We work at the interface of chemistry and medicine, and our focus is to create technology for earlier detection of diseases.  The dream of 21st century medicine is that simple lab tests will reveal diseases well before the onset of symptoms, while the disease is easily curable.  We are using nanotechnology to modernize the materials used for lab tests and for the discovery of the biomarkers that are the targets of lab tests.  As one example, the image shows a capillary for nanoUPLC that is packed with silica nanoparticles.  The capillary exhibits a characteristic Bragg diffraction in the blue due to the crystalline packing of the nanoparticles.  The scanning electron micrograph of the capillary cross-section shows the face-centered cubic packing.  This highly ordered packing imparts extraordinary separation efficiency and speed.  The ability to form these face-centered cubic structures in capillaries facilitates mass spectrometric detection.

We are using silica nanoparticles for a wide range of tools used for biomarker discovery and medical tests, including capillary chromatography with nanospray MS detection, 1D and 2D electrophoresis, microarrays slides, lateral flow diagnostics, ELISA plates, and templates for cell growth.  We are collaborating with medical researchers and industrial scientists to maximize the impact of our research.

Education

Recognitions

• Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2010
• Centennial Distinguished Lecturer, University of Texas-Austin, 2008
• Leading Edge Researcher, University of Arizona, 2008
• Distinguished Chemistry Alumni Award, Purdue University, 2007
• Harold A. Iddles Lecturer, University of New Hampshire, 2007
• ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry Award in Spectrochemical Analysis, 2006
• Gold Medal Award, NY Section, Society for Applied Spectroscopy, 2005
• C. Eugene Bennett Professor of Chemistry, 2002-2004
• Distinguished Lecturer, Texas A&M University, 2002
• Chair, Gordon Conference on Analytical Chemistry, 1995
• National Science Foundation Creativity Award, 1994
• Clifford C. Hach Lecturer, University of Wyoming, 1992
• W. Allan Powell Lecturer, University of Richmond, 1988

Selected Publications

• Velarde, T.R.C.; Wirth, M.J., Silica colloidal crystals as porous substrates for total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy of live cells. Applied Spectroscopy 2008 , 62, 611-616.
• Egas, D.A.; Wirth, M.J., Fundamentals of protein separations: 50 years of nanotechnology and growing. Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry 2008 , 1, 833-855.
• Zheng, S.; Ross,E.E.; Legg, M.A.; Wirth, M.J., High Speed Electroseparations inside of Silica Colloidal Crystals. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2006 , 128, 9016-9017.