Long chain macromolecules, including both synthetic and biological polymers, play an indispensible role in our everyday lives. In our reseach group, we probe the dynamics of individual polymer chains by visualizing single molecules using fluorescence microscopy.

The behavior of long, flexible molecules in solution has been studied for many years with various experimental and theoretical methods. Bulk rheology, birefringence, and light scattering techniques have been employed to gain knowledge of polymer chain behavior, including molecule extension and orientation, under a wide variety of flow types. The aforementioned “bulk” procedures, while providing useful information, yield results that average over many molecules; therefore, we employ single molecule studies to probe the dynamics of individual polymer chains in both dilute and concentrated systems and under various flow conditions. We collaborate with Professor Eric S. G. Shaqfeh at Stanford to complement experimental findings with simulations of polymer chains using Brownian dynamics techniques to further enhance our understanding of single chain dynamics.