Title: Advances in Nanometrology: From Engineered to Incidental Nanomaterials
Abstract: The unique properties of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) have enabled their
increased use for a range of environmental, medicinal, and commercial applications. However,
the uncontrolled release of ENMs into the environment (e.g., through human waste repositories)
can have detrimental impacts. Beyond direct release of NMs, incidental NMs can form through
degradation of bulk materials that are released into the environment. For example, nano- and
microscale plastic particles are formed from macroscale sources (e.g., plastic water bottles and
plastic bags). To understand the impact of engineered and incidental NMs on human and
environmental health, in situ and quantitative analytical tools are needed, which our group works
to address. However, the analysis of NMs in relevant matrices is complicated by the dynamic
physicochemical transformations that NMs undergo in environmental and biological matrices
(e.g., dissolution, aggregation, adsorption of small molecules, etc.). This talk will explore the
development and application of several in situ analytical techniques, including capillary
electrophoresis and electrochemistry, for the analysis of engineered and incidental NMs and
their physicochemical transformations.
Bio: Dr. Kathryn Riley is an Assistant Professor in
the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at
Swarthmore College. She received her Ph.D. from
Wake Forest University in 2014 and was a National
Research Council (NRC) postdoctoral fellow at the
National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) from 2015-2016. Before her current
appointment, she was a Consortium for Faculty
Diversity (CFD) postdoctoral fellow at Swarthmore
from 2016-2018. Dr. Riley’s research involves the
development of analytical techniques for the
characterization of nanomaterials (NMs) and their
dynamic physical and chemical transformations in
biological and environmental matrices. Her research
group specifically aims to broaden participation in the
field by developing techniques that provide new
quantitative insights in less time and at a reduced
cost when compared to more commonly employed
methods. Projects in her group span the analysis of
engineered NMs (metal and metal oxide NMs, DNA
origami) and incid
