Dr. Run Zhang
Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Title: Optical Materials in Bioanalysis and Diseases Treatment
Abstract:
Small biomolecules are building blocks of living organisms, playing indispensable roles in all biological processes, such as enzymatic reaction, metabolism, growth, adaptation, and various disease development and progression. Of various biomolecules, reactive oxygen/nitrogen/carbonyl/sulphur species (ROS/RNS/RCS/RSS) are a family of highly reactive metabolites that regulate cellular homeostasis and act as prime modulators of cellular dysfunction, contributing to disease pathophysiology. Therefore, determination and regulation the levels of these biomolecules in situ are essential for better understanding their biological roles in biomedical systems, and thus contributing to various diseases early diagnosis, treatment, and treatment assessment. In this talk, I will present our research progress on the development optical materials, including responsive molecules and nanomaterials, for reactive biomolecules sensing, imaging, and levels regulation for diseases detection, treatment, and treatment monitoring. The development of optical molecules and nanomaterials-based responsive probes for the biomolecules’ determination will be first discussed with a particular focus on the probes for background-free luminescence sensing and imaging. I will briefly introduce our research on responsive nanomedicine for ROS/RNS/RCS levels modulation for tumour treatment. I will then highlight our efforts devoted to translating the responsive probes as clinical tools for diseases detection and commercial products.
Acknowledgements
Dr Run Zhang gratefully acknowledges the financial supports from the Australian Research Council (DE170100092) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (APP1175808, APP1125794). He also wishes to acknowledge the facilities and the assistance of Queensland Node of the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF-Q), Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis (CMM), and microscope unit in Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB), The University of Queensland.
Reference
1. J. Liu, L. Sun, L. Li, R. Zhang, Z.P. Xu, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2021, 13, 7115.
2. R. Zhang, J. Yuan, Acc. Chem. Res. 2020, 53, 1316.
3. R. Zhang, J. Yong, J. Yuan, Z. P. Xu, Coord. Chem. Rev. 2020, 408, 213182.
4. M. Wu, X, Niu, R. Zhang, Z. P. Xu, Adv. Drug. Deliv. Rev., 2022, 114360.
5. C. Liu, R. Zhang, W. Zhang, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 8642.
6. R. Zhang, L. Liang, Q. Meng, et al., Small 2019, 15, 1803712.
Biography:
Dr Run Zhang is a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland (AIBN UQ). He received his PhD of Chemistry from the Dalian University of Technology in 2012. He moved Macquarie University in 2012 and received Macquarie University Research Fellow in 2013 to build his independent research career in Australia. He joined AIBN UQ in 2016 and here he was awarded Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (ARC DECRA) in 2017, and National Health and Medical Research Council Emerging Leadership Fellow (NHMRC EL) in 2020. He now leads a team of 15 researchers at AIBN UQ, working on the development of responsive molecules/nanomaterials for optical biosensing and imaging, early disease detection and treatment, foods/agricultural/environmental analysis. Dr. Run Zhang has published more than 150 research papers in a number of premier journals, such as Nature Photonics, Accounts of Chemical Research, Journal of the American Chemical Society, and Angewandte Chemie. His publications have attracted over 5800 citations, resulting in h-index of 43.