Graduate student Kilho Lee wins first place in Hayes Research Forum
Making presentations to people "outside the lab" can be nerve-wracking, but for second-year Ph.D. student Kilho Lee, a bit of anxiety was well worth the payoff: he won first place in Engineering in the Hayes Graduate Research Forum!
"I didn't expect to win first place," Lee wrote in an email to his advisors, Jessica Winter and Barbara Wyslouzil. "Today I was reminded how much I wanted to work for you and to work on this project. I sincerely thank you once again for the opportunity to work on this project and for all the great advice."
Lee's presentation was entitled "High-throughput, Semi-Continuous Micellar Nanocomposite Synthesis via Liquid-in-Liquid Electrospray." The research Lee and his lab mates are conducting utilizes nanomaterials to enhance current biomedical strategies, particularly in cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.
The goal of the project is to develop a novel technology to synthesize micellar nanocomposites. Micellar nanocomposites are polymer aggregates that encapsulate nanoparticles with unique properties at the core, providing the opportunity to package nanoparticles of different functionalities in order to target cancer cells. Nanocomposites can be used for applications such as bio-imaging and cell separation/manipulation.
The technology used to produce them is called Liquid-Liquid Electrospray (LLE). Many research groups have demonstrated methods to synthesize nanocomposites, but the limitations and challenges include (1) small scale operation - low throughput, (2) the time it takes to complete the process (hours to days), and (3) the use of a surfactant, which requires a downstream purification step that can be difficult to achieve but is required for biological applications.
By incorporating electrospray techniques widely used in aerosol science, LLE enables synthesis in a surfactant-free environment in a manner that is semi-continuous and tunable (high throughput with better controllability of the overall process).
Lee's group believes that LLE is the first surfactant-free synthesis route among emulsion-based nanocomposite formation. Recently, nanocomposites synthesized via LLE have been characterized and this demonstrates the feasibility of achieving high-throughput synthesis of high-quality nanocomposites.
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About the Hayes Graduate Research Forum
Now heading into its 30th year, the day-long Edward F. Hayes Graduate Research Forum took place on Friday, February 26 at the Ohio Union. The Forum showcases the innovative and exemplary research being conducted by Ohio State graduate students across the full range of graduate degree programs and facilitates fruitful exchanges between students, faculty, the administration, and the public. Cash prizes totaling more than $14,000 were awarded to the top-judged presentations in each academic area.
The forum is co-sponsored by the Council of Graduate Students, the Graduate School and the Office of Research.
