12th Asian Photochemistry Conference (APC2023), Melbourne, Australia, 2023

Invited Speaker

https://www.apc2023.org/

Nov 27, 2023

New Manuscript Accepted: Nat. Commun. 14, 6996 (2023).

Manuscript titled “Efficient optical plasmonic tweezer-controlled single-molecule SERS characterization of pH-dependent amylin species in aqueous milieus” by Fu and Chi et al was accepted for publication as full paper in Nature Communications

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42812-3

Oct 21, 2023

In this work, we construct a simple plasmonic junction between two silver nanoparticle-coated silica microbeads to exert optical plasmonic trapping upon on/off laser excitation to control the formation of dynamic nanocavity with high turnover efficiency. Since both optical plasmonic trapping and SERS techniques are surface-sensitive relying on nanostructured substrates, it overcomes the optical diffraction limit to confine the position of the plasmonic nanocavity and reduce the SERS active-detection volume for huge SERS enhancements at the single-molecule sensitivity. More importantly, it is the first time to use on-and-off trapping control of a dynamic nanocavity to enlarge high-throughput sampling capacity for efficient single-molecule SERS detections and characterize pH-dependent amylin (hIAPP) species with statistically significant sampling sizes. Statistics of its structural features at the single-molecule level reconstructs its ensemble structures and brings unique information on population and probability of different conformations, which could directly establish the linkage between SERS characterizations and MD simulations to reveal the structural heterogeneity of amylin.

SciX 2023 Conference, FACSS - Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies, Sparks, United States, 2023

FACSS Innovation Awards Finalist (Invited Speaker)

https://scixconference.org/FACSS-INNOVATION-AWARDS/

Oct 8, 2023

The 8th Asian Spectroscopy Conference (ASC2023), Japan, 2023

Invited Speaker

http://www2.riken.jp/lab/spectroscopy/ASC2021/index.html

Sep 3, 2023

Workshop - Frontier of Nucleic Acid Science and Technology, Hong Kong, 2023

Co-Chair, Organizing Committee

https://www.soireeacademy.org/2023-program

Aug 11, 2023

Our group was awarded General Research Fund (GRF) grant. We thank Research Grants Council (RGC) Hong Kong for funding!

Jul 1, 2023

Asia International Innovation Invention Exhibition, Hong Kong Federation of Innovative Technologies and Manufacturing Industries, Hong Kong, 2023

Asia International Innovation Invention Award -- Gold Award

https://www.fitmi.org.hk/

Jun 23, 2023

We collaborate with group alumni to pioneer an award-winning and patented technique on portable substance analysis based on computer vision, spectroscopy, and artificial intelligence.

International Workshop on Biophysics and Soft Matter, Hong Kong, 2023

Invited Speaker

http://personal.cityu.edu.hk/liangdai/conference/

May 26, 2023

Vince was awarded HKUST Redbird Academic Excellent Award. Congratulations!

May 12, 2023

Supramolecular Materials

Editorial Board Member

https://www.keaipublishing.com/en/journals/supramolecular-materials/

May 9, 2023

Supramolecular Materials is a publication of peer-reviewed research. It covers all aspects of these materials, which are based on supramolecular interactions or self-assembly. The journal welcomes submissions of research articles/communications, perspectives/concepts, and reviews on both fundamental insight into supramolecular interactions, and demonstrations of functional supramolecular systems. The journal publishes research on design/fabrication/characterization of non-covalently interactive supramolecular systems, with diverse features such as being dynamic, reversible, self-adaptive, stimulus-responsive etc.

New Manuscript Accepted: Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 2023, 415, 3243–3253.

Manuscript titled “Tunable lipid-coated nanoporous silver sheet for characterization of protein-membrane interactions by surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)” was accepted for publication in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-023-04701-y

Apr 12, 2023

In this work, we develop an analytical platform that provides consistent SERS enhancements and enables independent control of specific membrane properties, in particular, lipid packing defects, to directly characterize protein structures, leveraging the precise controllability of lipid lateral pressure by a Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) technique and the sensitive detection capability of nanoporous-based SERS substrate. Interestingly, alpha-synuclein folded into the alpha-helical structure on negatively charged lipid heads, while the exposure of hydrophobic lipid tails induced its beta-sheet formation in both monolayer lipid tails and low-pressure liquid phase lipid bilayer, which might be linked to its misfolded states for membrane disruptions associated with Parkinson’s disease.

New Manuscript Accepted: Chem. Sci. 2023,14,801-811.

Manuscript titled “Construction of multiphasic membraneless organelle towards spontaneous spatial segregation and directional flow of biochemical reactions” was accepted for publication in Chemical Science, featured as Cover Article.

https://doi.org/10.1039/D2SC05438H

Nov 29, 2022

In this work, we use optical tweezers to study the linear viscoelastic behaviour of inner and outer compartments of LD-IPH/HD-IPH/polyU droplets as determined by passive microrheology, facilitating the optimizations of multiphasic membraneless organelles towards spontaneous spatial segregations and directional flow of biochemical reactions.

New Manuscript Accepted: Sci. Adv. 2022, 8 (44), eade0073.

Manuscript titled “Directed assembly of genetically engineered eukaryotic cells into living functional materials via ultrahigh-affinity protein interactions” was accepted for publication in Science Advances.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ade0073

Nov 4, 2022

In this work, we use optical tweezers to assemble single living cells into desired structures that can continue grow and demonstrate enhanced functions.

New Manuscript Accepted: J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2022, 13 (45), 10642–10648.

Manuscript titled “Moderate Binding between Two SARS-CoV-2 Protein Segments and α-Synuclein Alters Its Toxic Oligomerization Propensity Differently” was accepted for publication in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, featured as Cover Article.

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c02278

Nov 4, 2022

In this work, we study the α-synuclein oligomerization upon the binding of the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein and the nine-residue segment (SK9) of the envelope protein of SARS-CoV-2.

Chinese Chemical Society (CCS), Woman’s Chemists Committee

Elected Committee Member

Oct 30, 2022

Empowering Women in Chemistry!

SciX 2022 Conference, FACSS - Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies, United States (Greater Cincinnati), 2022

Invited Speaker

https://scixconference.org/

Oct 2, 2022

Welcome New Students! Group dinner: China Garden inside HKUST

Aug 30, 2022

Our group was awarded General Research Fund (GRF) grant. We thank Research Grants Council (RGC) Hong Kong for funding!

Jul 1, 2022

Croucher Advanced Study Institute 2022, Metals in Biology and Medicine: From Molecular Imaging to Drug Resistance, Hong Kong (In-Person & Online), 2022

Invited Speaker

https://metalasi-chemsym.hku.hk/

Jun 21, 2022

New Manuscript Accepted: Nat. Commun. 2022, 13, 3197 (2022).

Manuscript titled “Controlling synthetic membraneless organelles by a red-light-dependent singlet oxygen-generating protein” was accepted for publication in Nature Communications.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30933-0

May 19, 2022

In this work, we use optical tweezers coupled with an extra excitation source to control the properties of synthetic membraneless organelles at single-condensate level.

New Manuscript Accepted: J. Vis. Exp. 2022, 184, e63862.

Manuscript titled “Optical trapping of plasmonic nanoparticles for in situ surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy characterizations” was accepted for publication in Journal of visualized experiments (invited submission for the special issue of Methods Collection“Advances in Optical Trapping Biophysics”).

https://dx.doi.org/10.3791/63862

May 10, 2022

In this work, we demonstrate how to couple optical trapping manipulations and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy measurements in a home-build instrumental set-up.

Vince was awarded HKUST Redbird Academic Excellent Award. Congratulations!

May 2, 2022

New Manuscript Accepted: ACS Cent. Sci. 2022, 8, 4, 493–500.

Manuscript titled “Minimalist Design of an Intrinsically Disordered Protein-Mimicking Scaffold for an Artificial Membraneless Organelle” was accepted for publication in ACS Central Science, featured as Cover Article.

https://doi.org/10.1021/acscentsci.1c01021

April 1, 2022

Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, United States (San Francisco), 2022

Invited Speaker

Feb 19, 2022

New Manuscript Accepted: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2022, 119, e2113991119.

Manuscript titled “A SURF4-to-proteoglycan relay mechanism that mediates the sorting and secretion of a tagged-variant of sonic hedgehog” was accepted for publication in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2113991119

Feb 1, 2022

New Manuscript Accepted: J. Alloys Compd. 2022, 897, 162731.

Manuscript titled “Bright red-emitting P, Br co-doped carbon dots as “OFF-ON” fluorescent probe for Cu2+ and L-cysteine detection” was accepted for publication in Journal of Alloys and Compounds.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2021.162731

Jan 1, 2022

Our editorial topic with Frontiers in Photonics (Special Issue) on “Biophotonic manipulation, imaging, and sensing” has been launched. We welcome submissions!

Guest Editor

Dec 6, 2021

Our collaborators and our group were awarded National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)/Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong Joint Research Scheme (JRS) grant. We thank Research Grants Council (RGC) Hong Kong for funding!

Dec 1, 2021

Welcome New Students!

Sep 1, 2021

Lumicks Dynamic Single-Molecule Webinar Series, The Netherlands (Online), 2022

Invited Keynote Speaker

Jul 28, 2021

Our group was awarded General Research Fund (GRF) grant. We thank Research Grants Council (RGC) Hong Kong for funding!

Jul 1, 2021

New Manuscript Accepted: Chem. Commun. 2021, 57, 6979-6982.

Manuscript titled “Effective ACE2 peptide–nanoparticle conjugation and its binding with the SARS-Cov-2 RBD quantified by dynamic light scattering” by Mesias et al was accepted for publication as communication paper in Chemical Communications, featured as Cover Article and included in WHO global research on coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

https://doi.org/10.1039/D1CC02267A

Jun 19, 2021

New Manuscript Accepted: Nat. Commun. 12, 1292 (2021).

Manuscript titled “Optical tweezers-controlled hotspot for sensitive and reproducible surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy characterization of native protein structures” by Dai et al was accepted for publication as full paper in Nature Communications, mentioned in news and blogs (e.g. EurekAlert!, Photonics,com, Azooptics.com, Drug Target Review, ScienMag, Bioengineer.org, Phys.org. Alzforum, etc.).

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21543-3

Jan 28, 2021

In this work, we integrate optical tweezers manipulation and Raman spectroscopic detection into a novel platform to create, visualize, and manipulate hotspot between two Ag nanoparticle-coated silica beads, making it convenient to precisely control and adjust SERS enhancement in the real time to achieve tunable and reproducible SERS enhancements. With the single-molecule sensitivity, this new approach addresses the challenges in identifying protein structures at low concentrations. For example, alpha-synuclein is a typical intrinsically disordered protein that lacks stable secondary structures as monomers and has the propensity to form oligomers and amyloid fibrils implicated in Parkinson's disease pathogenesis. However, its aggregation mechanism remains unclear, due to the transient nature and low population of diverse oligomeric intermediates co-existing in dynamic mixtures that hinder their structural characterization by ensemble measurements. By minimizing detection volume and time, our platform directly identifies the beta-sheet containing alpha-synuclein transient species among its dominating unstructured monomers, which could provide unique insights into the amyloid aggregations associated with neurodegenerative diseases.

Asian Spectroscopy Conference Steering Committee

Committee Member(Tenure 2021-2025)

Jan 12, 2021

The 7th Asian Spectroscopy Conference (On-line), Singapore, 2020 Invited Speaker

Dec 8, 2020

New Manuscript Accepted: J. Phys. Chem. B 2020, 124, 42, 9365–9370.

Manuscript titled “Single-molecule mechanical unfolding of AT-rich chromosomal fragile sites DNA hairpins: Resolving the thermodynamic and kinetic effects of single G-T mismatch” by Li et al was accepted for publication as full paper in The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, featured as Cover Article.

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c06954

Sep 24, 2020

Our collaborated project was awarded General Research Fund (GRF) grant. We thank Research Grants Council (RGC) Hong Kong for funding!

Jul 1, 2020

New Manuscript Accepted: Analyst, 2020,145, 5158-5165.

Manuscript titled “Highly reusable nanoporous silver sheet for sensitive SERS detection of pesticides” by Chi et al was accepted for publication as full paper in Analyst, featured as Cover Article.

https://doi.org/10.1039/D0AN00999G

June 19, 2020

The 11th Asian Conference on Ultrafast Phenomena (ACUP 2020)

Invited Speaker: http://acup2020.htcis.net

Jan 12, 2020

The 7th Asian Spectroscopy Conference 2019 (ASC 2019)

Member,Organizing Committee: http://asc2019.csp.escience.cn/dct/page/1

Dec 2, 2019

NSFC-BHKAEC Joint Symposium on Chemistry for New Frontiers

Invited Speaker: https://chemistry.hku.hk/download/nsfc_bhaec/index.html

Jul 29, 2019

Welcome New Students!

Sep 1, 2019

Our group was awarded General Research Fund (GRF) grant. We thank Research Grants Council (RGC) Hong Kong for funding!

Jul 1, 2019

The 1st Dynamic Single-Molecule Meeting China

Speaker: https://dsmm-china.com/en/home/

Jun 22, 2019

Welcome New Students!

Sep 1, 2018

Our group was awarded Early Career Scheme(ECS) grant. We thank Research Grants Council (RGC) Hong Kong for funding!

Aug 11, 2018

Summer group dinner: Hotpot at Po Lam

Aug 09, 2018

Training on optical tweezers with Ir. R. J. van Wijk from LUMICKS

May 17, 2018

Zhibo was awarded HKUST outstanding students and Jinqing was nominated as Teachers I like. Congratulations!

May 11, 2018

Food Tour with Prof. Kukura (University of Oxford)

April 29, 2018

The 25th Symposium on Chemistry Postgraduate Research in Hong Kong

Organizing Committee http://chempgsym.ust.hk/

April 28, 2018

ACS on Campus-HKUST

Featured Speakers :https://acsoncampus.acs.org/events/hong-kong-university-of-science-and-technology/

April 19, 2018

Huang lab has officially launched and now we are hiring.

August 1, 2017