Description: Electrophoretic and microfluidic manipulation of nanoparticles and biological macromolecules in confined geometries for single-molecule analysis.
Develops single-molecule genomics technologies using nanofluidics and optical mapping to analyze whole genomes and structural variation.
Waigh's group applies advanced optical and biophysical techniques to study complex biological fluids and single molecules. Research directions: (1) Microrheology — diffusing wave spectroscopy and optical trapping microrheology to measure viscoelastic properties of biopolymer networks and cytoplasm; (2) Antibody / protein dynamics — tracking single-molecule diffusion of antibodies and receptors in complex biological environments using fluorescence; (3) Non-linear flows of antibodies — studying anomalous diffusion and aggregation of therapeutic antibodies; (4) Neutron and X-ray scattering — structural characterization of complex biofluids at PSI facilities. Bridges soft matter physics and single-molecule biosensing.