Grants and Contributions:

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Title:
Synthesis and Functionalisation of nanomaterials by short pulse laser and its applications
Agreement Number:
RGPIN
Agreement Value:
$155,000.00
Agreement Date:
May 10, 2017 -
Organization:
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Location:
Ontario, CA
Reference Number:
GC-2017-Q1-01975
Agreement Type:
Grant
Report Type:
Grants and Contributions
Additional Information:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year. (2017-2018 to 2022-2023)

Recipient's Legal Name:
Venkatakrishnan, Krishnan (Ryerson University)
Program:
Discovery Grants Program - Individual
Program Purpose:

My research group has made important findings in short-pulsed laser nano material synthesis directly from solid targets (without the employment of chemical agents) and its functionalisation for various applications. We have discovered that synthesized nano-materials possess multiple phases & various morphologies, and exhibit unique optical and biochemical properties (new functionalities), none of which have been observed before. The impurity-free synthesis makes these nano-materials particularly suitable for sensing, environmental and biomedical applications. The proposed program both continues and expands upon this research.

We aim to uncover and demonstrate the fundamentals of nano-material formation and our research findings will give us a better understanding of the physics of nano-material formation, which will allow us to meet one of the main objectives of this research: to tailor the functionality of nano-materials to specific applications in chemical, biomedical and defense arenas.

1) Contrast agent for ultrabright fluorescent imaging: A synthesised nano template provides tremendous potential towards the photon sensitization of metallic, semiconductor and magnetic-based nanomaterials and thereafter for enhanced photoluminance, which could be used as an agent to increase the contrast of florescent microscopy cellular imaging.

2) SERS-based ultrasensitive detection: This research program will investigate non-plasmonic SERS & apply the knowledge to develop techniques for in-situ monitoring of cell activity, sensing toxic chemicals, and detecting traces of explosives from standoff distances.

3)All-in-one therapeutic agents: Many of these engineered Bio Nano-Materials are multi-functionalized, such as with SERS enhancement, fluorescent enhancement and biocompatibility. Research of these bio-nanomaterials may lead to new cancer therapeutics that integrates several functions into a single medication that would enable mutli-mode diagnoses and impede the growth of cancer cells with no side effects on healthy cells. Our research in this area will contribute significantly to the improvement of the specificity, selectivity and safety of cancer nanomedicine.

4)Rapid healing wound dressing and antibacterial coating for textiles: The bioactivity and biocompatibility of the engineered 3-D nanostructures will be used for developing new bio-functionalized scaffolds and implantable materials in regenerative medicine and clinical tissue engineering, and the knowledge gained will be used to develop wound dressing and self-cleaning cloth for soldiers.

In summary, the proposed research is multidisciplinary in nature and will result in high quality HQP training in the synthesis and functionalisation of next-generation nano-materials for diverse applications in chemical/bio sensing, defence, cancer therapy, wound healing and diagnostic applications.