September 21, 2011

FRONTIERS IN MATERIALS SCIENCE
VINSE COLLOQUIUM SERIES

Professor Xiaohu Gao
University of Washington

"Multifunctional nanoparticles for molecular imaging and therapy"

Abstract. Metal and semiconductor nanoparticles in the 1-10 nm size range are of considerable current interest, not only because of their unique size-dependent properties but also their dimensional similarities with biological macromolecules (e.g., nucleic acids and proteins). These similarities could allow an integration of nanotechnology and biology, leading to major advances in medical diagnostics, prognostics, and targeted therapeutics. In this talk, I will present recent development of multicomponent, multifunctional nanostructures for biomedical applications, such as bioconjugated nanoparticles for tumor molecular imaging, profiling, and treatment.

Bio. Prof. Xiaohu Gao received his Ph.D. degree in chemistry from Indiana University, Bloomington in 2004, and his postdoctoral training from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. Currently he is an associate professor in the Department of Bioengineering and the Center for Nanotechnology at the University of Washington, Seattle in 2005. His research is focused on biomedical nanotechnology, molecular engineering, and drug delivery.

Representative Publications.
Quantum-dot-tagged microbeads for multiplexed optical coding of biomolecules, Nat. Biotechnol. 2001, 19, 631-635
In vivo cancer targeting and imaging with semiconductor quantum dots, Nat. Biotechnol. 2004, 22, 969-976.
Plasmonic fluorescent quantum dots, Nat. Nanotechnol. 2009, 4, 571-576.
Multifunctional nanoparticles as coupled contrast agents, Nat. Commun. 2010, 10.1038/ncomms1042