Proteomics: This project focuses on applying and developing proteomic methods and technologies (Mass Spectrometry, 2D Gel Electrophoresis) to understand the differentially susceptibility to diseases amongst ethnic groups, particularly African Americans. Dr. Swinton interested in translating these technologies into clinical settings in efforts to provide researchers and practitioners with tools to aid in understanding why certain populations are impacted and more susceptible to sickness and diseases relative to other populations. He is interested in using these enhancing techniques to identify and characterize clinically important biomarkers that may impact ethnic groups differentially, specifically biomarkers that are indicative of or related to smoking-related cancers and COPD.
Protein Aggregation: The main objective of this project is to provide additional insight into behavior of amyloidogenic proteins at chemical interfaces. Specifically, this research project attempts to isolate and characterize intermediate conformational states populated by proteins during the nucleation stage of amyloidosis in efforts to understand protein aggregation. This aspect of the project attempts to determine if there is a dominant structural conformer responsible for protein aggregation. The two molecules of interest include the b-Amyloid Peptide (Ab) and b2 Microglobulin (b2m). An additional aspect of this research project combines spectroscopy and chromatographic techniques to understand the conformational dynamics of proteins at chemical interfaces. Understanding the mechanism(s) by which proteins fold and unfold while adsorbed at the liquid-solid interface is of importance to scientists developing biosensors, and surfaces that can be used in genomic, proteomic, and chromatographic technologies.
Hybrid Nanoparticles: Swinton is working on a project that involves engineering nanoparticles that can detect and disrupt specific biological phenomena in-vivo. Specifically, he is designing silver (Ag) and gold (Au) coated silica (SiO2) nanoparticles - AgSiO2 and AuSiO2 functionalized with molecules capable of detecting and treating certain diseases resulting from protein aggregation. These hybrid nanoparticles will serve as transport mechanisms for drug delivery and will be engineered to overcome barriers encountered in their usage in clinical applications.
