Dedicated to Professor MacDiarmid: Convergence of Nanotechnology, Photonics, and Biotechnology to Address Global Challenges in Energy, Healthcare, and Environment

This talk is dedicated to Professor MacDiarmid who was a scientific giant , a noble man and a great friend for over two decades . It will pay tribute to his fond memory, reminiscing the time with him and giving a brief account of our past research on nonlinear optical properties of conjugated polymers . This presentation will then highlight the pioneering, multidisciplinary convergent science research conducted at our institute, which integrates nanotechnology, photonics, and biotechnology. By leveraging novel chemical synthesis and materials processing techniques, we create multiscale modeling-guided, multifunctional hybrid materials designed for transformative applications in energy, healthcare, and environmental sustainability. Physics at the nanoscale is revolutionizing the connection between photonics and nanotechnology, driving the development of nanophotonics. This emerging field enables precise manipulation of optical interactions and energy flow at the nanoscale, unlocking a wide range of transformative applications.1-2. Nontraditional chemistry approaches to make multicomponent nanomaterials for advancing nanophononics will be presented. Another new direction of chemistry taken in our lab is use of the biosynthetic machinery of extremophiles to make new nanomaterials containing heavy metal ions, including rare-earth ions. This allows production of nanomaterials at mild, near-ambient conditions without the use of large volumes of organic solvents or synthetic ligands. We have utilized these rare-earth containing nanoparticles as optical up- and down-converting nanostructures for efficient harvesting of solar photons over the entire solar spectrum and their efficient conversion to electrical energy.

Biophotonics, created by interfacing photonics with biology, provides novel means for optically probing cellular and tissue processes and effecting light-based therapies. Integration of nanochemistry and photonics processes with biology is advancing nanomedicine where we have a global vision to produce breakthrough approaches for meeting healthcare challenges in areas such as cancer, neurological disorders, and infectious diseases. For nanomedicine, we are developing nanotheranostic agents for multimodal image guided diseased cells targeted combined therapy, including new generation optically activatable nanoformulations In the emerging field of neurophotonics, we are utilizing photoresponsive materials and new generation chirality enabled magneto-optic polymer nanocomposite materials which could enable functional brain mapping, as well as employing nanoformulations of natural drugs, optogenetic tools, and microglia activation to enhance brain functionality.

For Environmental monitoring , we are developing optical and optoelectronic sensing molecular and nanoprobes which utilize molecular recognition with specificity .

This talk will conclude with a discussion of new opportunities for research . (1) P. N. Prasad “Nanophotonics” John Wiley & Sons, (2004) (2) P. N. Prasad “Introduction to Biophotonics” John Wiley & Sons, (2003) (3) P. N. Prasad “Introduction to Nanomedicine and Nanobioengineering” John Wiley & Sons, (to be published)