Harrison Lab

Welcome to the Harrison Lab! Our research group is focused on the advancement of analytical chemistry with a specific focus on the use of capillary electrophoretic (CE) separations. As a group we have two broad research goals (1) furthering our understanding and control of capillary electrophoretic separations and (2) applying these advances to solving challenging (bio)analytical problems via capillary electrophoresis.

The research team is composed a broad range of passionate graduate and undergraduate students who get extensive hands-on experiences with all aspects of analytical chemistry, from sample preparations, to method development, and troubleshooting.  If you are interested in getting involved in the lab please review the current research projects and feel free to contact Dr. Harrison.

Blood Doping Identification

One of the central projects for the lab, which has garnered research support from the World Anti-Doping Agency and the US Anti-Doping Agency, has been the development of CE methods to identify autologous blood transfusions.  The lab is developing means of identifying the physical and biochemical changes that occur in red blood cells while in storage.  By accentuating these differences we are able to differentiate the stored and fresh cells once mixed via a prohibited, autologous blood transfusion.  This will become a key component in the continuing fight against doping in sports.

Capillary Coatings

In our ongoing development of CE methods for the separation of biologically relevant compounds the group has been investigating how self-assembled surface coatings can be incorporated and modified in CE separations.  The aim of the lab is to develop better options for bioseparations, and to devise new means of altering, and controlling electrophoretic separations.

Nanofluidic Segmentation

The ability to sequester microliter into nanoliter volumes of sample in aqueous droplets surrounded by perflorinated carbon liquids has proved to be highly useful for chemical and biochemical analyses.  Our work is focused on both the controlled formation and manipulation of these aqueous droplets and the ability to seamlessly integrate this system into a separation system.  We are focusing on the development of a system that will allow the delivery of aqueous droplets to a capillary electrophoresis system, allowing for the rapid and extensive analysis of the droplet contents.

Complexation Measurements

Several projects are currently underway in the lab making use of CE’s unique capability to separate molecular complexes, and in the process, probe aspects about the complex formations and equilibria.  We are applying these capabilities in collaboration with groups in biochemistry, biology, and industry to better understand the complex systems they are studying.

We’re very happy that our lab, made up of graduate and undergraduate students, from a range of backgrounds have come together to support each other in our scientific, academic, and personal goals.

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Graduate Student Researchers

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Undergraduate Student Researchers

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Want to work with us?

Fluorescently Labeling Amino Acids in a Deep Eutectic Solvent
Jessica Torres, Karen S. Campos, and Christopher R. Harrison
Analytical Chemistry 2022 94 (48), 16538-16542
DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c03980

Informatics analysis of capillary electropherograms of autologously doped and undoped blood
Shiladitya Chatterjee,   Sean C. Chapman,   George H. Major,   Denis L. Eggett,   Barry M. Lunt,   Christopher R. Harrison  and  Matthew R. Linford
Analytical Methods, 2019,11, 1868-1878
DOI https://doi.org/10.1039/C9AY00192A

Successfully navigating the early years of a faculty position
Michelle L. Kovarik,  Christopher R. Harrison &  Thomas J. Wenzel .
ANALYTICAL AND BIOANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, 410(7), 1855–1861 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-017-0817-5

Metal cation control of electroosmotic flow magnitude in phospholipid coated capillaries
Shane S. Wells, Eduardo De La Toba, Christopher R. Harrison.
ELECTROPHORESIS, 37(10), 1303-1309 (2016).
https://doi.org/10.1002/elps.201600012

Towards the identification of autologous blood transfusions through capillary electrophoresis
Christopher R. Harrison, Jack Chuan-Yu Fang, Kimberly J. Walthall, Chelsea C. Green & Vukica Porobic
ANALYTICAL AND BIOANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, 406(3), 679-686 (2014).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-013-7487-8

Adsorption of buffer ion pairs can alter long-term electroosmotic flow stability.
Ashley L Morris, Christopher R Harrison.
ELECTROPHORESIS, 34(17), 2585-2592 (2013).
https://doi.org/10.1002/elps.201200687

Role of Capillary Electrophoresis in the Fight Against Doping in Sports
Christopher R. Harrison
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, 85(15), 6982-6987 (2013).
https://doi.org/10.1021/ac302821x

Capillary electrophoretic analysis of whole blood samples for hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers without the use of immunoprecipitation.
Christopher R. Harrison, Srilatha Vydha
ELECTROPHORESIS, 33(7), 1087-1094 (2012).
https://doi.org/10.1002/elps.201100506

Sulfonium and phosphonium, new ion-pairing agents with unique selectivity towards polarizable anions.
Christopher R. Harrison, Jayden A. Sader, Charles A. Lucy.
JOURNAL OF CHROMATOGRAPHY A, 1113(1-2), 123-129 (2006).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2006.01.132

Determination of zwitterionic and cationic surfactants by high-performance liquid chromatography with chemiluminescenscent nitrogen detection.
Christopher R. Harrison, Charles A. Lucy.
JOURNAL OF CHROMATOGRAPHY A, 956(1-2), 237-244 (2002).
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0021-9673(02)00210-8

Chemiluminescence nitrogen detection in ion chromatography for the determination of nitrogen-containing anions.
Charles A. Lucy, Christopher R. Harrison
JOURNAL OF CHROMATOGRAPHY A, 920(1-2), 135-141 (2001).
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0021-9673(01)00711-7