December 12, 2012

FRONTIERS IN MATERIALS SCIENCE
VINSE COLLOQUIUM SERIES

Gang Han
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology
University of Massachusetts Medical School
4:10 pm, 5326 Stevenson Center
3:45 pm Refreshments, 5326 Stevenson Center Hallway
Host: Qi Zhang

“Beyond Fluorescence: Small and Bright Upconversion Nanoparticles for Biological Imaging”

 Lanthanide-doped upconversion luminescent nanoparticles (UCNPs) are promising materials for in vitro and in vivo optical imaging due to their unique optical and chemical properties. UCNPs absorb low energy near-infrared (NIR) light and emit high-energy shorter wavelength photons. Their special features allow them to overcome various problems associated with conventional imaging probes. In this talk, I will present a new type of biocompatible UCNP. They are free of autofluorescence for in vitro cell imaging, and exhibit significantly improved signal-to-noise-ratio (i.e., 300 for Balb-c mice) and outstanding tissue penetration depth (>3cm) , and minimal light scattering, all highly desired for in vivo whole animal imaging.  I will also present a new development regarding about engineering UCNPs towards in vivo photounacging .