NER: Ultra-small nanoparticles for thermal therapies at molecular and cellular level

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY

Investigators

Abstract

CBET-0708521 Borca-Tasciuc This proposal investigates the fundamentals of novel, nanoparticle based treatments to inactivate individual copies of infectious viruses. The envisioned treatments involve active nano-bioconjugated systems composed of nanoparticles selectively attached to a virus or ingested by a trap-cell that induce a highly localized heating when subjected to a radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic wave. In this proposal the applicants will investigate fundamental aspects related to the heat generation and heat dissipation mechanisms in ultra-small gold particle suspensions as well as particle cell systems. They will measure for the first time the local temperature rise in a nanoparticle-bioconjugate system subjected to RF electromagnetic field. This will be a first, pioneering step toward understanding nanoscale nature of heat generation and dissipation mechanisms in nanobioconjugated complexes.