Nanomedicine and Nanotechnology Innovation

Press Releases

Quantum Dots Reach Clinical Lab

May 24, 2007 — Bioconjugated quantum dots — luminescent nanoparticles linked to biological molecules — have shown great promise as tools for disease diagnosis and treatment, but their medical use has been limited by the lack of specific instructions for clinicians. Now, new clinical protocols detailing how to prepare, process and quantify these tiny particles will arm laboratory physicians with the information they need to track biomarkers in cells and tissues.

Gold Nanoprobes May Allow Earlier Cancer Detection

December 28, 2007 — Using tiny gold particles embedded with dyes, scientists at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology have shown that they can identify tumors under the skin of a living animal. These tools may allow doctors to detect and diagnose cancer earlier and less invasively. Studded with antibody fragments called ScFv peptides that bind cancer cells, the gold particles grab onto tumors after their injection. When illuminated with a laser beam, the tumor-bound particles send back a signal that is specific to the dye.

Georgia Tech and Emory University researchers first to image hydrogen peroxide in animals: Nanoparticle Could Help Detect Many Diseases Early

August 20, 2007 — Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University researchers are the first to create a nanoparticle capable of detecting and imaging trace amounts of hydrogen peroxide in animals. The nanoparticles could someday be used as a simple, all-purpose diagnostic tool to detect the earliest stages of any disease that involves chronic inflammation — everything from cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease to arthritis.

Astronomy Technology Brings Nanoparticle Probes into Sharper Focus

February 19, 2008 — While pondering the challenges of distinguishing one nano-sized probe image from another in a mass of hundreds or thousands of nanoprobes, researchers at Georgia Tech and Emory University made an interesting observation. The tiny, clustered dots of light looked a lot like a starry sky on a clear night. The biomedical researchers realized that astronomers had already made great strides in solving a problem very similar to their own — isolating and analyzing one dot (in this case a star) in a crowded field of light. They hypothesized that a computer system designed for stellar photometry, a branch of astronomy focused on measuring the brightness of stars, could hold the solution to their problem.

Researchers Learn to Control Nanotube Dimensions
Inorganic metal oxide nanostructures form in water-based solution

August 23, 2007 — Moving beyond carbon nanotubes, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are developing insights into a remarkable class of tubular nanomaterials that can be produced in water with a high degree of control over their diameter and length. Based on metal oxides in combination with silicon and germanium, such single-walled inorganic nanotubes could be useful in a range of nanotechnology applications that require precise control over nanotube dimensions.

Fiber-based Nanotechnology Would Harvest Energy From Physical Movement To Power Electronic Devices

February 13, 2008 — By combining current flow from many fiber pairs woven into a shirt or jacket could allow the wearer's body movement to power a range of portable electronic devices. The fibers could also be woven into curtains, tents or other structures to capture energy from wind motion, sound vibration or other mechanical energy. "The fiber-based nanogenerator would be a simple and economical way to harvest energy from physical movement," said Zhong Lin Wang, a Regents professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Study Ranks Georgia Tech Highly in Nanotechnology

January 16, 2007 — The Georgia Institute of Technology ranks third in the nation for the number of nanotechnology researchers that are "highly cited" in peer-reviewed publications, and in the top ten for the number of first authors publishing in such journals.

Georgia Tech/Emory Get $19 Million for Nanotech Cancer Center

October 3, 2005 — The National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health has selected Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology as one of seven National Centers of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE). The new center will be named the "Emory-Georgia Tech Nanotechnology Center for Personalized and Predictive Oncology." It will be housed both in the Emory Winship Cancer Institute (WCI) and on the Georgia Tech campus, and will function as a "discovery accelerator" to integrate nanotechnology into personalized cancer treatments and early detection. The awarded amount is $3.66 million for the first year, and is expected to reach $19-20 million over a five-year period.

Georgia Tech/Emory Get $11.5 M for Nano Cardiology Research

April 29, 2005 — Despite the fact that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, there is a lack of understanding of the fundamental molecular biology behind the disease and how certain genetic factors contribute to plaque build-up in blood vessels. To address that, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University $11.5 million to establish a new research program focused on creating advanced nanotechnologies to analyze plaque formation on the molecular level and detect plaque at its early stages.

Georgia Tech/Emory/MCG Partner on $10M Nanomedicine Center

October 13, 2006 — The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced an award to the Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University and Medical College of Georgia (MCG) for a grant to partner on a Nanomedicine Development Center that will focus on DNA damage repair. The new NIH nanomedicine center to be based at Georgia Tech will focus on nucleoprotein machines. With up to $10 million in funding, the center will be Georgia Tech and Emory's third NIH-funded nanomedicine/nanotechnology center in less than two years.

Georgia Tech Merges Traditional Nanotechnology with Life Sciences

March 2007 — As director of Georgia Tech's Nanotechnology Research Center, Professor James Meindl is leading the development of an $80 million facility that will support the Institute's vision for a new kind of technology based on the merger of biological and physical sciences at the nanometer scale.

Other Nanotechnology Press Releases

General Information: Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Research Areas

Like many future areas of scientific exploration, nanoscience and nanotechnology exist on the borders between disciplines. No longer is research conducted in a neat, compartmentalized fashion that closely parallels the structure of academic departments. Nanoscience and nanotechnology bring together students, researchers, and industrial partners from a host of different specialized fields. At Georgia Tech, several academic units are collectively involved in interdisciplinary research in nanoscience and nanotechnology that encompass five major areas.

Nanomedicine and Nano-biotechnology

One of the most important areas of nanoscience and nanotechnology study, nanomedicine and nano-biotechnology research continues to dominate inquiries at the nano-scale level. Georgia Tech researchers are on the cutting edge of this important trend, creating innovative systems for drug delivery and cancer detection.

Synthesis and Characteristics of Nanomaterials

The study of innovative ways to synthesize materials using nanomaterials' unique properties provides a strong basis for important nanoscience and nanotechnology breakthroughs. From inquiries into the properties of gold quantum dots to revolutionary work with carbon nanotubes, Georgia Tech researchers are focused on uncovering the unique properties of nanomaterials that are the stepping stones to tomorrow's technologies.

Properties of Nanomaterials

Tiny pens with built-in heaters used to write microscopic letters invisible to the naked human eye, lasers blinking at speeds a million times faster than a camera flash — these are a few of the research tools Georgia Tech scientists use to study the characteristics of nanomaterials in order to harness their power for technological innovations.

Nanoscale Modeling and Simulation

Georgia Tech scientists know that small is different. That's why they rely on innovative technological partnerships in diverse fields of study to uncover the secrets of nanomaterials, using computer simulation and imaging procedures to find golden techniques for revolutionizing our world.

Nanodevices, Nanophotonics, and Nanosystems

Nanoscale particles display a wide range of fascinating electronic, optical, thermal, and reinforcement properties. Georgia Tech researchers are daily investigating nanomaterials' unique characteristics for revolutionary applications in nanodevices, nanophotonics, and nanosystems.

People

Gang Bao

Professor, Biomedical Engineering
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Shuming Nie

Professor, Biomedical Engineering
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James D. Meindl

Director, Nanotechnology Research Center
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Zhong Lin Wang

Director, Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
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Lawrence Bottomley

Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry
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Mostafa A. El-Sayed

Director, Laser Dynamics Laboratory
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