chao Cheng, Lu Ouyang, Fei Xu, Nishotha Anuraj, David Dotzauer, Yujing Tan, Xiaojie Dong, and Elizabeth Igrisan. back: Guanqing Liu, Mukesh Vyas, Seth Hogg, Maneesha Adusumilli, Merlin Bruening, Weihan Wang, and Sebastian Grajales. Our group modifies membranes with thin films for applications such as water softening, protein and peptide purification, and catalysis, including protein digestion.