SFU Canada Research Chairs Seminar Series "On-Command Control of Molecular & Nanomaterials Using External Stimuli"

Thursday, October 23, 2008
11:30 - 12:30
Rm10900

Dr. Neil Branda, Canada Research Chair in Materials Science
Department of Chemistry

Abstract

We are motivated by the vision that molecules can act as the components of nano-scale machines - machines that, like their macroscopic counterparts, require controllable moving parts, ways to harvest and process energy, molecular circuitry, on-off switches, logic gates and information storage devices. Our research efforts focus on developing several aspects of this theme including the construction of molecular switches to deliberately trigger molecules to undergo structural and functional changes on command. Molecular systems that undergo reversible variations in their structural, optical and electronic properties will have significant roles in many applications, from electronics to medicine. Molecular switching is an interdisciplinary area of research that is key to the success of miniaturizing the components of nano-scale machinery. It has its main emphasis at the interfaces between chemistry and materials science (applications in electronics, optical recording and display materials, for example), and in structural biology and health sciences (drug delivery systems and sensors, for example). This talk will emphasize how molecular switches can be used in several application settings. The changes in how they absorb light, emit light, carry charge, react or interact with other chemicals, and unmask potential therapeutics as single molecules, polymers and on nanoparticle surfaces will be highlighted. An example of in vivo use of molecular switches will be emphasized.

About the Speaker

Dr. Neil Branda completed his undergraduate degree in Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Toronto and his Ph.D. degree in Organic Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the period 1994 - 1996, Dr. Branda was an NSERC Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Laboratoire de Chimie Supramoleculaire, Universite Louis Pasteur and in the period 1996-2001 he was an Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta. Dr. Branda joined Simon Fraser University in 2001 as an Associate Professor and a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Materials Science in the Department of Chemistry. In 2003 he became an Associate Faculty Member in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. In his scientific career Dr. Branda has been the recipient of multiple grants, awards, and honors. Here are some of the most recent: E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship, Canada Tier I Research Chair in Materials Science, Canada's Top 40 Under 40, and Canadian Who's Who Biographee. Dr. Branda is currently a Professor of Chemistry, the Executive Director of 4D LABS, a $40M research centre for advanced materials and nano-scale devices, CTO of SWITCH Materials Inc., a company he founded to commercialize his molecular switching technology and Founder and Director of the Nanomed Canada Research Network, a growing community of nanotechnology and medical researchers committed to sharing knowledge and working collaboratively to advance medical diagnostics and therapeutics. Dr. Branda describes some of his research goals in following way: "One of our many goals is to be able to use light to turn drugs 'on' or 'off,' and molecules that have therapeutic applications so they don't do what they are supposed to do until they reach the site."