个人简介

University of Science and Technology of China - B.S. (1998) Iowa State University - Ph.D. (2003) Los Alamos National Laboratory - Postdoc. (2003-2006) Awards NSF CAREER Award, 2011 UC Riverside IIGB Pilot Interdisciplinary Research Award, 2007 Los Alamos Achievement Award, 2005

研究领域

Analytical Chemistry/Chemical Biology

The research work in Zhong's group has two main focuses. One is the development of novel bio-analytical techniques for high-throughput detection of biomolecules; the other is to investigate molecular interactions and their functions in biological systems. For those purposes, we employ various technologies like chromatography, open-channel separation, mass spectrometry, microscopy imaging, microfabrication, etc. Successful disease diagnosis and cure often rely on specific recognition of disease biomarkers in patient samples, which could be present at very low levels. Our research efforts have been devoted to development of signal amplification strategies, integration of detection with automatic sample processing, and application of separation technologies in sensing. Isothermal enzyme reactions and signal enhancement based on nanomaterials are the two main approaches we take to amplify signals from low abundant biomarkers. Development of the Sample-in-Answer-out devices is undergoing, targeting protein markers and small RNAs in human sera. Capability of capillary electrophoresis (CE) and flow field flow fractionation (F4) as the detection platform for bioassays have been explored, which permit assays to occur in homogeneous solutions but still need no purification prior to detection. Molecular interaction, such as protein-protein interaction, is the key event in many cellular processes. Our group devotes our effort to development of new methods for quick isolation of protein complexes by separation technology and for analysis of the thermodynamics and kinetics of interaction. CE has been proved to be a highly useful tool for quick measurement of binding affinity. We have also proved that F4 is more ideal to assess interaction under physiological conditions and accommodate larger complexes, i.e. useful in complex isolation. In addition, we have been studying how interaction with proteins in biological matrices would impact the behaviors of nanomaterials in cells, which could be related to nanotoxicity.

近期论文

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J. Ashby, K. Flack, L. Jimenez, Y. Duan, A.-K. Khatib, G. Somlo, S. E. Wang, X. Cui, W. Zhong*. Distribution profiling of circulating microRNAs in serum. Anal. Chem., 2014, in press. Y. Liu, D. Yan, W. Zhong*. Mechanistic Study on the Reduction of SWCNT-induced Cytotoxicity by Albumin Coating (Invited Research Article). Particle & Particle Systems Characterization, 2014. In press. J. Ashby, S. Pan, W. Zhong*. Size and Surface Functionalization of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Influence the Composition and Dynamic Nature of Their Protein Corona. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2014. DOI: 10.1021/am503909q. J. Ashby, S. Schachermeyer, Y. Duan, L. Jimenez, W. Zhong*. Probing and Quantifying DNA-protein Interactions with Asymmetrical Flow Field-Flow Fractionation. Journal of Chromatography, A, 2014, 1358, 217-224. S. Zeng, M. Huang, Chia-en A. Chang*, W. Zhong*. Protein Binding for Detection of Small Changes on Nanoparticle Surface. Analyst , 2014, 139, 1364-1371. C. Shi, Q. Liu, C. Ma*, W. Zhong*. Exponential Strand-Displacement Amplification for Detection of MicroRNAs. Analytical Chemistry , 2014, 86, 336-339. 33. J. Li, Y. Jia, J. Zheng, W. Zhong, G. Shen, R. Yang, W. Tan Aptamer degradation inhibition combined with DNAzyme cascade-based signal amplification for colorimetric detection of proteins. Chemical Communications , 2013, 49, 6137-6139. J. Ashby, S. Schachermeyer, W. Zhong. Dissociation-Based Screening of Nanoparticle-Protein Interaction via Flow Field-Flow Fractionation. Analytical Chemistry , 2013, 85, 7494-7501. S. Schachermeyer, J. Ashby, W. Zhong Analysis of Aptamer-Protein Interaction by Asymmetrical Flow Field Flow Fractionation. Journal of Chromatography A , 2013, 1295, 107-113. 30.J. Yao, K. Flack, L. Ding, W. Zhong. Tagging the rolling circle products with nanocrystals clusters for cascade signal increase in the detection of miRNA. Analyst, 2013, 138, 3121-3125. R. Zhong, K. Flack, W. Zhong. Automatic Small RNA Extraction and Processing by a Multichannel/Multiwell Chip. Analyst, 2013, 137, 5546-5552. S. Schachermeyer, J. Ashby, W. Zhong. Advancements in Field Flow Fractionation for the Analysis of Biomolecules: Instrument Design, Miniaturization, and Hyphenation (Trend Article). Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 2012, DOI: 10.1007/s00216-012-6069-5. L. Ren, B. Yan, W. Zhong. Electron-Transfer via Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube in Enzymatic Redox Reaction. Carbon, 2012, 50, 1303-1310. J. Yao, X. Han, S. Zeng, W. Zhong. Detection of Femtomolar Proteins by Nonfluorescent ZnS Nanocrystal Clusters. Analytical Chemistry, 2012. 84, 1645?652. N. Li, S. Zeng, L. He, W. Zhong. Exploration of the Possible Binding Sites of Nanoparticles on Protein. Analytical Chemistry, 2011, 83, 6929-6934. H. Zhou, J. Lin, A. Johnson, R. L. Morgan, W. Zhong, W. Ma. Pseudomonas syringae Type III Effector HopZ1 Targets a Host Enzyme to Suppress Isoflavone Biosynthesis and Promote Infection in Soybean. Cell Host & Microbe, 2011, 9, 177-186. J. Yao, J. Li, W. Zhong. Combing DNAzyme with Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes for Detection of Pb(II) in Water. Analyst, 2011, 136, 764-768. J. Yao, S. Schachermeyer, Y. Yin, W. Zhong. Cation Exchange in ZnSe Nanocrystals for Signal Amplification in Bioassays. Analytical Chemistry, 2010, 83, 402-408. L. Ren, W. Zhong. Oxidation Reactions Mediated by Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes in Aqueous Solution, Environmental Science & Technology, 2010, 44, 6954-6958. N. Li, S. Zeng, L. He, W. Zhong. Probing Nanoparticle-Protein Interaction by Capillary Electrophoresis, Analytical Chemistry, 2010, 82, 7460-7466.