Título: “Magnetic Nanoparticles for Bio-Applications”

Resumo:

Recent advances in colloidal synthesis have led to the development of nanoparticles with tunable dimension, morphology and chemical composition. These nanoparticles can not only serve as model systems for fundamental studies, but their interesting physical properties associated with their nanoscale dimensions can be harnessed for various applications. In this talk, I will present our work on synthesis and bio-applications of magnetic nanoparticles. Three main topics will be discussed: First I will demonstrate an approach based on AC magnetic-field heating of nanoparticles to remotely control ion channels and neurons; second I will show how to design and control the magnetic properties of nanoparticles to achieve maximized heating for such applications, as well as for magnetic hyperthermia; and finally I will show that by optimizing the magnetic properties of nanoparticles, giant T1 contrast enhancement can be realized in ultralow field magnetic resonance imaging.