Offshore Wind
PNNL’s offshore wind research benefits from the expertise of researchers across the laboratory’s wind energy capabilities.
Soil Microbiome
PNNL soil scientists are tackling the biochemical complexity of soil microbiomes complexity to gain fundamental knowledge essential to predict how a shifting environment will impact key functions in the microbiome.
Synthetic Biology
Biological systems are complex, but when broken down into smaller parts, we can better understand how and why those parts operate the way they do and decide if we can use them in a different way. Doing synthetic biology with microorganisms beyond standard bacteria or yeast is where PNNL researchers are making their mark.
Advanced Metabolomics
At PNNL, we use advanced metabolomics techniques to measure, identify, and analyze small molecules in biological systems with high sensitivity and on a large scale. This includes mass spectrometric analysis and prediction of molecular properties to identify unknown chemical structures.
Spatial and Single-Cell Proteomics
To enable proteomic studies on single cells, PNNL researchers developed the Nanodroplet Processing in One Pot for Trace Samples, or nanoPOTS, platform. This platform for nanoscale proteomics enhances the efficiency and recovery of sample processing and minimizes surface losses by downscaling processing volumes to less than 200 nL. When combined with ultrasensitive liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis, the nanoPOTS platform provides in-depth proteomics analyses of biological samples as small as single cells.
Structural Biology
At PNNL, scientists study molecular structures at large scales such as proteins. We work to understand how proteins detoxify environmental contaminants, how fungi degrade biomass into various components of biofuels, and how plants adapt to changing environments.