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An engineered Silicon-Silver nanoparticle of ~10 nanometers in size.

Abstract:
Nanoparticles, which range from 1-100 nanometers in size, are roughly the same size as biomolecules such as proteins, antibodies, and membrane receptors. Because of this size similarity, nanoparticles can mimic biomolecules and therefore have a huge potential for application in the biomedical field. In a paper published in Scientific Reports on October 30th, a group of researchers from the OIST Nanoparticles by Design Unit lead by Prof. Mukhles Sowwan announced that they have succeeded in designing and creating multicomponent nanoparticles with controlled shape and structure.

Build-A-Nanoparticle

Tancha, Japan | Posted on November 7th, 2013

Multicomponent nanoparticles, which are nanoparticles containing two or more materials, are even more powerful since they bring together the unique properties of each material to make a single nanoparticle with various functionalities. For example, a single-component nanoparticle may be able to transport drugs but may not be able to differentiate between healthy and diseased cells. In contrast, a multicomponent nanoparticle could also include characteristics of another material that can distinguish between healthy and diseased cells to make drug delivery more efficient.

The OIST researchers produced Silicon-Silver nanoparticles using advanced equipment custom-designed specifically for producing multicomponent nanoparticles. Silicon and Silver are an interesting combination because each element has different optical properties that give out different signals. A single nanoparticle simultaneously sending out multiple signals is attractive for bioimaging and biosensoring: for example, Silver would show whether a certain reaction is happening or not, while Silicon could give out information about where the nanoparticles are located.

Especially exciting is that Prof. Sowwan and his team that includes scientists from Ireland, Greece, India, United Kingdom, Peru, South Korea, Palestine, France, Spain, and Japan, can customize not only the shape and structure of the nanoparticles but also the nanoparticles' characteristics. Engineering a particle that is 10 million times smaller than the size of a football is not easy: although nanoparticles like these have been made elsewhere in the past using different methods, they lack the level of control and purity offered at the Nanoparticles by Design Unit. With this technique, the size, structure, and crystallinity - the orderliness of atoms - of each nanoparticle can be customized. In this particular study, Sliver was used to control the crystallinity of Silicon. By controlling the crystallinity, optical, electrical, and chemical properties of the nanoparticle can be fine-tuned. "This is engineering. We control how we want the nanoparticles to be," said Prof. Sowwan.

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About Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology - OIST
The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology is an interdisciplinary graduate school offering a 5-year PhD program in Science. Over half of the faculty and students are recruited from outside Japan, and all education and research is conducted entirely in English. OIST researchers are conducting multi-disciplinary research in five major areas: Neuroscience, Molecular Sciences, Environmental and Ecological Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Mathematical Computational Sciences. In the six years leading up to graduate school accreditation, OIST received recognition for doing original research and sponsoring innovative international workshops and courses.

The graduate school accepts 20 students per year, creating a very low student to instructor ratio. Students also receive support for living costs, health care, housing, childcare, and other needs that would otherwise distract them from the science. Balancing lectures and lab work, the doctoral program places students in well-funded labs where they work side-by-side with top researchers on state-of-the-art equipment. Frequent visits from internationally-known scientists further enrich the program and provide opportunities for collaboration and exchange. By the time they graduate, students have accumulated not only abstract knowledge and practical skills but also the kind of professional connections necessary to launch their careers as world-class researchers.

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Contacts:
Neil Calder

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