Biography

Research interest: Spintronics in nanostructural materials

Most important experience abroad:
2009-2010. Visiting scientist, Universität Wien, Austria
2003-2005. Individual Marie Curie fellowship, Universität Wien, Austria
1995-1996 TEMPUS scholarship, The University of Manchester, UK

Grants and Awards:
2010. European Research Council (ERC) Starting Independent Researcher Grant
2006. Talentum prize of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
2005. Marie-Curie reintegration grant (ERG)
2003. Individual Marie-Curie postdoctoral fellowship (EIF)

Abstract

Magnetic Resonance in Novel Carbon Nanostructures

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) represent the fourth phase of carbon after diamond, graphite and fullerenes. In particular, CNTs with a single shell, single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have a one-dimensional structure which is accompanied with a strong one-dimensional character, which results in a range of phenomena such as quantum transport behavior, superconductivity, the Peierls transition, and the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid behavior. In addition to the fundamentally interesting properties, these materials are promising for applications with relevance for the Grand Challanges such as in the development of informatics, energetics, and medical sciences. Exploiting this enormous application potential calls for thorough studies with various spectroscopic methods. Much as magnetic resonance (MR) studies of SWCNTs are desired, they are hampered by the absence of well defined and understood ESR active electron spins on them and the uniform distribution of the NMR active 13C nuclei in all species of carbons present in samples. Our solution to these problems was to encapsulate magnetic fullerenes (N@C60 and C59N) inside single-wall CNTs to enable ESR [1] and to grow 13C enriched inner tubes from 13C enriched encapsulated fullerenes to enable NMR [2]. The earlier material contains CNTs filled with linear spin chains which has attracted interest as a potential element for quantum information processing. Temperature and field dependent 13C NMR T1 studies on the 13C enriched inner tubes detects a novel low energy gap [3] that is assigned to exotic Luther-Emery phase in the small diameter SWCNTs [4]. The implications of the correlated state was also studied for spintronics applications [5,6,7].

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) represent the fourth phase of carbon after diamond, graphite and fullerenes. In particular, CNTs with a single shell, single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have a one-dimensional structure which is accompanied with a strong one-dimensional character, which results in a range of phenomena such as quantum transport behavior, superconductivity, the Peierls transition, and the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid behavior. In addition to the fundamentally interesting properties, these materials are promising for applications with relevance for the Grand Challanges such as in the development of informatics, energetics, and medical sciences. Exploiting this enormous application potential calls for thorough studies with various spectroscopic methods. Much as magnetic resonance (MR) studies of SWCNTs are desired, they are hampered by the absence of well defined and understood ESR active electron spins on them and the uniform distribution of the NMR active 13C nuclei in all species of carbons present in samples. Our solution to these problems was to encapsulate magnetic fullerenes (N@C60 and C59N) inside single-wall CNTs to enable ESR [1] and to grow 13C enriched inner tubes from 13C enriched encapsulated fullerenes to enable NMR [2]. The earlier material contains CNTs filled with linear spin chains which has attracted interest as a potential element for quantum information processing. Temperature and field dependent 13C NMR T1 studies on the 13C enriched inner tubes detects a novel low energy gap [3] that is assigned to exotic Luther-Emery phase in the small diameter SWCNTs [4]. The implications of the correlated state was also studied for spintronics applications [5,6,7].
[1] F. Simon et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 136801 (2006).[2] F. Simon et al., Phys. Rev. Lett 95, 017401 (2005).[3] P.M. Singer et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 236403 (2005).[4] B. Dóra et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 166402 (2007). [5] B. Dóra et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 106408 (2008).[6] F. Simon et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 177003 (2008).[7] B. Dora and F. Simon, Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 137001 (2009).

Biography

Miklós Kellermayer is the chairman of the Department of Biophysics and Radiation Biology and Vice Rector for Education and International Affairs at Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary. Trained as a medical doctor and having had international research experience in single-molecule biophysics, he currently focuses on nanobiotechnology, biomolecular mechanics, cytoskeletal nanobiology, protein folding and misfolding. He supervises the Nanoscience Network at Semmelweis University and runs a Nanobiotechnology and In Vivo Imaging Center that houses state-of-the-art instrumentation that allows imaging and manipulation from single molecules to small-animal organisms. Author of four books and more than fifty research papers. Member of the European Commission Expert Advisory Group on Nano, Materials and Productions.

Abstract

Amyloid-based nanotechnology

Miklos Kellermayer, Unige Murvai, Andrea Horvath, Emoke Laszloffi, Katalin Soos, Botond Penke, Ricardo H.J. Pires

Amyloid is a fibrillar or plaque-like aggregate of incorrectly folded proteins. A number of proteins have been shown to form amyloid fibrils thereby causing severe degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases or type 2 diabetes. Although the toxicity of the amyloidogenic peptides is expected to preclude their technological applications, the remarkable self-assembling properties of amyloid fibrils have raised the possibility of certain nanotechnological applications. In the present work we have been investigating amyloid ß25-35 (Aß25-35), a toxic fragment of Alzheimer’s beta peptide. Strikingly, Aß25-35 fibrils spontaneously form a trigonally oriented network on mica by epitaxial growth mechanisms. Chemical reactivity can be furnished to the fibrils by introducing a cysteine residue (Aß25-35_N27C) while maintaining oriented assembly properties. Fibril binding is strongly influenced by KCl concentration, due to the competition between K⁺ ions and the Lys28 side-chain for binding sites on the mica surface. By implementing novel imaging techniques such as in situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning force kymography, we have explored the kinetics of epitaxial assembly of the mutant fibrils at different peptide and KCl concentrations. We measured the length of Aß25-35_N27C fibrils as a function of time. Increasing free peptide concentration enhanced fibril growth rate, and the critical peptide concentration of fibril assembly was 3.92 µM. Increasing KCl concentration decreased the number of fibrils bound to the mica surface, and above 20 mM KCl fibril formation was completely abolished even at high peptide concentrations. By modulating peptide and KCl concentrations in the optimal ranges established here the complexity of the Aß25-35_N27C network can be finely tuned. The generation of a highly oriented and well-controlled nanoscale array with chemical reactivity paves the way towards constructing a nanotechnological chip for diverse functions ranging from nanoelectronic applications to nanomotor arrays.

Head of the Simulation and Theory Group
Centro de Investigación en Nanociencia y Nanotecnología – CIN2 (CSIC-ICN) Campus de la UAB, Barcelona (Spain)

Prof. Ordejón (born in Madrid, 1964) is the head of the Simulation and Theory group in the Centre d’Investigació en Nanociéncia i Nanotecnologia (CIN2-CSIC/ICN) in Barcelona, Spain.

His research focuses on the development of efficient simulation methods based on electronic structure calculatoins in large and complex systems, contributing to the development of methods, techniques and widely used simulation codes like SIESTA. He is very active in the study of the fundamental properties of materials and nanostructures at the atomistic level. His current interests include, among many others, electronic transport in nanoscale devices and electronic processes at surfaces. He maintains frequent collaborations with industrial laboratories on the simulation of materials processes at the atomic level.

Prof. Ordejón has published over 170 scientific articles and has received more than 11000 citations (h-index 42). He is involved in editorial tasks as Co-Editor of EPL (formerly Euro Physics Letters) and Regional Editor of physica status solidi. His recent activities include a strong commitment to service to the scientific community, leading the Physics section of several national evaluation agencies and committees. He was appointed as Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2005.

Abstract

Nanomaterials Simulation and Design for Efficient and Safe Products: Computational and Infrastructure Factors

The advances in the predictive power, speed and reliability of atomistic simulation methods has occurred in the last few decades at a dazzling pace. Simultaneously, the computing power available through High Performance Computing (HPC) facilities has continued to grow exponentially. This combination has brought the paradigm of atomistic simulations as an invaluable tool to understand and predict the behavior of matter at the nanoscale. However, enormous challenges are still ahead of us, to be able to extend the range of practical applicability of these methods to the sizes and time scales which are relevant to most of the practical problems in nanotechnology. In this presentation, I will talk about some of these challenges, and discuss strategies to use the information extracted from ab-initio simulations to tackle problems in the length and time scales which are really relevant for practical uses of nanotechnology. The implications on aspects of direct societal impact of nanotechnology, as the development of products which are ‘safe by design’, will be analyzed. The role and needs for HPC infrastructures and the interaction between these and the development of simulation tools will also be discussed.

Biography

Noemi Csaba has 10 years of experience in the design of delivery systems for drugs and antigens. She obtained her Ph.D. degree at the University of Santiago de Compostela in the field of nanomedicine and nanotechnology and worked as a post-doctoral research fellow at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) at the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences. She currently holds a research and teaching position at the University of Santiago de Compostela at the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Nanobiofar Group.

Noemi is the author of more than 20 scientific articles published in internationally recognized journals, several book chapters, two international patents and more than 30 presentations at international symposia. She has been participating in a number of national and international research projects on nanotechnology applied to vaccine delivery. Currently she leads a regional project on macromolecular drug delivery and she is also responsible for the scientific management of the “Lymphotarg” FP7 Euronanomed consortium.

Abstract

Design of Polyaminoacid: Polysaccharide Nanocarriers for Vaccine Delivery

Over the last decades, the development of safe and effective vaccines has been one of the major goals in global health. Efforts oriented to this aim have been focusing on the search for new antigenic markers, adequate adjuvants and the application of new technologies for improving antigen administration. Despite the great advances regarding the development of safer vaccines, other challenges related to vaccine global efficacy still need to be addressed. Limitations such as the deficient thermostability, improper administration by injection and low immunogenicity of subunit vaccines represent the major obstacles that hinder adequate immunization coverage worldwide. Within this context, it is widely accepted that the use of delivery carriers represent a promising strategy for needle-free and single-dose vaccination. Indeed, the modulation of the composition, particle size and/or surface properties, offer a wide range of possibilities for overcoming the natural barriers and controlling the antigen release.

In the present work we describe the design a series of polyaminoacid: polysaccharide nanostructures as possible delivery systems for the recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen (rHBsAg) as a model viral antigen. These nanocarriers can be prepared in a wide range of polymer ratios by a very mild and simple ionic gelation technique. Carriers show high efficiency for the encapsulation of the selected antigen and display satisfactory stability in suspension both in vivo and in storage conditions. It is also possible to obtain a freeze-dried powder formulation for the long-term storage of the prototypes. Selected compositions have been been evaluated in vitro, showing negligible toxicity and efficient interaction with immune cells. In vivo studies are currently underway in order to further explore the potential of these nanostructures as vaccine delivery carriers.

Dr. Zhang is also a member of China-Finland NAMI (Nanotechonology Strategic Mutual Collaboration Initiative) working group, and is the mainland coordinator of the Mainland-Hong Kong Nanotech Cooperation working group. He has held positions in many international companies such as Alcatel, Lucent, Telcordia (formerly Bellcore), Quantum Bridge (acquired by Motorola), and has many years experience in business strategy, management, information technology consulting, including serving as vice president of AMK Consulting Group. Dr. Zhang received his PhD in electrical engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He has published over 20 papers in international journals and conferences and also served as Guest Editor for Optical Networks Magazine.

Abstract

Suzhou’s Bold Nanotech Initiatives to Enable New Industries and a Green Society

Dr.Zhang will detail the nanotech capabilities and ecosystem that has been developed in Suzhou, China. The garden city of Suzhou has the vibrant Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) which houses over 20000 multinational and Chinese companies, and is now home to Nanopolis Suzhou, China’s national nanotech commercialization cluster. During the past 5 years, SIP has attracted over 2500 nanotech related experts, entrepreneurs and engineers, and incubated and supported over 100 nanotech related companies both from China and overseas. A further 10 billion RMB (about 1.5 billion USD) has been committed for the next 5 years to further develop Suzhou high-tech and nanotech enabled industries. The SIP is equipped with the state of art micro & nano-fabrication and characterization facilities; and has developed world class R&D and commercialization capabilities in the areas of Micro- & Nano-manufacturing Technologies, Energy and Green Technologies, and Nano Medicine. It includes commercialization platforms for LED, OLED, Printed Electronics, Battery Technology, Targeted Drug Delivery, GaN based Power Devices, and Nano-Carbon materials and applications. SIP has also established complete industry value chains for LED, MEMS, Laser, RNA, etc. fields. The talk will show how a whole nanotech ecosystem has been built up in Suzhou, including research institutes, universities, companies, start-ups, platforms, infrastructure, as well as attractive investment support and government funding initiatives for those interested in coming to Suzhou.

Ernst-Udo Sievers is managing director of i.con. innovation GmbH, an innovation management consulting firm based in Stuttgart, Germany. He was one of the initiators of the ‘ProNano’ project which aims to support research teams in nanotechnology to bring their results successfully to the markets.

Udo holds an Msc. in Economics and Business Administration of the Technical University of Aachen (1984) and an Msc. in Geophysics of the University of Munich (1980). He has more than 20 years of professional experience in technology assessment, business development and innovation management for industrial companies and research institutions. After years in oil and gas industry he worked as a business and innovation consultant since 1986 and became a partner in i.con. innovation in 1990. From 1995 to 1997 he worked as an in-house expert at DG Energy, managing demonstration and exploitation support contracts for new technologies in the field of rational use of energy in industry and became a managing director of i.con. innovation in 1999. From 2003 to 2006 he was member of the working group on SME innovation management and finance in the German Chancellor’s Initiative „Partners for Innovation“. He is board member of Greenovate! Europe EEIG, an initiative of European innovation professionals and industrial stakeholders to promote sustainable innovation in industry, and member of the management team of the Technology Initiative of German Surface Engineering Industries.

In the ProNano project, Udo Sievers is co-ordinating the support actions to research teams in Germany and contributing experience and know how from over 300 research spin-offs and technology-based start-up companies which he and his colleagues from i.con. innovation have supported over their 20 years in business from the development of first business ideas through to market introduction of developed products or processes.

Emmanuelle Brun (MSc. Chemistry) started her career at the German Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BGIA) in 2001. Since 2004, she has been Project Manager at the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) in the European Risk Observatory where she is EU-OSHA’s coordinator of the activities related to nanomaterials and occupational safety and health. At EU-OSHA she also has been responsible, among others, for four expert forecasts on emerging physical, chemical, biological and psychosocial risks related to occupational safety and health, in which nanomaterials were identified as a top emerging risk. She is now managing a foresight of emerging risks arising from new technologies in green jobs by 2020.

Abstract

Nanomaterials and Safety and Health at Work

While it is clear that manufactured nanomaterials (MNs)) offer potentially huge benefits to society thanks to their various, new properties, there are many uncertainties as to their impact on human health and the environment. Still, MNs are already found in many workplaces, potentially exposing many workers who therefore need to be protected from possible risks. Many discussions are still on-going, from the definition of MNs to how REACH apply to them, and the information the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) should contain. But the knowledge gaps and current discussions are no obstacle to assess the risks of MNs to workers in the scope of the mandatory workplace risk assessment under EU Directives 89/391/EEC (“Framework” Directive) and 98/24/EC (Chemical Agent Directive): employers have the duty to assess the potential risks of MNs in the workplace and to protect workers adequately. Primary guidance for MNs workplace risk assessment and prevention is available. Some companies, willing to take the opportunity of the considerable benefits offered by nanotechnology while conscious of their social responsibility are exemplary in following the currently available risk assessment and prevention recommendations and went even beyond by taking the initiative to develop their own MN labels and MSDS to inform workers. EU-OSHA wants to publicise such examples, from different industrial sectors, to support prevention against MN risks and is now working on an on-line database of company Good Practice examples on how to work safely with MNs. Eu-OSHA is also carrying out a review of risk communication initiatives in order to formulate recommendations on how to communicate on MNs to employers and workers so as to protect the health and safety of workers and keep them fit for work. Risk communication is indeed an integral part of risk management. Past examples of poor risk communication show how it can result in resistance towards a new technology or in people and workers receiving contradictory information and therefore not protecting themselves adequately. State-of-art knowledge on OSH and MNs and Good Practice examples will be the subject of this presentation.

Biography

Elisa Campos is PhD student at the Single Molecule Processes Laboratory, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica (ITQB) – Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal. She uses α-hemolysin as protein nanopore in an electrophysiology set-up to monitor the conductance of a single nanopore at a time. MPSA-gold nanoparticles, captured inside the nanopore cavity, low the conductance of α-hemolysin. Genetic modifications can be designed in α-hemolysin protein to modulate the nature of the interactions between the cavity and the nanoparticle surface.

Abstract

Capturing Single Gold Nanoparticles Inside an Engineered α-Hemolysin Nanopore

Nanopores constitute an escalating class of rapid and sensitive biosensors with potential applications that range from the detection of biological warfare agents to pharmaceutical screening. Trans-membrane ionic current measurements can be used to monitor the ion conductance of a single nanopore at a time. Dissolved analytes can be detected, if they enter and interact with the nanopore inner channel by partially blocking the flux of ions, thus altering its conductance.

Nanopores can be fabricated by using particle beams and etchants to treat various substrates, or, alternatively, protein pores such as α-hemolysin (αHL) can be used. We recently discovered that gold nanoparticles (NP) under 2.9 nm in diameter could be captured inside αHL nanopore cavity, decreasing the conductance of αHL by approximately 50%. Once the complex is formed, the space between the NP and the αHL nanopore surface can be as small as 0.8 nm. The chemical groups on both surfaces can have strong interactions with dissolved molecules that flow in between. Genetic engineering of the αHL protein nanopore, and surface chemistry of the NP provide the means to modulate the nature of the interactions between the cavity of the αHL nanopore and the NP surface. This way, we introduced mutations in the αHL nanopore to evaluate the H-bonds interactions between the nanopore and the NP coated with different functional groups at the surface. We studied the interaction of the αHL-wild type and αHL-mutant protein nanopore with NP at several pH’s, under the same applied potential. Single-channel recordings showed that ion current was blocked at different levels, according to the pH.

Abstract

One year of scientific research and communication in the public place: a first assessment

One year has passed since the inauguration of the OpenNanoLab for the study of nanomaterials for energy applications at “Leonardo da Vinci” Museum of Science and Technology in Milano, Italy. This interesting experience, matured within the NanoToTouch EU-FP7 project, will be reported from the point of view of the scientists involved, and a first balance of its impact on the broad public will be drawn.

Biography

Dr. Slaven Garaj is research associate at Harvard University where he works in the field of nanopores and single-molecule biosensors. With the main goal of developing a next-generation, inexpensive DNA sequencing scheme, he recently developed a new class of nanopores based on graphene, which attracted the wider media attention. Prior to joining Harvard, Dr. Garaj earned his PhD in the field of condensed matter physics at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), where he investigated electronic properties of carbon-based materials. His research interests include single molecule biophysics, nano-fluidics with synthetic nanopores, and nano-electronics.

Abstract

Next Generation DNA Sequencing Using Nanopores

New DNA sequencing technologies used in the laboratories today have significantly expanded the scope of the biological research, but also revolutionized many other scientific fields. Still, a significant cost reduction and speed increase of the DNA sequencing is required before it can routinely be used to improve the prevention and treatment of human diseases. To achieve required sub-$1000 price tag for the full human genome sequencing, a disruptive new technology has to be developed. The nanopore-based sequencing schemes are one of the most promising methods within the field, and a prime example of integrated nano and bio-technology.

In a nanopore-sequencing device, a long polynucleotide is electrophoretically threaded – in a single-file fashion – through an individual nanometer-scale pore fabricated in a freestanding membrane separating two ionic solutions. Nucleobases enter the highly confined space of the nanopore in the succession that corresponds to their native genetic sequence. Different detection methods can then be applied to register nucleobases passing through the active part of the nanopore, including ion-current, electrical and optical measurements.  I will present the current status, prospects and challenges in the field of the nanopore sensors, with the special emphasis on a new class of graphene nanopores we have developed recently.