Lu Lab @ UIUC

Main Menu

Lu group holiday party 2019
Design and synthesis of heteronuclear metalloenzymes
Introducing unnatural amino acids into metalloproteins
Redox potential tuning
Design of DNAzyme and aptamer-based sensors
Selection and characterization of novel DNAzymes and aptamers
Multimodal theranostic agents for biomedical applications
Functional DNA nanotechnology

Welcome!

The Lu Group’s interests lie at the interface between chemistry and biology. We are developing innovative chemical approaches to provide deeper insight into biological structures and functions, while also taking advantage of recently developed biological tools to advance many areas in chemistry, such as inorganic chemistry, chemical biology, analytical chemistry, and materials chemistry. We strive to make significant contributions in three principal areas of research:

1. Biosynthetic Inorganic Chemistry

Synthesis and study of structural and functional mimics of metalloenzymes, as well as the applications of these mimics as biocatalysts in renewable energy generation and small-molecule activation and transformation.

2. DNAzyme and Aptamer-Based Sensing and Imaging Agents

In vitro selection of DNAzymes/aptamers and development of highly sensitive and selective sensors and imaging agents for detection of metal ions and small-molecule targets with applications in environmental monitoring, food safety, and medical diagnostics and imaging.

3. Functional DNA Nanotechnology

Using DNA for encoded synthesis and directed assembly of nanomaterials, as well as the applications of these nanomaterials as theranostic agents for early detection of diseases such as cancers and targeted drug delivery.

Recent News

2021 June | Meet “PANDA”, another gene scissor made with DNAzymes, first reported in Mingkuan’s paper. With “PANDA”, DNAzymes can now cut double-stranded DNA, making them powerful alternatives for protein-based genetic engineering systems. See the news release from UIUC News Bureau.

2021 Apr | Yiming has received this year’s Walter G Klemperer Dissertation Award in Materials Chemistry. Congratulations, Yiming!

2021 Mar | Mandira Banik has just received the prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. Congratulations, Mandy!

2021 Mar | Congratulations, Suds, Dr. Dwaraknath, for your successful PhD defense! Best wishes in your continued success in your postdoc at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab!

2020 Dec | Congratulations to Yiming, who won the 2020 SCS Science Image Challenge!

2020 Oct | Lu group is a member of a new five-year, $1.5 million Center for Pathogen Diagnostics (CPD) to create new detection systems.

2020 September | Lu group is a member of the team that has received $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a device that can detect cancer biomarkers with just a few drops of blood.

2020 Aug | Congratulations to the following group members who have been awarded the following departmental fellowships:

Hirbod Heidari

Robert F. Carr Fellowship in Chemistry

Yiwei Liu

Dr. Michael J. Sofia Fellowship

Mingkuan Lyu

Drickamer Research Fellowship

Jingxiang Wang

Carl S. Marvel Fellowship

Yu Zhou

Carl S. Marvel Fellowship

Mandira Banik

Glenn E. and Barbara R. Ullyot Fellowship

More News…