This week started with a marathon session of scanning my samples, which took a solid 4 hours. It felt like forever, but the good news is that creating the graph wasn’t as daunting as I initially thought. Thanks to my mentor, who provided an easy-to-use script, the process was smooth. I ended the day on a high note, having successfully created the gradient with only pDT and PFOA. The results were exactly as I had hoped, which made me incredibly happy.

Tuesday was my regular REU meeting day. I had to give a presentation, and although I was nervous at first, the nerves quickly dissipated. Presenting my research felt like chatting with friends, which was a pleasant surprise. After the meeting, I showed my mentor the gradient I had worked on, and he was overjoyed. His reaction boosted my confidence immensely. I then returned to the lab to start on the gradient without pDT. I had to scan the samples since they were dry and then dropcast the PFOA on top. These took two days to dry, so I planned to scan them on Thursday.

Knowing I needed to reproduce the gradients, I spent Wednesday preparing more particles. I wanted to ensure I had enough to recreate the experiments accurately. This foresight was crucial for the reproducibility of my results.

On Thursday, I scanned the dried samples and created another gradient graph. One sample looked a bit off, but overall, the results were promising. It was evident that using the ligand increased the lower limit of detection for PFAS. However, I realized I hadn’t made enough particles for the higher concentrations. It wasn’t a major issue; I decided to omit the higher concentrations for now and plan to do them next week. I dropcasted the nanoparticles onto the chips and waited for them to dry.

By Friday, I scanned all the samples and dropcasted varying concentrations of PFAS. I expect these to take at least three days to dry, so they should be perfectly ready to scan by Monday.

Overall, it has been an amazing week filled with progress and new discoveries. I only have two weeks left in the lab, and the thought of leaving makes me extremely sad. I’ve built strong bonds with my mentor and the other graduate students, and the research itself has been incredibly rewarding. I’m determined to make the most of the time I have left and continue pushing forward with my experiments.