Merlin Bruening
Donald & Susan Rice Professor of Engineering; Concurrent Professor
- Office
- 140C McCourtney Hall - West
Notre Dame, IN 46556 - mbruenin@nd.edu
Research Areas
- Physical/Analytical Chemistry
Research Specialties
- Life Processes
- Materials
- Measurement
Prospective Graduate Students
Biography
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2019-present | Donald & Susan Rice Professor of Engineering, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame |
| 2016-present | Concurrent Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame |
| 2016-2019 | Professor, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame |
| 2007-2016 | Professor, Michigan State University |
| 2002-2007 | Associate Professor, Michigan State University |
| 1997-2002 | Assistant Professor, Michigan State University |
| 1995-1997 | NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, Texas A&M University |
| 1995 | Ph.D. in Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science |
| 1990 | M.S. in Chemistry, Brigham Young University |
| 1989 | B.S. in Chemical Engineering, Brigham Young University |
Selected Awards
2016 Benedetti-Pichler Award of the American Microchemical Society
2015 MSU Innovation of the Year
2014 MSU College of Natural Science Distinguished Faculty Award
2000 Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry Young Investigator Award
Research Interests
The Bruening Group develops new thin films for specific protein capture in porous membranes, ion separations in electrodialysis, and controlled protein digestion prior to analysis with mass spectrometry. Potential applications include protein purification, antibody characterization and sequencing, and salt purification or recycling.
Selected Publications
- Wang, J.; Armah, N.; Torres, A.; Yaroshchuk, A.; Phillip, W. A. and Bruening, M. L. "An All-Aqueous Method for High-Purity Separation of Some Critical Metal-Ion Complexes" 2026 Journal of Membrane Science Letters, 6 (1), 100115. DOI: 10.1016/j.memlet.2026.100115.
- Chen, Y. H.; Boggess, B.; Yang, J. Y.; Manicke, N. E. and Bruening, M. L. "Rapid Quantitation of Erythropoietin and Identification of its Glycans using Membranes for Capture and Digestion" 2026 Talanta, 302, 129396. DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2026.129396.
- Wedasingha, L.; Rydberg, M.; Bruening, M. L. and Manicke, N. E. "Analysis of Proteins and Peptides by Electrokinetic Stacking Coupled with Paper Spray Mass Spectrometry" 2026 Analytical Chemistry, 98 (2), pp.1738–1746. DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.5c06786.
- Ding, D.; Wang, J.; Yaroshchuk, A. and Bruening, M. L. "Selective Concentration of Multivalent Cations Via Electrodialysis through Tandem Membranes" 2025 Journal of Membrane Science, 725, 123992. DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2025.123992.
- Cao, W. K.; Chu, P. Y.; Bruening, M. L.; Shi, R. L.; Hernandez-Barry, H. and Tran, J. C. "Efficient, Low-Cost, and High-Throughput Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS) Removal from Protein Digests using Weak-Anion Exchange" 2024 Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry, 36 (4), pp.680–687. DOI: 10.1021/jasms.4c00304.
- Rydberg, M.; Bruening, M. L. and Manicke, N. E. "Paper Spray Mass Spectrometry with On-Paper Electrokinetic Manipulations: Part-Per-Trillion Detection of Per/Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Water and Opiods in Urine" 2024 Angewandte Chemie-International Version, 63 (25), e202401729. DOI: 10.1002/anie.202401728