H. Peter Lu

Ohio Eminent Scholar and Professor

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Current Activities and Projects

Single-molecule spectroscopy study of interfacial electron transfer dynamics, protein-protein interaction dynamics, enzymatic reaction dynamics, and ion-channel protein dynamics.

Research Interests

My research involves single-molecule spectroscopy studies of molecular kinetics and dynamics in condensed phase and at interfaces. Research on the single-molecule/nanoparticle interfacial electron transfer dynamics represents an applications of single-molecule approaches to study an important interfacial chemical reaction that was traditionally studied by ensemble-averaged experiments. We have been applying single-molecule fluorescence and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopies to obtain detailed Franck-Condon vibronic coupling, electron-transfer driving forces, and solvent relaxation energies of electron donor molecules and the nanoparticles. In the area of reaction and dynamics in proteins and protein complexes, we are studying the dynamics and mechanisms of single-molecule enzymatic reactions and non-covalent DNA-protein and protein-protein interactions. Non-Arrhenius and non-Markovian dynamics, allosteric effect, cooperativity, and memory effects of enzymatic reactions have been widely observed but are poorly understood due to the nature of the static and dynamic inhomogeneities in an ensemble-averaged measurement as well as in the intrinsic molecular dynamics. By applying single-molecule approaches, we have been able to investigate the protein conformational relaxation and fluctuation behaviors to identify the protein conformational motion dynamics and the correlated enzymatic turnover dynamics and mechanisms. Our research has also provided unique experimental identifications and characterizations of fluctuating noncovalent protein-protein interactions in cell signaling and protein-DNA interactions in DNA damage recognition. These fluctuating and inhomogeneous conformational motions in protein-protein and protein-DNA complexes most likely determine the capability of protein recognitions and DNA damage recognition. We also developed a number of AFM-tip enhanced NSOM fluorescence and Raman optical imaging approaches that are capable of obtaining Raman or fluorescence imaging beyond optical diffraction limited spatial resolution. We had applied our AFM-tip enhanced or correlated optical imaging approaches to analyzing bacterial cell membrane proteins.

Past Experience

• Ohio Eminent Scholar and Professor, Bowling Green State University, 2006 - present


• Chief Scientist, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 2005-2006


• Senior Research Scientist II, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 1999-2005


• Senior Research Scientist, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 1996-1999


• Postdoctoral Fellow, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 1995-1996


• Research Associate, Northwestern University, 1991-1995


• Assistant Professor of Physical Chemistry, Peking University, 1984-1986

Education

• Columbia University, Ph.D. Chemistry, 1991


• Columbia University, M. Phil. Chemistry, 1987


• Peking University, M. Sci. Chemistry, 1984


• Peking University, B.A. Chemistry, 1982

Awards, Honors, & Appointments

Olscamp Research Award, BGSU, 2009
FSD Outstanding Performance Award, PNNL, 2004
FSD Outstanding Performance Award, PNNL, 2003
FSD Outstanding Performance Award, PNNL, 2002
FSD Outstanding Performance Award, PNNL, 2001
ESHD Outstanding Performance Award, PNNL, 1999

Selected Recent Publications

1. Yufan He, Xiaohua Zeng, Saptarshi Mukherjee, Suneth Rajapaksha, Samuel Kaplan, H. Peter Lu, "Revealing Linear Aggregates of Light Harvesting Antenna Proteins in Photosynthetic Membranes," Langmuir (2009) ASAP electronically published.
   
   
2. Yuanmin Wang, Xuefei Wang, and H. Peter Lu, "Probing single-molecule interfacial geminate electron-cation recombination dynamics,” J. Am. Chem. Soc.  131, 9020–9025 (2009).
   
   
3. H. Peter Lu, "Single-Molecule Protein Interaction Conformational Dynamics," Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, 10, 522-531  (2009).
   
   
4. H. Peter Lu, "Combined Single-Molecule Electrical Recording and Single-Molecule Spectroscopy Studies of Ion Channel Conformational Dynamics," an invited book chapter in Methods in Nano Cell Biology, edited by Bhanu Jena, ELSEVIER (2009).
   
   
5. Yuanmin Wang, Xuefei Wang, Sujit Kumar Ghosh, H. Peter Lu, "Probing single-molecule interfacial electron transfer dynamics of porphyrin on TiO2 nanoparticles," J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131, 1479-1487 (2009).
   
   
6. Xuefei Wang, and H. Peter Lu, "2D Regional Correlation Analysis of Single-Molecule Time Trajectories,"  J. Phys. Chem. B. 112, 1492--14926 (2008).
   
   
7. Duohai Pan, Dehong Hu, Ruchuan Liu, Xiaohua Zeng, Samuel Kaplan, H. Peter Lu, “Fluctuating Two-State Light Harvesting in a Photosynthetic Membrane,” J. Phys. Chem. C, 111, 8948-8956 (2007).
    
   
8. Qiang Lu, H. Peter Lu, and Jin Wang, “Exploring the Mechanism of Flexible Biomolecular Recognition with Single Molecule Dynamics,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 128105 (2007).
   
   
9. V. Biju, D. Pan, Yuri A. Gorby, Jim Fredrickson, J. Mclean, D. Saffarini and H. Peter Lu , "Correlated Spectroscopic and Topographic Characterization of Nanoscale Domains and Their Distributions of a Redox Protein on Bacterial Cell Surfaces," Langmuir 23, 1333-1338 (2007).
   
   
10. Ruchuan Liu, Dehong Hu, Xin Tan, and H. Peter Lu, "Revealing Two-State Protein-Protein Interactions of Calmodulin by Single-Molecule Spectroscopy," J. Am. Chem. Soc. 128, 10034-10042 (2006).


11. Jin Wang, Qiang Lu, and H. Peter Lu, "Single-Molecule Dynamics Reveals Cooperative Binding-Folding in Protein Recognition," PLoS Computational Biology, 2, 842-852 (2006).


12. Dehong Hu and H. Peter Lu, "Single molecule electron transfer process of ruthenium complexes," Proc. SPIE Vol. 6092, 609207 (2006).


13. T. Zhang, S. N. Danthi, J. Xie, D. Hu, H. P. Lu, and K. Li, "Live cell imaging of the endocytosis and the intracellular trafficking of multifunctional lipid nanoparticles," Proc. SPIE Vol. 6095, 60950D (2006).


14. Duohai Pan, Nick Klymyshyn, Dehong Hu, and H. Peter Lu, "Tip-enhanced near-field Raman spectroscopy probing single dye-sensitized TiO2 nanoparticles," Appl. Phys. Lett., 88, 093121(2006).


15. Duohai Pan, Dehong Hu, and H. Peter Lu, "Probing Inhomogeneous Vibrational Reorganization Energy Barriers of Interfacial Electron Transfer," J. Phys. Chem. B, 109, 16390-16395 (2005).


16. Dehong Hu and H. Peter Lu, "Single-Molecule Triplet-State Photon Antibunching at Room Temperature," J. Phys. Chem. B, 109, 9861-9864 (2005).


17. H. Peter Lu, invited review article, "Probing Single-Molecule Protein Conformational Dynamics," Acc. Chem. Res. 38, 557-565 (2005).


18. H. Peter Lu, "Single-Molecule Study of Protein-Protein and Protein-DNA Interaction Dynamics," an invited book chapter in Protein-Ligand Interactions, edited by Uli Nienhaus, The Humana Press Inc., 2005.


19. H. Peter Lu, invited review article, "Site-Specific Raman Spectroscopy and Chemical Dynamics of Nanoscale Interstitial Systems," J. Physics: Condensed Matter, 17, R333-R355 (2005).


20. V. Biju, Miodrag Micic, Dehong Hu, and H. Peter Lu, "Intermittent Single-Molecule Interfacial Electron Transfer Dynamics," J. Am. Chem. Soc. 126, 9374-9381 (2004).


21. Xin Tan, Dehong Hu, Thomas C. Squier, and H. Peter Lu, "Probing Nanosecond Protein Motions of Calmodulin by Single-Molecule Fluorescence Anisotropy," Applied Phys. Lett., 85, 2420-2422 (2004).


22. Miodrag Micic, Dehong Hu, Greg Newton, Margie Romine, H. Peter Lu, "Correlated Atomic Force Microscopy and Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging of Live Bacterial Cells," Surface and Colloid B, 34, 205-212 (2004).


23. H. Peter Lu, invited review, "Single-molecule spectroscopy studies of conformational change dynamics in enzymatic reactions," a special issue of Curr Pharm Biotech (The way down from single genes, and proteins to single molecules.), 5, 261-269 (2004).


24. Dehong Hu, H. Peter Lu, "Single Molecule Implanting of T4 Lysozyme on Bacterial Cell Surface: Towards Study Single Molecule Enzymatic Reaction in Living Cells," Biophys. J., 87, 656-661 (2004).


25. D. Hu, M. Micic, N. Klymyshyn, Y. D. Suh, H. Peter Lu, "Correlated topographic and spectroscopic imaging by combined atomic force microscopy and optical microscopy," J. Luminescence, 107, 4-12 (2004).


26. G. Harms, G. Orr, H. Peter Lu, "Probing ion channel conformational dynamics using simultaneous single-molecule ultrafast spectroscopy and patch-clamp electric recording," Appl. Phys. Lett., 84, 1792-1794 (2004).


27. Xin Tan, Perihan Nalbant, Alexei Toutchkine, Dehong Hu, Erich R. Vorpagel, Klaus M. Hahn, and H Peter Lu, "Single-Molecule Study of Protein-Protein Interaction Dynamics in a Cell Signaling System," J. Phys. Chem. B., 108, 737 (2004).


28. Miodrag Micic, Nicholas Klymyshyn, H. Peter Lu, "Finite Element Method Simulations of the Near-Field Enhancement at the vicinity of Fractal Rough Metallic Surfaces," J. Phys. Chem. B., 108, 2939 (2004).


29. Dehong Hu, Miodrag Micic, Nicholas Klymyshyn, Yung Doug Suh, and H. Peter Lu "Correlated Topographic and Spectroscopic Imaging Beyond Diffraction Limit by Atomic Force Microscopy Metallic Tip-Enhanced Near-Field Fluorescence Lifetime Microscopy," Rev. Sci. Inst., 74, 3347 (2003).


30. Yu Chen, Dehong Hu, Erich R. Vorpagel, and H. Peter Lu, "Probing Single-Molecule T4 Lysozyme Conformational Dynamics by Intramolecular Fluorescence Energy Transfer," J. Phys. Chem. B, 107, 7947 (2003).


31. Greg S. Harms, Galya Orr, Mauricio Montal, Brian D. Thrall, Steve D. Colson, H. Peter Lu, "Probing Conformational Changes of Gramicidin Ion Channels by Single-Molecule Patch-Clamp Fluorescence Microscopy," Biophys. J., 85, 1826 (2003).


32. Dehong Hu and H. Peter Lu, "Single-Molecule Nanosecond Anisotropy Dynamics of Tethered Protein Motions," J. Phys. Chem. B, 107, 618 (2003).