Aston Labs
We think of mass spectrometry as the science and technology of ions. Our interests therefore involve the construction and modification of mass spectrometers, fundamental studies of microdroplet chemistry as well as ion reactions and collision processes, and mass spectrometry applications to medicine, biochemistry, organic chemistry, and drug discovery.
News
04/2025 Phoebe has been awarded the Phi Lambda Upsilon Nu Chapter 2025 Professional Scholarship! The award seminar will take place on April 25 at 2:30 pm in WTHR 320. Congrats Phoebe!
04/2025 Two weeks from now Prof. Cooks will be awarded the 2025 Othmer Gold Medal at the Science History Institute in Philadelphia. Registration for the award ceremony is available here.
04/2025 Phoebe has successfully defended her dissertation! Congrats Dr. Le!
04/2025 Lexie and Myles have been awarded the Hass Memorial Fellowship and the Robert Squires Scholarship, respectively, from the Department of Chemistry. Congrats!
04/2025 Dylan has successfully completed his final PhD presentation. Congrats Dr. Holden!
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Research
A central current interest is in ambient ionization mass spectrometry and its application in drug discovery, tumor resection guidance, therapeutic monitoring in biofluids, and microorganism biotyping. Each of these experiments involves minimal sample workup. Another strong interest is in preparative mass spectrometry, both by soft landing ions onto surfaces in vacuum to generate new materials and also by collecting the products of accelerated reactions occurring in microdroplets. This accelerated chemistry also provides unique insights into the prebiotic origin of biomolecules and chirality. In situ analysis using miniature mass spectrometers coupled to ambient ion sources for environmental, clinical, and public safety applications is of interest. So, too, is online reaction monitoring and high-throughput experimentation.
Check out the Cooks Group Research Poster for the latest research!
Publications
Accelerated Click Reactions using Boronic Acids for Heterocyclic Synthesis in Microdroplets. Chemical Science (2025). DOI: 10.1039/D5SC00851D
Abiotic formation of hexoses and disaccharides in aqueous microdroplets. Chemical Science (2025). DOI: 10.1039/D4SC08402K
High-Throughput Microdroplet-Based Synthesis using Automated Array-to-Array Transfer. Chemical Science (2025) DOI: 10.1039/D5SC00638D
Electrophoresis-Enhanced Paper Spray Mass Spectrometry. Talanta (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2025.128099
High-Throughput Drug Derivatization and Bioassay by Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry. ChemPlusChem (2025). DOI: 10.1002/cplu.202500164