报告题目：光触发药物超快速释放在大脑实时活动控制方面的应用研究
Optically-triggered Compound Ultrafast Release to Study Real-time Brain Activity
报告人：秦真鹏博士
美国University of Texas at Dallas，机械及生物医学工程系
美国University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center，外科系
报告时间：2017年5月3日10：00-11:30
报告地点：综合楼C区305会议室
报告摘要: Understanding how the brain controls behavior requires advanced tools to manipulate brain activity. Inspired by recent progress in optogenetics and caged compounds, the overall objective of our research seeks to develop a new set of tools that will allow localized and ultrafast control of brain activity to influence behavior without genetic modification. Briefly, our new technique involves using light stimulation to rapidly release compounds that are encapsulated in tiny nanometer-sized particles. Specifically, plasmonic gold-coated liposomes, i.e. plasmonic liposomes, consist of a liposomal core and a thin gold nanoparticle shell. Near-infrared laser pulse activates plasmonic liposomes to rapidly release the encapsulated compounds. We observed that near-infrared laser irradiation triggers the release of fluorescent dye from plasmonic liposomes within 0.1 ms and the release is highly dependent on laser pulse number and energy. Furthermore, we have demonstrated this capability using in vitro assays including regulating calcium signaling and neuron inhibition. Compared with other techniques including caged compound, this ultrafast near-infrared light-driven molecular release method is easily adaptable to deliver a wide range of bioactive molecules with an ultrafast optical switch, enabling new possibilities to investigate brain activities within individual neurons and neural networks.
秦真鹏博士简历
Zhenpeng Qin is an assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas at Dallas, with joint appointments in Bioengineering and Surgery (UT Southwestern Medical Center). He received his PhD and post-doctoral training in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, respectively, both at the University of Minnesota (2009 – 2014). Prior to Minnesota, he obtained a BS in Thermal and Power Engineering from Xi’an Jiaotong University (2007) and a MS in Mechanical Engineering from University of Akron (2009). His research interests center on the fundamental understanding of the nano-thermo-bio interface between nanoparticles and biomolecules (proteins and lipids) and applications of this knowledge to diagnose infectious disease diagnostics and understand the brain. He received external funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), UT seed grants, and non-profit organizations.