Nanophotonics

There is a critical need for the development of new technologies that can determine in real time the earliest signs of disease at the cellular level, and also allow treatment of disease in a seamless fashion. Today, the amount of research in biomedical science and engineering at the molecular level is growing exponentially because of the availability of new investigative nanotools.

These new analytical tools are capable of probing the nanometer world and will make it possible to characterize the chemical and mechanical properties of cells, discover novel phenomena and processes, and provide science with a wide range of tools, materials, devices and systems with unique characteristics.

Using nanobiosensors, we can probe individual chemical species in specific locations throughout a living cell. Tracking biochemical processes within intracellular environments can be performed in vivo with the use of fluorescent molecular probes and nanosensors for molecular medicine applications. With powerful microscopic tools using near-field optics, we can explore the biochemical processes and sub-microscopic structures of living cells at unprecedented resolutions.

In a research area involving close collaboration with the BME Bioengineering Initiative, we will develop photonics imaging labels for nanocarriers to be used in targeted delivery of drugs that have their shells conjugated with antibodies for targeting antigens and fluorescent chromophores for in vivo tracking.