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Taiwanese scientist makes breakthrough in biotracer research
2010/04/16 21:10:57 |
Taipei, April 16 (CNA) A Taiwan-trained biomedical engineer has gained international renown with a breakthrough in creating a new generation of biotracer, the National Science Council (NSC) said Friday.
Lin Cheng-an, an assistant professor in Chung Yuan Christian University's Department of Biomedical Engineering, received the 2010 Young Investigator Award from the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE) in January for his achievements in using nanotechnology in developing new materials for biotracer production, the council said.
His paper, which described a novel method of synthesizing fluorescent gold nanoclusters for molecular imaging inside the human body, was carried in the 2009 ACS Nano, a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Chemical Society.
It ranked third in terms of the click through rate among the journal's nanotechnology-related papers in 2009.
The paper even attracted the attention of "Nature, " one of the world's most prestigious science journals, which published an interview with him in its March 25 issue.
"It marked the first time that the world's top science journal has carried an exclusive interview with a young Taiwanese scientist," NSC Deputy Minister Chen Cheng-hong said at a news conference. "It is an honor for our academic sector."
Speaking on the same occasion, Lin said biotracers are an important tool to track and mark cells in biomedical research. At present, quantum dots are the preferred material for cellular imaging because of their stability and brightness relative to organic dyes.
But they still have major drawbacks. They cannot be used in humans because they contain toxic ions, such as cadmium.
In comparison, Lin said, the biotracer he developed using fluorescent gold nanoclusters are more suitable for molecular imaging inside the human body because nanoparticles are smaller, and gold is a bioinert and biocompatible material.
"It will allow us to track cells -- for example, an antibody that is a marker for cancer -- over a long period of time, " Lin said, adding that the material can be used in biophotonics, biomedicine and molecular biotechnology.
Lin acknowledged that his new material still needs to undergo more biosafety and biocompatibility, and other issues, such as how to flush it out of one's system, also need to be resolved before it can be used in humans on a clinical basis.
Lin said that at present, he is collaborating with Yeh Hung-yi, a cardiologist at Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei, to use the nano-biotracer to mark stem cells taken from the human body and inject them into the deformed rear limbs in mice to help them recover.
The 33-year-old is a locally trained scientist who obtained his bachelor, master's and doctoral degrees in biomedical engineering from Chun Yuan Christian University.
In his interview with Nature, Lin said he originally studied the biological effects of ultrasound stimulation. Under his mentor Walter Chang's encouragement, he decided to focus his efforts on nanobiotechnology in 2002 when the NSC began promoting a national nanotechnology program.
He received a scholarship co-sponsored by the NSC and Germany's DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst) to do post-doctor research on nanobiophotonics.
The research project allowed him to receive tutoring from both Taiwan and German collaborators, which Lin said gave him plenty of inspiration.
"Nanobiophotonics -- generating photons to image or manipulate biological materials at the nanoscale -- was quite new in Taiwan at that time, " Lin recalled in the interview, adding that he and his mentor's initial efforts to synthesize fluorescent nanocrystals failed.
"Collaborators in Germany helped us gain the necessary skills, " Lin said.
In 2005, Lin said, Professor Chang arranged for him to visit Wolfgang Parak's group, then at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, for two months to learn the skills needed to synthesize quantum dots.
On his future career plans, Lin said he hoped to develop some promising nano-related products, especially for clinical use, and patent them.
"Once they are on the market, the benefit of the technology transfer will come back to our university for research and education efforts," he added. CNA Photo 19, 21 (By Lin Hui-chun and Sofia Wu) enditem/ls
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