个人简介

B.S. The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA M.A. The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA Ph.D. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA Postdoctoral Fellow. The University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill with R. Mark Wightman

研究领域

Analytical Chemistry

Monitoring Molecules in Living Brain Tissue The Sombers Lab is an interdisciplinary group comprising researchers from Chemistry, Biochemistry, Engineering, Biology and Physics. Our research focuses on the development, characterization, optimization, and application of analytical techniques to study neurochemical changes in living brain tissue. This environment presents an extreme analytical challenge because zeptomole quantities of neuroactive molecules must be detected in a chemically complex sample while disturbing the tissue as little as possible. Furthermore, a neurotransmitter’s dynamics in the extracellular space must be measured with significant selectivity to ensure that the response is unequivocally due to a specific molecule, and with high time resolution in order for its precise role in the execution of meaningful behavior to be investigated. Our research utilizes various electrochemical techniques including amperometry and background subtracted fast-scan cyclic voltammetry, coupled with principal component regression of the data to objectively distinguish individual chemical components. Our ability to make complex biological measurements in behaving animals not only distinguishes us from most analytical chemists (who are limited to in vitro measurements that have the potential be applied in vivo), but it also allows us to make significant advances in the field of Neuroscience.

近期论文

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Schmidt A.C., Dunaway L.E., Roberts J.G., McCarty G.S., Sombers L.A. Multiple scan rate voltammetry for selective quantification of real-time enkephalin dynamics. Anal. Chem. 2014, 86(15): 7806-12. Barrios D.A., D'Antonio J., McCombs N.L., Zhao J., Franzen S., Schmidt A.C., Sombers L.A., Ghiladi R.A. Peroxygenase and oxidase activities of dehaloperoxidase-hemoglobin from Amphitrite ornata. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136(22): 7914-25. Roberts J.G., Toups J.V., Eyualem E.*, Sombers L.A. An In Situ Calibration Strategy for Voltammetric Measurements In Vivo. Anal. Chem. 2013, 85(23): 11568-75. Schmidt A.C., Wang X., Zhu Y., Sombers L.A. Carbon Nanotube Yarn Electrodes for Enhanced Detection of Neurotransmitter Dynamics in Live Brain Tissue. ACS Nano. 2013, 7: 7864-7873. Lugo-Morales L.Z., Loziuk P.L.*, Corder A.K.*, Toups J.V., Roberts J.G., McCaffrey K.A., Sombers L.A. Enzyme-Modified Carbon-Fiber Microelectrode for the Quantification of Dynamic Fluctuations of Nonelectroactive Analytes Using Fast-Scan Cyclic Voltammetry. Anal. Chem. 2013, 85: 8780-8786. Spanos M., Gras-Najjar J., Letchworth J.M., Sanford A.L., Toups J.V., Sombers L.A. Quantitation of Hydrogen Peroxide Fluctuations and their Local Modulation of Dopamine Dynamics in the Rat Dorsal Striatum using Fast-Scan Cyclic Voltammetry. ACS Chemical Neurosci. 2013, 4(5): 782-789. Roberts, J.G., Lugo-Morales, L.Z., Loziuk, P.L.*, and Sombers, L.A. Real-time Chemical Measurements of Dopamine Release in the Brain, Methods Mol Biol. 2013; 964:275-94. Owesson-White C.A., Roitman M.F., Sombers L.A., Belle A.M., Keithley R.B., Peele J.L., Carelli R.M., Wightman R.M. Sources Contributing to the Average Basal Concentration of Dopamine in the Nucleus Accumbens. J. Neurochem. In press. January 2012; 121(2): 252-62. Harrington J.M., Bargar J.R., Jarzecki A.A., Roberts J.G., Sombers L.A., Duckworth O.W. Trace Metal Complexation by the Triscatecholate Siderophore Protochelin: Structure and Stability. Biometals. 2012; Apr; 25(2): 393-412. Roberts JG, Hamilton KL*, Sombers LA. Comparison of Electrode Materials for the Detection of Rapid Hydrogen Peroxide Fluctuations using Background Subtracted Fast Scan Cyclic Voltammetry. Analyst. 2011, 136 (17), 3550 - 3556. Sanford AL, Morton SW, Whitehouse KL, Oara HM, Lugo-Morales LZ, Sombers LA. Voltammetric Detection of Hydrogen Peroxide at Carbon Fiber Microelectrodes. Analytical Chemistry. 2010 Jun 15; 82(12): 5205-10. PMCID# NIHMS209398 Roberts JG, Moody BP, McCarty GS, Sombers LA. Specific Oxygen-Containing Functional Groups on the Carbon Surface Underlie an Enhanced Sensitivity to Dopamine at Electrochemically Pretreated Carbon Fiber Microelectrodes. Langmuir 2010. 26 (11), 9116–9122. Sombers L.A., Beyene M., Carelli R.M., Wightman R.M. Synaptic Overflow of Dopamine in the Nucleus Accumbens Arises from Neuronal Activity in the Ventral Tegmental Area. J. Neurosci. 2009. 29(6): 1735-42. PMCID#19211880 Hermans A., Keithley R.B., Sombers L.A., Kita J.M., Wightman R.M. Dopamine Detection with Fast-Scan Cyclic Voltammetry Used with Analog Background Subtraction. Anal. Chem. 2008. 80(11): 4040-8. Sombers L.A., Wittenberg N., Maxson M.M., Ewing A.G. High Osmolarity and L-DOPA Augment Release via the Fusion Pore in PC12 Cells. Chemphyschem. 2007. 8(17): 2471-7.