Topic: Aggregation control of gold and iron oxide nanoparticles could boost their biological applications
Speaker: Dr. Anna Laromaine, Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona CMAB-CSIC, Spain
Time: 2:30 p.m., November 17, 2014
Venue: Conference Room 205, Building 14, SCUT North Campus
Sponsor: School of Materials Science and Engineering
Abstract:
Extensive research efforts are directed toward the synthesis and characterization of inorganic nanoparticles to generate novel materials and devices potentially useful for sensing, catalysis, transport, imaging and other applications in medicine and engineering science. For such applications, the ability to control and tune the performance of nanoparticles (NPs) at biological relevant conditions is critical.
Interestingly the possibility to control the nanoparticle aggregation and formation in a versatile platform could boost their use in biosensing and drug delivery. In this presentation, we will present some examples using gold nanoparticles and iron oxide nanoparticles. We will show how to use microwave technology to synthesize iron oxide nanopartiles within few minutes and how to use BSA properly to stabilize iron oxide nanoparticles in biologically relevant meida with a controllable BSA layer on iron oxide nanoparticles surface. In addition, we will show the incorporation of SPIONs with bacterial cellular (BC) films, the method we developed can be used as a platform to obtain magnetic BC composites flexible, robust and with high magnetization within few minutes in a clean, easy and reproducible method.
Introduction to the Speaker:
Dr. Anna Laromaine obtained her degree in Chemistry from the Girona University (2000). She holds a PhD in Chemistry from the Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB) and Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (2005). Her PhD thesis focused in the synthesis of carboranes for catalysis and medical therapies. In 2005, she moved to the Imperial College London as a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Prof. Molly M. Stevens where they developed a colorimetric sensor to detect proteases based in gold nanoparticles and peptides. In March 2008, she moved to the USA to continue her research at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology in the group of Prof. Francesco Stellacci studying the replication of patterned surfaces using DNA and peptides using supramolecular interactions. Then, she joined the group of Prof. George M. Whitesides at Harvard University as a postdoctoral researcher for three years, developing 3D cell cultures in paper and combining microfluidic techniques and C. elegans. In May 2011, she re-incorporated at the ICMAB-CSIC in the group of Dr. Anna Roig as a Ramón y Cajal fellow. Her current research combines the disciplines of material science, chemistry and biology towards medical applications. In brief, they study the development of inorganic based nanoparticles and their assessment in biological relevant environments.
She published 24 papers in high impact journals, she holds 6 patents and she is co-founder of the start-up OsmoBlue Technology. Anna has recently been recognized with the Talent Emergent award from FemTalent.