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Hooshmand Lab

Research Areas

Research Areas

Advancing Nanoparticle Assembly for Tunable Plasmonic Properties

Hooshmand Lab focuses on the following directions to engineer nanoparticles for applications in sensing and solar panels:

  • Microchip-Based Devices for Ultrafast Information Processing and Cancer Biomarkers
    Detection: Development of microchip-based devices integrating plasmonic nanoparticles to achieve rapid information processing and sensitive detection of cancer biomarkers, with a focus on early-stage diseases.
  • Hybrid Metal Nanoparticle-Semiconductor Thin Films for Rapid Cancer Detection: Exploration of hybrid metal nanoparticle-semiconductor thin films to create cost-effective nanobiosensors. These sensors leverage plasmonic nanoparticles and protein-specific antibodies for detecting cancer biomarkers in bodily fluids.
  • Enhancing Solar Panels with Nanoplasmonic Coatings: Innovation in improving solar panel performance through nanoparticle-based coatings. Our approach optimizes charge transfer processes to enhance solar absorption efficiency, aiming to maximize light absorption across the visible spectrum and boost energy conversion efficiency.

Innovative Approaches to Cancer Treatment Using Nanoparticle-Based Therapies

Explore our research focus on advancing cancer treatment through nanoparticle-based drug delivery for chemo-photothermal therapy. This approach aims to minimize toxicity and invasiveness while enhancing treatment efficacy:

Key objectives of our research include:

  • Nanoparticle-Based Coatings for Enhanced Light Absorption: Development of methods to improve light absorption using plasmonic nanoparticles of various shapes, sizes, and surface modifications through photothermal processes.
  • Synergistic Therapy Using Gold Nanoparticles: Investigation of gold nanoparticles, including gold nanorods (AuNRs), for synergistic therapy. These nanoparticles deliver heat and drugs to cancer cells, aiming for efficient localized tumor cell destruction both in vitro and in vivo, surpassing traditional monotherapies.
  • Computational Modeling for Biomolecular Processes: Utilization of advanced computational models, such as atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) and discrete dipole approximation (DDA), to study biomolecular processes, encapsulation kinetics, and heat generation around nanoparticles. These techniques provide in-depth analysis for optimizing therapeutic outcomes.

Active metal nanoparticles for monitoring surface catalytic reactions

Another direction of Hooshmand Lab specializes in developing advanced plasmonic
nanostructures with precise geometry and tunable plasmonic properties to innovate in the field of photocatalysis. The urgent demand for catalysts capable of accelerating crucial reactions such as water splitting and CO2 conversion into fuels highlights the criticality of our work. Our research aims to harness these nanostructures across the electromagnetic spectrum, revolutionizing applications in nanocatalysis, biocatalysis, and nanomedicine.

These nanostructures concentrate electromagnetic fields, enhance Raman scattering, and efficiently convert photon energy into heat, thereby facilitating highly efficient chemical reactions. Our approach integrates computational tools such as density functional theory (DFT) to predict catalyst activity, complemented by experimental endeavors aimed at optimizing plasmon-induced photocatalytic efficiency.