BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Memento EPFL// BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Engineering Graphene Quantum Dots for Bioapplications prof. Anton V. Naumov DTSTART:20240607T161500 DTSTAMP:20260316T090328Z UID:d7327b0f6d23573a54cea5a10b61bef0c5b5bb6119cbd2182c84ac5e CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars DESCRIPTION:Dr. Anton Naumov received his B.S. in Physics from the Univers ity of Tennessee\, Knoxville\, where he started his nanotechnology researc h working on separation of chiral carbon nanotubes. He received his M.S. a nd Ph.D in Applied Physics from Rice University\, where his research was f ocused on optical properties of carbon nanotubes and graphene. He worked a t IBM and Honda Research Institute exploring optoelectronic applications o f nanomaterials. After his Ph.D. Dr. Naumov joined Ensysce Biosciences Inc . as a Research Scientist and a complimentary Postdoctoral Fellow at Rice\ , working on the development of nanomaterials-assisted cancer therapeutics . Later on\, he joined Central Connecticut State University as an Assistan t Professor. In 2015 Dr. Naumov has joined TCU\, where he continues his wo rk in applied biophysics and nanotechnology as an Associate Professor of B iophysics. Naumov lab Is focused on developing biological Imaging\, drug d elivery and sensing applications of Graphene Quantum Dots. This research e xplores novel treatment avenues with CRISPR-Cas9 and siRNA gene therapeuti cs\, whole body animal imaging and nanomaterials-driven photothermal thera py. Naumov lab synthesizes new nanomaterials and uses those to image\, det ect and develop treatment for such conditions as cancer\, Alzheimer’s di sease\, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and bacterial infections.\nEngineerin g Graphene Quantum Dots for Bioapplications\nAnton V. Naumov\, Texas Chris tian University\, Fort Worth\, TX\n\nGraphene quantum dots (GQDs) are zero -dimensional nanomaterials characterized by their remarkable properties. T hey range from pristine graphene-based GQDs to highly functionalized and e ven doped nanostructures all\, however\, possessing some form of graphitic lattice. GQD structure significantly influences their electronic and opti cal properties\, which are pivotal for various applications in nanoscale e lectronics\, biosensing\, and biomedical imaging. Major synthetic approach es rendering different GQD morphologies include either bottom-up synthesis from carbonaceous molecular precursors or top-down scission of larger gra phitic materials such as reduced graphene oxide into nanoscale GQDs. Micro wave-assisted bottom-up hydrothermal synthesis utilized in our work allows doping GQDs to achieve application-specific characteristics. To date\, ov er 30 different precursors and dopants are used in our work to generate GQ Ds that enable imaging\, sensing and drug transport applications. Major el ectronic transitions of synthesized GQDs can arise from quantum-confined g raphitic islands encircled by functional groups or dopants resulting in br ight (up to 63% quantum yield) fluorescence in the visible. Electronic con finement at the defects/functional groups modeled via ground state Hartree -Fock calculations is deemed responsible for transitions in the near-infra red at 800 - 1050 nm observed in some GQD types. Doping GQDs with rare ear th metals during synthetic process can also generate near-infrared-emissiv e structures with well-defined spectral signatures arising from atomic tra nsitions of rare-earth dopants. GQD near-infrared fluorescence allows for a variety of bioimaging applications due to high penetration depth and low scattering of near-infrared light in biological tissues. Furthermore thei r substantial biocompatibility and water solubility render GQDs suitable f or in vivo studies. Defect and dopant-originated near-infrared GQD fluores cence is observed from the organs of sedated live mice and utilized for tr acking GQD uptake. Imaging excised organs further allows for quantitative biodistribution assessment. Other imaging modalities explored for these GQ Ds involve ultrasound and MRI contrast enhancement\, as well as in vitro t herapeutic tracking. Sensing applications of GQDs developed in our work in clude UV photodetection\, in vitro nanothermometry and detection of cancer -generated genes for early diagnosis. GQDs also facilitate drug and gene d elivery for cancer therapeutics including the transport of conventional ch emotherapies\, gene-silencing therapeutics and CRISPR Cas9 gene editing co mplexes. With a variety of advantageous structure-defined properties engin eered through the variation of their synthetic process\, GQDs show promisi ng potential in the field of nano-biotechnology. LOCATION:BCH 2201 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==BCH%202201 https://epfl.zoom .us/j/84209090880 STATUS:CONFIRMED END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR