The development and application of measurement tools to elucidate the functional properties of biological macromolecules and map the distribution of active biomolecules in both organisms and the environment are areas of strength in the department.

Bioanalytical faculty members utilize a range of nano-, micro- and macro-techniques to quantitate, identify and manipulate biomolecules in both environmental and biological systems. In the Biophysical Area, research laboratories apply an array of biophysical techniques and approaches including fluorescence spectroscopy, rapid kinetics, analytical ultracentrifugation, ITC, NMR and computation to reveal the mechanistic properties of biomolecules. Among the systems studied include RNA and DNA structure and dynamics, protein:protein interactions in cell signaling and bacterial pathogenesis, and development of nucleic acid nanostructures.

Bioanalytical and Biophysical Chemistry research in the department is enhanced by close ties and collaborations with the Maryland Biophysics Program, the Maryland Nanocenter, the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the Institute for Biosciences and Biotechnology Research (IBBR).