VINSE COLLOQUIUM SERIES
Dr. Nicole F. Steinmetz
Mt. Sinai Scholar
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
“From Black-Eyed Peas to Biomedical Nanotechnology”
Abstract: Sizing and shaping of nanostructured features with temporal and spatial control is a key opportunity to produce the next-generation of higher-performing products with diverse applications. A quintessential tenet in nanotechnology is the self-assembly of several functional components into a single system. Nanoscale self-assembly is a technique that Nature masters with atomic precision; genetic programming provides the highest achievable reproducibility. Therefore we turned toward the study and application of Nature’s nanomaterials, specifically the structures formed by plant viruses. Plant viruses come in many shapes and sizes but most species form highly uniform structures. The nanomanufacturing of plant virus-based biomaterials is highly scalable and economic through molecular farming in plants. Viruses have naturally evolved to deliver cargos to specific cells and tissues; and the medical research thrust in my laboratory is aimed at understanding these natural properties for effectively tailoring tissue-specificity for applications in molecular imaging and therapeutic interventions targeting oncological and cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, virus-based nanoparticles have an intrinsic propensity to self-assemble into discrete nanoparticles as well as higher-order, mesoscale assemblies; within the materials science-focused research thrust, we seek to exploit these phenomena for the fabrication of metamaterials with applications in photonics and novel electronics. In this presentation, I will highlight structure-function based studies specifically characterizing tissue-specificity of virus-based materials of varying geometries, i.e. size, flexibility, aspect ratio. We will discuss self-assembly protocols that allow shape switching of rods to spheres, facilitate the synthesis of nanorods of varying but defined aspect ratios, and self-assembly of co-operative nanoparticle networks. Further, I will discuss our recent research on the development and application of VNP-based materials in drug delivery/immunotherapies and molecular magnetic resonance imaging.