Graduate Students
Karen Esmonde-White
If one can see “the world in a grain of sand”, imagine how much chemical information is in a drop of fluid. Karen Esmonde-White is working on developing Raman spectroscopy-based techniques to identify joint damage associated with early-stage osteoarthritis (OA). It is my goal to develop a method that will diagnose OA before a patient even feels OA-related pain! How am I doing this? I hypothesize damage associated with OA that is expressed in the fluid surrounding the joint, called synovial fluid, can be observed with Raman spectroscopy. These changes in the chemistry and/or mechanical properties (such as viscosity) of synovial fluid have been proposed as markers of early-stage OA detection.
For synovial fluid analysis, I am collecting Raman spectra of fluid drop deposition (also known as the “coffee-ring effect”) to examine subtle changes in composition that may be an early indication of joint damage. In the Morris lab, we are collaborating with colleagues in the UM Medical School in a pilot study to test this hypothesis. Early results are promising! The deposition pattern, as seen by microscope photographs, together with Raman spectra of dried synovial fluid drops can be used as OA markers. Along the way, I have found some interesting chemistry relating to the drop deposition process and how it affects collection of Raman spectra from these dried drops. Some early work in the drop deposition project was also done by Gurjit Mandair, a post-doc in our lab.
The figure above shows what a dried synovial fluid drop looks like under our microscope. Because the microscope is configured for either light microscopy or Raman microspectroscopy, we can also collect near-infrared Raman spectra. The shape of the drop is round, although the shape varies slightly depending on the viscosity of the fluid and the surface chemistry of the microscope slide. The drop itself has very interesting features: there is a thin-film ring on the outer edges of the drop and fern-shaped crystals in the center of the drop.
Kathryn Dooley 
John-David McElderry
Undergraduate Students
Michael Roberto
Konrad Sawicki 
Major: Biochemistry Honors
Minor: Polish Studies
Research interests: Biomedical Optics
Hometown: Cleveland, OH
Career plans: MD/PhD