Our research focuses on developing and applying single-molecule microscopy techniques to solve scientific problems of physical, bioinorganic, and biophysical in nature. Compared with traditional ensemble measurements, single-molecule approaches remove ensemble averaging, so that transient intermediates and heterogeneous subpopulations can be captured and characterized. Current projects are divided into two main areas:

1. Single-molecule nanocatalysis. In this area we study the catalytic and electrocatalytic properties of nanoscale materials, including metal nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes, at the single-turnover temporal resolution and sub-diffraction spatial resolution.
2. Single-molecule bioinorganic chemistry. In this area we study the dynamics of the protein machineries involved in intracellular metal regulation and metal trafficking.

Please visit our group website for more information (http://chen.chem.cornell.edu/).

N. M. Andoy, X. Zhou, E. Choudary, H. Shen, P. Chen "Single-Molecule Catalysis Mapping Quantifies Site-specific Activity and Uncovers Radial Activity Gradient on Single 2D Nanocrystals" Journal of the American Chemical Society 2013, 135, 1845-1852.

C. P. Joshi, D. Panda, D. J. Martell, N. M. Andoy, T.-Y. Chen, A. Gaballa, J. D. Helmann, P. Chen
"Direct Substitution and Assisted Dissociation Pathways for Turning Off Transcription by A MerR-family Metalloregulator" Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A. 2012, 109, 15121-15126.

A. M. Keller, J. J. Benitez, D. Klarin, L. Zhong, M. Goldfogel, F. Yang, T.-Y. Chen, P. Chen "Dynamic Multi-Body Protein Interactions Suggest Versatile Pathways for Copper Trafficking" Journal of the American Chemical Society 2012, 134, 8934-8943.

K.-S. Han, G. Liu, X. Zhou, R. E. Medina, P. Chen "How does A Single Pt Nanocatalyst Behave in Two Different Reactions? A Single-Molecule Study" Nano Letters 2012, 12, 1253-1259.

X. Zhou, N. M. Andoy, G. Liu, E. Choudhary, K.-S. Han, H. Shen, P. Chen "Quantitative Super-resolution Imaging Uncovers Reactivity Patterns on Single Nanocatalysts" Nature Nanotechnology 2012, 7, 237–241.

X. Zhou, W. Xu, G. Liu, D. Panda, P. Chen "Size Dependent Catalytic Activity and Dynamics of Gold Nanoparticles at the Single-Molecule Level" Journal of the American Chemical Society 2010, 132, 138-146.

W. Xu, H. Shen, Y. J. Kim, X. Zhou, G. Liu, J. Park, P. Chen "Single-Molecule Electrocatalysis by Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes" Nano Letters 2009, 9, 3968-3973.

W. Xu, J. S. Kong, Y.-T. E. Yeh, P. Chen "Single-Molecule Nanocatalysis Reveals Heterogeneous Reaction Pathways and Catalytic Dynamics"Nature Materials 2008, 7, 992-996.

J. J. Benítez, A. M. Keller, P. Ochieng, L. A. Yatsunyk, D. L. Huffman, A. C. Rosenzweig, P. Chen "Probing Transient Copper Chaperone-Wilson Disease Protein Interactions at the Single-Molecule Level with Nanovesicle Trapping" Journal of the American Chemical Society 2008, 130, 2446-2447.

S. K. Sarkar, N. M. Andoy, J. J. Benítez, P. R. Chen, J. S. Kong, C. He, P. Chen "Engineered Holliday Junctions as Single-Molecule Reporters for Protein-DNA Interactions with Application to a MerR-Family Regulator" Journal of the American Chemical Society 2007, 129, 12461-12467.

• 2011 CAPA Distinguished Junior Faculty Award
• 2010 Paul Saltman Award
• 2009 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow
• 2007 NSF CAREER Award
• 2005 Camille and Henry Dreyfus New Faculty Award
• 2002-2003 Franklin Veatch Memorial Fellowship
• 1999-2002 Gerhard Casper Stanford Graduate Fellowship