Join us for a special Nano@Tech lecture featuring Yin Yang, of the School of Materials Science and Engineering, and Natalie Fan, of the Schools of Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, as they discuss thier recent nanotechnology research.

Selective Deposition of Au onto 40-nm Ag Nanocubes with Excellent Plasmonic Properties and Chemical Stability

Abstract: Silver nanocrystals have received considerable attention owing to their fascinating optical properties known as localized surface plasmon resonance for applications in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), optical sensing, near-field optical probing, and biomedical imaging. However, poor chemical and structural stability of Ag element in an oxidative environment hinders the usefulness of SERS in biological system. In contrast, gold is well known for its oxide-free surfaces with excellent biocompatibility but it is not an optical enhancer as efficient as Ag. In this talk, I will use Ag nanocubes with edge length of 40 nm as an example to demonstrate our success in epitaxial growth of an ultra-thin Au protective layer (~ 0.6 nm in thickness) on the template of nanocubes to improve their stability without any compromise of the unique plasmonic property of Ag for SERS detection.

Biography: Yin Yang is a visiting doctoral student (Prof. Dong Qin, School of Materials Science and Engineering). Yin received a B.S. in Materials Physics from Fudan University (Shanghai) in 2009, where he is currently working on his Ph.D.

Morphological and Mechanical Behavior of Fibrin Clots in Healthy, Diabetic, and Sickle Cell Anemia Disease States

Abstract: Fibrinogen is an extracellular plasma protein involved in the clotting process of the vascular system. Following the initiation of the coagulation cascade in response to injury to a blood vessel, fibrinogen is converted to its active form of fibrin by the enzyme thrombin. Patients who suffer from diseases such as diabetes mellitus and sickle cell anemia have been shown to have an increased risk of developing thrombotic conditions such as heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes from higher fibrin concentration. In both of diseases, hypercoagulation and hypofibrinolysis of fibrin can induce atherothrombosis or cardiovascular disease. This study focuses on using experimental assays and confocal microscopy to determine the structural and mechanical differences of fibrin clots in these disease states compared to that of healthy patients. The results obtained from this study contribute to the understanding of underlying mechanisms involved in clotting that may lead to future developments to reduce the risk of vascular disease in diabetes and sickle cell anemia.

Biography: Natalie Fan is a joint research assistant in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering (Prof. Rodney Averett) and the School of Biomedical Engineering (Prof. Manu Platt). She graduated from Georgia Tech with a B.S degree in Biomedical Engineering in 2013.