Sylvia Daunert, an assistant research professor at the University of Kentucky, is conducting research involving time-resolved fluorescence, creating more selective and sensitive assays for biomolecules and other biological compounds by using complexes of certain elements, such as europium, with fluorescent compounds. These complexes will fluoresce longer than compounds in existing biological and clinical samples and will bind either with antibodies or with the biomolecule being studied. This causes the fluorescent properties of the compound to be delayed, hence the name "time-resolved fluorescence."
Daunert was one of two recipients of $5,000 grants awarded last year by the Van Slyke Society, the philanthropic branch of the 40-year-old American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC), based in Washington, D.C. Despite its name, AACC includes members from countries outside the United States; the association currently has more than 10,000 members worldwide.
Daunert says that without such funding, ideas such as hers would never come to ...
