Divisional Seminar

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Title: "Renal Clearable Gold Nanoparticles: Fundamentals and Biomedical Implications" 

Renal-clearable gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) represent a distinct class of nanomaterials engineered for efficient and exclusive elimination through the kidneys1. Their rapid clearance is enabled by their ultrasmall hydrodynamic dimensions (<3nm) in circulation, which allow them to traverse the glomerular filtration barrier (6-8nm) and achieve near-complete urinary excretion following intravenous administration. Beyond their favorable pharmacokinetics and safety profile, these AuNPs are intrinsically fluorescent and highly electron-dense2, enabling multimodal imaging of renal transport processes across fluorescence, electron, and bright-field microscopies. In this talk, I will demonstrate how renal-clearable AuNPs serve as discovery tools that reveal previously unrecognized physiological principles at the nanoscale, including size- 3and charge-dependent renal clearance of engineered nanoparticles4 and membrane-extrusion–mediated organelle elimination and regeneration in healthy kidneys5. In disease states, these nanoparticles uncover characteristic disruptions in renal handling—such as reduced glomerular filtration, prolonged tubular retention, and diminished cellular uptake—providing sensitive responses of dysfunction that precede conventional clinical markers6. Leveraging these mechanistic insights7, we are translating renal-clearable AuNPs into clinical applications as first-in-class contrast agents for imaging-guided cancer surgery8, sensitive blood and urinary biomarkers for early kidney injury detection9, 10, and precision delivery vehicles that enhance therapeutic specificity while minimizing off-target toxicity11. Together, this renal-clearable nanotechnology serves as a powerful bridge between nanoscale physiology and clinical practice, enabling earlier diagnosis, real-time monitoring, and safer, more effective treatment of kidney disease and cancer.

Biography: Dr. Jie Zheng received his B.S. in Chemistry from Inner Mongolia University and his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2005 under the mentorship of Dr. Robert M. Dickson. During his doctoral training, he received the House–Flashka–Ashby Graduate Student Award, the Nanoscience & Technology Fellowship, and the Materials Research Society Graduate Student Award. After postdoctoral training in Xiaowei Zhuang’s group at Harvard University, he joined the Department of Chemistry at The University of Texas at Dallas in 2008 and was promoted to Full Professor in 2018. He currently holds the Distinguished Chair of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at UT Dallas and serves as an Adjunct Full Professor in the Department of Urology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Zheng is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and a recipient of the ACS Doherty Award for his contributions to renal-clearable nanomedicines. His research is supported by the Welch Foundation, Lyda Hill Biomedical Innovation Fund, UT STARs Program, CPRIT, NSF, NCI, and NIDDK. He has published over 70 peer-reviewed papers with ~17,000 citations and was named a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher in 2025.