Probing Life with Photons

Highlighted Publications

1. Pu-Ting Dong, Haroon Mohammad, Jie Hui, Junjie Li, Lijia Liang, Mohamed N. Seleem, and Ji-Xin Cheng, Photolysis of staphyloxanthin in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus potentiates killing by reactive oxygen species, Advanced Science 6(11), 1900030 (2019). [Link]    Reported by [BBC The Newsroom] [科普中国] [Boston University News] [Purdue University News]

2. Pu-Ting Dong, Haonan Lin, Kai-Chih Huang, Ji-Xin Cheng, Label-free quantitation of glycated hemoglobin in single red blood cells by transient absorption microscopy and phasor analysis, Science Advances 5(5), eaav0561 (2019). [Link] 

3. Jie Hui#, Pu-Ting Dong#, Lijia Liang, Taraknath Mandal, Junjie Li, Erlinda R. Ulloa, Yuewei Zhan, Sebastian Jusuf, Cheng Zong, Mohamed N. Seleem, George Y. Liu, Qiang Cui, Ji-Xin Cheng, Photo-disassembly of membrane microdomains revives conventional antibiotics against MRSA, Advanced Science 7(6), 1903117 (2020). [Link]    Reported by [Boston University News] [SPIE News] [Medical News Today] 

4. Pu-Ting Dong, Zeina Dagher, Jie Hui, Cheng Zong, Junjie Li, Yuewei Zhan, Meng Zhang, Michael K. Mansour, Ji-Xin Cheng, Polarization-sensitive stimulated Raman scattering imaging resolves amphotericin B orientation in Candida membrane, Science Advances 7(2) eabd5230 (2021). [Link]    Reported by [Boston University News]

5. Pu-Ting Dong, Sebastian Jusuf, Jie Hui, Yuewei Zhan, Yifan Zhu, George Liu, Ji-Xin Cheng, Photoinactivation of catalase sensitizes wide-ranging bacteria to ROS-producing agents and immune cells, JCI Insight 7(10), 153079 (2022). [Link]

6. Pu-Ting Dong, Yuewei Zhan, Sebastian Jusuf, Jie Hui, Zeina Dagher, Michael Mansour, Ji-Xin Cheng, Photoinactivation of catalase sensitizes Candida albicans and Candida auris to ROS-producing agents and immune cells, Advanced Science 9(10), e2104384 (2022). [Link]    Reported by [Advanced Science News]

7. Meng Zhang#, Pu-Ting Dong#, Hassan E. Eldesouky, Yuewei Zhan, Haonan Lin, Zian Wang, Ehab A. Salama, Sebastian Jusurf, Cheng Zong, Zhicong Chen, Mohamed N. Seleem, Ji-Xin Cheng, Fingerprint SRS imaging unveils ergosteryl ester as a metabolic signature of azole-resistant Candida albicans, Analytical Chemistry (2023). [Link]

8. Mengdi Yang#, Pu-Ting Dong#, Lujia Cen, Wenyuan Shi, Xuesong He, Jiahe Li, Targeting Fusobacterium nucleatum through chemical modifications of host-derived transfer RNA fragments, The ISME Journal 17(6), 880-890 (2023). [Link]    Reported by [Forsyth News]

9. Pu-Ting Dong, Jing Tian, Koseki J. Kobayashi-Kirschvink, Lujia Cen, Jeffrey S. McLean, Batbileg Bor, Wenyuan Shi, Xuesong He, Episymbiotic bacterium induces intracellular lipid droplet production in its host bacteria, The ISME Journal 18(1), wrad034 (2024). [Link]    Reported by [Forsyth News]

10. Pu-Ting Dong*, Wenyuan Shi, Xuesong He, Gary Borisy*, Adhesive interactions within microbial consortia can be differentiated at the single-cell level through expansion microscopy, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 121(48), e2411617121 (2024). [Link]     Reported by [Forsyth News]

11. Pu-Ting Dong, Mengdi Yang, Lujia Cen, Peng Zhou, Difei Xu, Peng Xiong, Chengguang Wu, Jiahe Li, Xuesong He, P-type ATPase is a putative membrane transporter of Fusobacterium nucleatum-targeting tsRNAs, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, in review, BioRxiv 602285 (2024).

PhD Thesis

Pu-Ting Dong, Single-Cell Pump Probe Imaging of Intrinsic Chromophores Identifies Diagnostic Marker and Therapeutic Target of Diseases, Boston University, Jan 2020.

Patents

1. Ji-Xin Cheng, Mohamed Seleem, Pu-Ting Dong, Jie Hui, Method and device for annihilation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Patent No. US11013933, granted and licensed in 2021. 

2. Pu-Ting Dong, Jie Hui, Ji-Xin Cheng, Yifan Zhu, Bactericidal methods and compositions, Patent No. US11110296, granted and licensed in 2021.

3. Pu-Ting Dong, Jie Hui, Ji-Xin Cheng, Yifan Zhu, Bactericidal methods and compositions, Patent No. US11298563, granted and licensed in 2022. 

4. Pu-Ting Dong, Jie Hui, Ji-Xin Cheng, Yifan Zhu, Bactericidal methods and compositions, Patent No. US11633622, granted in April 2023. 

Peer-Reviewed Publications (# co-first author, * corresponding author)

1. Pu-Ting Dong, and Ji-Xin Cheng, Pump–probe microscopy: theory, instrumentation, and applications, Spectroscopy 32(4), 24-36 (2017). [Link]

2. Andy Jing Chen, Xiaojing Yuan, Junjie Li, Pu-Ting Dong, Iqbal Hamza, and Ji-Xin Cheng, Label-free imaging of heme dynamics in living organisms by transient absorption microscopy, Analytical Chemistry 90(5), 3395-3401 (2018). [Link]

3. Pu-Ting Dong, Haroon Mohammad, Jie Hui, Junjie Li, Lijia Liang, Mohamed N. Seleem, and Ji-Xin Cheng, Photolysis of staphyloxanthin in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus potentiates killing by reactive oxygen species, Advanced Science 6(11), 1900030 (2019). [Link]

4. Andy Jing Chen, Kai-Chih Huang, Selina Bopp, Robert Summers, Pu-Ting Dong, Yimin Huang, Cheng Zong, Dyann Wirth, and Ji-Xin Cheng, Quantitative imaging of intraerhthrocytic hemozoin by transient absorption microscopy, Journal of Biomedical Optics 25(1), 014507 (2019). [Link]

5. Pu-Ting Dong, Haonan Lin, Kai-Chih Huang, Ji-Xin Cheng, Label-free quantitation of glycated hemoglobin in single red blood cells by transient absorption microscopy and phasor analysis, Science Advances 5(5), eaav0561 (2019). [Link]

6. Leon G. Leanse, Pu-Ting Dong, Xueping S. Goh, Min Lu, Ji-Xin Cheng, David C. Hooper, and Tianhong Dai, Quinine enhances photo-inactivation of Gram-negative bacteria, The Journal of Infectious Diseases 221(4), 618-626 (2019). [Link]

7. Jie Hui#, Pu-Ting Dong#, Lijia Liang, Taraknath Mandal, Junjie Li, Erlinda R. Ulloa, Yuewei Zhan, Sebastian Jusuf, Cheng Zong, Mohamed N. Seleem, George Y. Liu, Qiang Cui, Ji-Xin Cheng, Photo-disassembly of membrane microdomains revives conventional antibiotics against MRSA, Advanced Science 7(6), 1903117 (2020). [Link]

8. Sebastian Jusuf, Jie Hui, Pu-Ting Dong, and Ji-Xin Cheng, Synergistic eradication of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus between staphyloxanthin photobleaching and silver nanoparticles, Journal of Physical Chemistry C 124(9) 5321-5330 (2020). [Link]

9. Meng Zhang, Weili Hong, Nader S. Abutaleb, Junjie Li, Pu-Ting Dong, Cheng Zong, Pu Wang, Mohamed N. Seleem, and Ji-Xin Cheng, Rapid determination of antibiotic susceptibility by stimulated Raman scattering imaging of D2O metabolism in single bacteria, Advanced Science 7(19), 2001452 (2020). [Link]

10. Jiayingzi Wu, Yifan Zhu, Liyan You, Pu-Ting Dong, Jianguo Mei, Ji-Xin Cheng, Polymer electrochromism driven by metabolic activity facilitates rapid and facile bacterial detection and susceptibility evaluation, Advanced Functional Materials 30(49), 2005192 (2020). [Link]

11. Pu-Ting Dong, Zeina Dagher, Jie Hui, Cheng Zong, Junjie Li, Yuewei Zhan, Meng Zhang, Michael K. Mansour, Ji-Xin Cheng, Polarization-sensitive stimulated Raman scattering imaging resolves amphotericin B orientation in Candida membrane, Science Advances 7(2) eabd5230 (2021). [Link]

12. Sebastian Jusuf, Pu-Ting Dong, Jie Hui, Erlinda R. Ulloa, George Y. Liu, Ji-Xin Cheng, Granadaene photobleaching reduces the virulence and increases antimicrobial susceptibility of Streptococcus agalactiae, Photochemistry and Photobiology 97(4), 816-825 (2021). [Link]

13. Minghua Zhuge, Kai-Chih Huang, Hyeon Jeong Lee, Ying Jiang, Yuying Tan, Pu-Ting Dong, Guangyuan Zhao, Daniela Elena Matei, Qing Yang, Ji-Xin Cheng, Ultra-sensitive vibrational imaging of retinoids by visible pre-resonance stimulated Raman scattering microscopy, Advanced Science 8(9), 2003136, 2021. [Link]

14. Pu-Ting Dong, Sebastian Jusuf, Jie Hui, Yuewei Zhan, Yifan Zhu, George Liu, Ji-Xin Cheng, Photoinactivation of catalase sensitizes wide-ranging bacteria to ROS-producing agents and immune cells, JCI Insight 7(10), 153079 (2022). [Link]

15. Pu-Ting Dong, Yuewei Zhan, Sebastian Jusuf, Jie Hui, Zeina Dagher, Michael Mansour, Ji-Xin Cheng, Photoinactivation of catalase sensitizes Candida albicans and Candida auris to ROS-producing agents and immune cells, Advanced Science 9(10), e2104384 (2022). [Link]

16. Lujia Cen, Yunjie Chang, Joseph K. Bedree, Yansong Ma, Qiu Zhong, Daniel R. Utter, Pu-Ting Dong, Renate Lux, Batbileg Bor, Jun Liu, Jeffrey S McLean, Shuai Le, Xuesong He, Exploitation of a bacterium-encoded lytic transglycosylase by a human oral lytic phage to facilitate infection, Journal of Virology 96(17),  e01063-22 (2022). [Link]

17. Pu-Ting Dong, Cheng Zong, Ji-Xin Cheng, Resolving molecular orientation by polarization-sensitive stimulated Raman scattering microscopy, Book chapter in Stimulated Raman Scattering Microscopy, edited by Ji-Xin Cheng, Wei Min, Yasuyuki Ozeki, Dario Polli, pp. 529-537, Elsevier (2022). [Link]

18. Jing Tian, Dan Utter, Lujia Cen, Pu-Ting Dong, Wenyuan Shi, Batbileg Bor, Man Qin, Jeffrey S. Mclean, and Xuesong He, Acquisition of arginine deiminase system benefits epiparasitic Saccharibacteria and its host bacteria in mammalian niche environment, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 119(2), e2114909119 (2022). [Link]

19. Doudou Xiang, Pu-Ting Dong, Lujia Cen, Batbileg Bor, Renate Lux, Wenyuan Shi, Qing Yu, Xuesong He, Tingxi Wu, Antagonistic interaction between two key endodontic pathogens Enterococcus faecalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum , Journal of Oral Microbiology 15(1), 2149448 (2023). [Link]

20. Mengdi Yang#, Pu-Ting Dong#, Lujia Cen, Wenyuan Shi, Xuesong He, Jiahe Li, Targeting Fusobacterium nucleatum through chemical modifications of host-derived transfer RNA fragments, The ISME Journal 17(6), 880-890 (2023). [Link]

21. Meng Zhang#, Pu-Ting Dong#, Hassan E. Eldesouky, Yuewei Zhan, Haonan Lin, Zian Wang, Ehab A. Salama, Sebastian Jusurf, Cheng Zong, Zhicong Chen, Mohamed N. Seleem, Ji-Xin Cheng, Fingerprint SRS imaging unveils ergosteryl ester as a metabolic signature of azole-resistant Candida albicans, Analytical Chemistry (2023). [Link]

22. Sebastian Jusuf#, Pu-Ting Dong#*, Chromophore targeting precision phototherapy, Cells 12(22) 2664 (2023). [link]

23. Pu-Ting Dong, Jing Tian, Koseki J. Kobayashi-Kirschvink, Lujia Cen, Jeffrey S. McLean, Batbileg Bor, Wenyuan Shi, Xuesong He, Episymbiotic bacterium induces intracellular lipid droplet production in its host bacteria, The ISME Journal 18(1), wrad034 (2024). [Link]

24. Qiu Zhong, Binyou Liao, Jiazhen Liu, Wei Shen, Jing Wang, Leilei Wei, Yansong Ma, Pu-Ting Dong, Batbileg Bor, Jeffrey S. McLean, Yunjie Chang, Wenyuan Shi, Lujia Cen, Miaomiao Wu, Jun Liu, Yan Li, Xuesong He, Shuai Le, Episymbiotic Saccharibacteria TM7x modulates the susceptibility of its host bacteria to phage infection and promotes their coexistence, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 121 (16), e2319790121 (2024). [link]

25. Jie Hui, Wonjoon Moon, Pu-Ting Dong, Carolina dos Anjos, Laisa Negri, Hao Yan, Ying Wang, Joshua Tam, Tianhong Dai, R. Rox Anderson, Jeremy Goverman, Jeffrey Gelfand, Seok-Hyun Yun, Antimicrobial blue light-bathing therapy for wound infection control, Advanced Science, in revision, BioRxiv 589323 (2024).

26. Sebastian Jusuf, Jie Hui, Pu-Ting Dong*, “Photoinactivation of endogenous chromophores in wide-raging pathogenic microbes.” Book chapter, Handbook of Antimicrobial Photoinactivation (2024). 

27. Pu-Ting Dong*, Wenyuan Shi, Xuesong He, Gary Borisy*, Adhesive interactions within microbial consortia can be differentiated at the single-cell level through expansion microscopy, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 121(48), e2411617121 (2024). [Link]

28. Pu-Ting Dong, Mengdi Yang, Lujia Cen, Peng Zhou, Difei Xu, Peng Xiong, Chengguang Wu, Jiahe Li, Xuesong He, P-type ATPase is a putative membrane transporter of Fusobacterium nucleatum-targeting tsRNAs, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, in review, BioRxiv 602285 (2024).

Invited Talks/Seminars

1. Pu-Ting Dong, Haonan Lin, Kai-Chih Huang, and Ji-Xin Cheng, Transient absorption imaging of glycated hemoglobin at single red blood cells, Casper, Wyoming (July 2017). Invited by Dr. Marlan Scully.

2. Pu-Ting Dong, Haroon Mohammad, Jie Hui, Xiaoyu Wang, Junjie Li, Lijia Liang, Mohamed N. Seleem, Ji-Xin Cheng, Staphyloxanthin photobleaching sensitizes methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus to reactive oxygen species attack, invited talk, 10479, SPIE Photonics West Conference, San Francisco, CA (Feb. 2018).

3. Pu-Ting Dong, Haroon Mohammad, Jie Hui, Xiaoyu Wang, Junjie Li, Lijia Liang, Mohamed N. Seleem, Ji-Xin Cheng, Drug-free annihilation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus through photobleaching of staphyloxanthin, invited talk for 2018 SPIE Translational Research Award Presentation, SPIE Photonics West Conference, San Francisco, CA (Feb. 2018).

4. Pu-Ting Dong, Haroon Mohammad, Jie Hui, Xiaoyu Wang, Junjie Li, Lijia Liang, Mohamed N. Seleem, Ji-Xin Cheng, Drug-free annihilation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus through photobleaching of staphyloxanthin, invited talk for 2018 OSA/SPIE Boston University Conference, Boston, MA (Feb. 2018).

5. Pu-Ting Dong, Haonan Lin, Kai-Chih Huang, and Ji-Xin Cheng, Quantitation of glycated hemoglobin in single red blood cells by transient absorption microscopy and phasor analysis, 10882, SPIE Photonics West Conference, San Francisco, CA (Feb. 2019).

6. Pu-Ting Dong, Jie Hui, Junjie Li, Yifan Zhu, Lijia Liang, and Ji-Xin Cheng, Eradication of broad-spectrum intracellular bacteria through photoinactivation of a detoxifying enzyme, invited talk, 1086313, SPIE Photonics West Conference, San Francisco, CA (Feb. 2019).

7. Jie Hui, Pu-Ting Dong, Junjie Li, Lijia Liang, Cheng Zong, and Ji-Xin Cheng, Photodisassembly of membrane microdomains revives a broad spectrum of antibiotics against MRSA persisters, invited talk, 108630V, SPIE Photonics West Conference, San Francisco, CA (Feb. 2019).

8. Pu-Ting Dong, Eliminating methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by photobleaching its intrinsic pigment, invited talk, Boston University Department of Chemistry Seminar (April 2019).

9. Pu-Ting Dong, Zeina Dagher, Yuewei Zhan, Jie Hui, Michael K. Mansour, and Ji-Xin Cheng, Eradication of broad-spectrum multi-drug fungal pathogens through photoinactivation of a detoxifying enzyme, invited talk, SPIE Photonics West Conference, San Francisco, CA (Feb. 2020).

10. Jie Hui, Pu-Ting Dong, Lijia Liang, Taraknath Mandal, Junjie Li, Yuewei Zhan, Sebastian Jusuf, Cheng Zong, Qiang Cui, and Ji-Xin Cheng, Inhibiting Staphylococcus aureus antibiotic resistance via photo-disassembly of membrane microdomains, invited talk, SPIE Photonics West Conference, San Francisco, CA (Feb. 2020).

11. Pu-Ting Dong, Yuewei Zhan, Zeina Dagher, Jie Hui, Kai-Chih Huang, Michael K. Mansour, Ji-Xin Cheng, Imaging Amphotericin B Orientation in Candida spp. through polarization stimulated Raman scattering microscopy,  SPIE Photonics West Conference, San Francisco, CA (Feb. 2020).

12. Pu-Ting Dong, Photoinactivation of endogenous chromophores sensitizes pathogenic microbes to reactive oxygen species, invited by Dr. Marlan Scully in PQE 2022, Snowbird, Utah (Jan. 2022).

13. Pu-Ting Dong, Sebastian Jusuf, Jie Hui, Yuewei Zhan, Yifan Zhu, George Y. Liu, Ji-Xin Cheng, Photoinactivation of catalase sensitizes wide-ranging bacteria to ROS-producing agents and immune cells, invited talk, SPIE Photonics West Conference, San Francisco, CA (Feb. 2022).

14. Pu-Ting Dong, Differentiation of microbial interaction at single-cell level through unconventional utilization of expansion microscopy, The MGB-MGH, MEE & Forsyth Microbes in Health, Infection & Treatment (MHIT) Network Seminar Series (Nov. 2022).

15. Pu-Ting Dong, Differentiation of microbial interaction at single-cell level through unconventional utilization of expansion microscopy, invited talk, PQE 2023, Snowbird, Utah (Jan. 2023).

16. Pu-Ting Dong, Photoinactivation of endogenous chromophores sensitizes pathogenic microbes to reactive oxygen species, invited talk, Beacon Hill Seminars, Boston, MA (2023).

17. Pu-Ting Dong, The unique capacity to generate lipid droplets enhances the fitness of Actinomyces under stress, invited talk, SPIE Photonics West Conference, San Francisco, CA (Jan. 2024).

18. Pu-Ting Dong, Probing life with photons: how optical imaging uncovers the hidden signature of biological systems, University of Southern California, Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty Candidate Seminar, Los Angeles, CA (Feb. 2024).

19. Pu-Ting Dong, Differentiation of microbial interactions at single-cell level through unconventional application of expansion microscopy, The 8th Mini Symposium for Young Investigators, IADR/AADOCR/CADR, New Orleans, LA (March 2024).

20. Pu-Ting Dong, Episymbiotic Saccharibacteria induces intracellular lipid droplet production in its host bacteria, oral presentation, 2024 IADR/AADOCR/CADR General Sessions, New Orleans, LA (March 2024).

21. Pu-Ting Dong, Probing life with photons: how optical imaging uncovers the hidden signature of biological systems, University of Florida, Faculty Candidate Seminar, Gainesville, FL (April 2024).