Joseph DeSimone receives $250,000 Kabiller Prize in Nanoscience and Nanomedicine

Northwestern University's International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN) announced that chemist Joseph M. DeSimone of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is the recipient of the inaugural $250,000 Kabiller Prize in Nanoscience and Nanomedicine. The Kabiller Prize and the $10,000 Kabiller Young Investigator Award in Nanoscience and Nanomedicine were established by the IIN earlier this year through a generous donation from Northwestern trustee and alumnus David G. Kabiller. Recipients are selected by an international committee of experts in the field. Joseph DeSimone Awarded Kabiller Prize in Nanoscience and Nanomedicine Kabiller Prize recipients Joseph DeSimone (third from left) and Warren Chan (far right) were honored by Northwestern's International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN) at a private dinner Sept. 29. Also pictured are Northwestern trustee and alumnus David G. Kabiller (far left), whose gift established the prizes; Dr. Eric Neilson (second from left), vice president for medical affairs and Lewis Landsberg Dean at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; and Chad Mirkin (second from right), IIN director and the George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry. "These awards were established not only to recognize the people who are designing the technologies that will drive innovation in nanomedicine, but also to educate and shine a light on the great promises of nanomedicine," said Kabiller, co-founder of AQR Capital Management, a global investment management firm in Greenwich, Connecticut. The Kabiller Prize is among the largest monetary awards in the U.S. for outstanding achievement in the field of nanotechnology and its application to medicine and biology. "The world needs more people like David Kabiller," said Chad A. Mirkin, IIN director and the George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry in Northwestern's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. "He is dedicated to making a difference and to improving the world through advances in science." DeSimone's innovative research applying nanotechnology to medicine captures the vision of the Kabiller Prize. "Joe is a Renaissance scientist, who has made some of the most important advances in the field of nanomedicine," Mirkin said. One of those advances is PRINT (Particle Replication in Non-wetting Templates) technology, invented by DeSimone in 2005. The technology enables the fabrication of precisely defined, shape-specific nanoparticles for advances in disease treatment and prevention. Nanoparticles made with PRINT technology are being used to develop new cancer treatments, inhalable therapeutics for treating pulmonary diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and asthma, and next-generation vaccines for malaria, pneumonia and dengue. "I'm thrilled and humbled to be recognized with the inaugural Kabiller Prize by such a world-class institution as Northwestern's International Institute for Nanotechnology," DeSimone said. "The PRINT technology invented in my laboratory continues to be developed for many different applications to improve human health, and my students are leading that charge. This recognition is really a testament to their brilliant efforts." DeSimone is the Chancellor's Eminent Professor of Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill). He also is the William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering at North Carolina State University and of chemistry at UNC-Chapel Hill. DeSimone founded a startup company based on PRINT called Liquidia Technologies that is building on the promise of vaccine clinical trial results. The company already has spun out two more companies to use PRINT to improve human health, one in ophthalmology and one in oral health. "The invention of PRINT technology and its application toward improvements in human health will shape the field of nanomedicine for decades to come and improve the quality of life for many," said Dr. Eric Neilson, vice president for medical affairs and Lewis Landsberg Dean at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The International Institute for Nanotechnology also announced that Warren Chan, a professor at the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto, is the recipient of the inaugural Kabiller Young Investigator Award. The award recognizes young researchers who have made a recent groundbreaking discovery with the potential to make a lasting impact in the same arena. Chan and his research group have developed an infectious disease diagnostic device for point-of-care use that can differentiate symptoms. A diagnosis occurs when a patient pricks his or her finger, the sample is amplified, and a disease is detected using a smartphone app. (More than one disease can be detected.) Results for patients infected with HIV and hepatitis B are available in less than one hour at 90 percent accuracy, and the diagnostic device costs less than $100. The device currently is being commercialized and could change the way diseases are diagnosed and tracked globally. "I am very honored to receive the Kabiller Young Investigator Award in Nanoscience and Nanomedicine, and I hope this recognition helps to inspire other young people in the field of nanotechnology," Chan said. DeSimone and Chan were celebrated at a private dinner last night in Chicago. The two will be publicly recognized and present their research Oct. 1 at the 2015 IIN Symposium, which will include talks from other prestigious speakers, including 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner William E. Moerner.
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Brilliant colors from environmentally friendly quantum dots

Quantum dots have made it possible to substantially increase color quality in LCD displays. However, these cadmium-based nanocrystals have proven to be harmful to the environment. Fraunhofer researchers are working together with an industry partner to develop a promising alternative: quantum dots based on indium phosphide. Quantum dots Quantum dots make it possible to display any color in full brilliance. (Image: Fraunhofer IAP) The landscape is breathtaking. Because it is so real, you forget for a moment that the eagle circling the sky is not outside your window, but is instead on your television. Such deceptively realistic images are not only a result of the high resolution displays available on modern devices; the colors play a role as well, and they are becoming ever brighter and richer. This is possible thanks to tiny crystals known as quantum dots (QDs), which have a thickness of merely a few atoms. These nanoparticles located in the backlight units of QD LCD displays offer a cornucopia of colors, but also they possess another extraordinary characteristic. “One big advantage of quantum dots is that their optical properties can be selectively modified by changing their size,” explains Dr. Armin Wedel of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Potsdam, Germany. “This means you no longer have to manufacture three separate materials for the colors red, green and blue; now it is possible to do the job with just one.” This saves both time and money. Over the last several years, Fraunhofer IAP researchers in Potsdam have been developing quantum dots for customers in a wide range of industry sectors. They manufacture the nanoparticles using chemical synthesis and customize them for each application. This initially results in very small particles that radiate blue light. At sizes above approximately 2 nanometers, the color changes to green. The largest of the quantum particles, at 7 nanometers in size, emit within the red spectral range. Currently, Wedel and his team are developing quantum dots for display backlighting on behalf of Dutch company NDF Special Light Products B.V. These quantum dots will improve the color rendering and color realism of the displays. Here, the crystals are manufactured for the different emission colors and embedded in plastics. These plastics are subsequently processed into films and built into the display as a conversion film. Alternative materials based on indium phosphide With this task, researchers are facing a new challenge. The EU Commission is currently considering a ban on cadmium in consumer goods by 2017, because of its damaging effect on the environment. However, it is also considered to be the ideal material for manufacturing the crystals – cadmium-based quantum dots can achieve a narrowband spectrum sharpness of just 20 to 25 nanometers. Display manufacturers around the world are now looking for suitable replacement materials with similar characteristics. Against this backdrop, Fraunhofer IAP looks to be on a promising path. “We are testing quantum dots based on indium phosphide together with NDF Special Light Products,” says Wedel. His team has already managed to achieve a spectral sharpness of 40 nanometers. At first glance, that does not seem too far away from the quality achievable with cadmium-based quantum dots, but the differences in color fidelity are still present. “We see this as a good first milestone, but we are still striving for further improvement,” says Wedel. This effort is set to pay off, as television manufacturers are not the only ones who covet these little color wonders. There is also great market potential for special applications such as medical or aeronautical equipment displays. Furthermore, quantum dots can also increase the efficiency of solar cells, or can be employed in bioanalytics. For such special cases, the optical characteristics of the quantum dots must be precisely configured to the specific application requirements. “We’re in a good position thanks to our extensive experience in manufacturing quantum dots to meet specific customer requirements,” says Wedel.
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Phoenix effect: Resurrected proteins double their natural activity

Proteins play a large role in sustaining life functions. These molecules ensure that vital reactions, such as DNA replication or metabolism catalysis, are carried out within cells. When proteins die, the so-called process of denaturation takes place, which is accompanied by the unfolding of the native three-dimensional structure of the protein and hence the loss of its activity. By reassembling this polymer tangle back, it is possible to renature the protein and restore its activity, but this procedure requires much effort. Denatured proteins often pile up to form toxic aggregates, which is the underlying reason for many illnesses such as Alzheimer, Parkinson and Huntington. Therefore the investigation of denaturation and renaturation mechanisms cannot be overestimated. In a new study ("Enzyme renaturation to higher activity driven by the sol-gel transition: Carbonic anhydrase"), David Avnir, professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and Vladimir Vinogradov, head of the International Laboratory of Solution Chemistry of Advanced Materials and Technologies at ITMO University, found that bringing proteins back to life is not only possible, but can be carried out with an improvement over their original activity. This strange phenomenon owes to a new technique of protein renaturation based on combining thermally denatured proteins (carbonic anhydrase) with a colloid solution of inorganic aluminum oxide nanoparticles. As the solution turns into a gel, the nanoparticles start binding together, exerting mechanical pressure on the protein molecules. As a result, each molecule ends up entrapped in its own individual porous shell, which prevents the malign process of protein aggregation and eventually restores their original spatial structure. Having compared the level of activity of proteins before denaturation and after renaturation, the chemists discovered that the resurrected ones were 180 percent more active than their native predecessors. "Every protein molecule has its active center, which allows the molecule to interact with the environment. The active center, however, constitutes only 5 - 10 percent of the molecule surface," explains Vladimir Vinogradov. "During renaturation we deal with a long unfolded molecule containing an active center and several extending tails. The active center and nanoparticles have similar charges and will repel, while the tails have an opposite charge and will gravitate towards the nanoparticles. In the end, when a shell forms around the molecule, the active center will be as far away from the wall of the shell as possible. Instead, the active center will be directed right into the pore in the shell, thus increasing the protein's chances to interact with the substrate." Researchers say that this technique only works with unfolded denatured proteins. The orientation of native proteins within the shell cannot be controlled in the same way, because the active center can find itself anywhere, including facing the wall, which entirely excludes the possibility of interacting with the substrate. As professor David Avnir explains, one possible application of the discovery could help optimize the fabrication of drugs based on active proteins: "Some of the most effective drugs are based on active proteins that are harvested from cell cultures. However, from all proteins grown in such a way only 20 percent are native and suitable for use, while the remaining 80 percent are the so-called inclusion bodies, that is, non-functioning denatured proteins. Obviously, knowing how to convert denatured proteins to their native state, and on top of it with increased level activity, would allow pharmaceutical companies to lower the price of many drugs making them more affordable."
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