Minor changes

These three tubes contain very similar dyes, but seemingly minor tweaks to their molecular structures produce notably different fluorescent colors. Shaista Hassan Lone, a principal investigator at the University of Kashmir, studies the structures of crystalline compounds and how those crystal structures affect the compounds’ properties. She made these Schiff bases to see how small differences in their structures (shown below) change the way the molecules pack in a crystal and thus affect their colors. Now she’s using confocal microscopy and X-ray diffraction to analyze these crystals in an effort to find dyes that can be used to color silk. These three tubes contain very similar dyes, but seemingly minor tweaks to their molecular structures produce notably different fluorescent colors. Shaista Hassan Lone, a principal investigator at the University of Kashmir, studies the structures of crystalline compounds and how those crystal structures affect the compounds’ properties. She made these molecules to see how small differences in their structures (shown below) change the way the molecules pack in a crystal and thus affect their colors. Now she’s using confocal microscopy and X-ray diffraction to analyze these crystals in an effort to find dyes that can be used to color silk.— Manny I. Fox Morone

Submitted by Shaista Hassan Lone

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A young female Bison grazes on winter grasses, Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming