Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces
Munish Chanana
December 2nd 2011
Universidade de Vigo
Stimuli-responsive nanomaterials, based on plasmonic or magnetic materials, with physically and chemically switchable properties, are of increased interest in technological applications, especially in biomedicine. Such optical or magnetic switches not only act as molecular probes or biosensors, but also as drug delivery, diagnostic and therapeutic agents.
We will discuss our current work in the synthesis and development of stimuli-responsive, multifunctional and biocompatible superparamagnetic and plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs). Fe3O4 and Au NPs, obtained from different synthetic routes, were decorated with polymeric molecules, in order to confer high colloidal stability and switchable stimuli-responsive properties. Stimuli-responsive polymers, consisting of poly(MEO2MA), poly(OEGMA) and their random-co-polymers, were used to impart Fe3O4 NPs2 and Au NPs temperature and salt response in aqueous media and the capability of crossing the oil/water interface reversibly. Moreover, depending on the environmental temperature the particles aggregate and dissociate reversibly, switching their optical (Au NPs) or magnetic (Fe3O4 NPs) properties.
Dr. Munish Chanana was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and immigrated at the age of 14 to Germany. He studied chemistry and biochemistry in Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany and received a diploma in 2005 working with Prof. H.J. Galla, Department of Biochemistry, University of Münster and Prof. Silke Krol, Department of Biophysics, University of Genova, Italy. He received his PhD in 2010 from Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Department of Interfaces, Potsdam, Germany in the group of Prof. H. Möhwald. Since 2010, he has been a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Vigo, Spain in the research group of Prof. Luis M. Liz-Marzán.
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