Lecture review

Lecture: The Second Nanotechnology and Molecular Diagnosis Forum

Keynote speaker

Professor David Tai Wei Leong, Professor Zhao Zhenghuan, Associate Professor Li Banglin

Forum Introduction

On April 22, 2025, the second Nanotechnology and Molecular Diagnosis Forum was held at Jinfeng Laboratory. This forum invited Professor David Tai Wei Leong from the National University of Singapore, Professor Zhao Zhenghuan from Chongqing Medical University and Associate Professor Li Banglin from Southwest University. Focusing on the cutting-edge hotspots of nanotechnology and molecular diagnosis, the three guests had in-depth exchanges and shared their latest research results.

Introduction to the speaker and the core points of the lecture

Professor David Tai Wei Leong, Deputy Director of Scientific Research, Doctoral Supervisor, Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, and Fellow of the Royal Chemistry Society of England. He serves as the Associate Editor of Bioactive Materials (IF 18.9), Science and Technology of Advanced Materials (lF 5.5), and Nanolmpact (lF 4.9). Professor Leong has published more than 170 SCl papers in journals such as Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Communications, Advanced Science, and Biomaterials, with citations of more than 18,000 times, with H factor 70.

Key points of the lecture:The widespread use of nanomaterials has raised public concerns about their potential health effects and has also prompted the scientific community to conduct a large number of related research. The emerging field of nanobiology requires a deeper understanding of the interaction mechanisms of nanoscale particles with biological components. Due to the unique size effect of nanomaterials, some nanoparticles may enter the circulation system and accumulate in important organs. The potential of NanoEL needs to be considered when designing future nanomedicines, especially those used to treat cancer.

In his lecture, Professor Leong introduced in detail the phenomenon of vascular endothelial leakage in nanomaterials and its applications. Professor Leong's team revealed a novel non-receptor-mediated direct mechanism of action: high-density rigid nanomaterials disrupt VE-cadherin interactions by directly invading vascular endothelial cells' adhesion junctions, thereby inducing endothelial cell gap formation (ECL). This discovery is in sharp contrast to the widely cognized receptor-mediated mechanisms that currently require the induction of ECL through specific binding of mediator molecules (such as thrombin and PAR-1 receptor, bradykinin and bradykinin receptor b1/b2/b3, histamine and H1 receptor, vascular endothelial growth factor and its receptor VEGFR-1/VEGFR-2, etc.). Early research has found that uncontrollable NanoEL can bring serious side effects, such as promoting cancer cell metastasis. With further research on the chemical-physical and biological mechanisms of NanoEL, Professor Leong's team proposed that the NanoEL effect can improve the ability of drugs and nanoformula into tumors, improve the therapeutic effect while avoiding side effects, and also provide a new possibility for tumor treatment.

Introduction to the speaker and the core points of the lecture

Zhao Zhenghuan,Professor of Chongqing Medical University and a top talent in Chongqing. He has published several research papers as the first or corresponding author in the Nature sub-job Nat. Commun., the authoritative journal of biomedical engineering ACS nano, Adv. Funct. Mater., Biomaterials and Chem. Mater., and the SCI District I journal J. Mater. Chem. and J. Mater. Chem. B.

Key points of the lecture:Chemokinetic therapy, as a tumor treatment method that has attracted much attention in recent years, aims to achieve the effect of tumor treatment by specifically producing free radicals at the tumor site and then killing tumor cells. At the same time, magnetic resonance-mediated integrated tumor diagnosis and treatment reagents have been an important research direction in the field of nano-drugs in recent years.

In the lecture, Professor Zhao Zhenghuan pointed out that through controlled synthesis, the structural optimization of gadolinium oxide magnetic resonance nanocontrast agent was successfully introduced, and manganese ions with chemical kinetic effects and polydopamine with photothermal therapeutic effects were successfully introduced. This integrated diagnosis and treatment reagent has good magnetic resonance imaging capabilities, and successfully realizes tumor diagnosis in T1 mode. At the same time, the integrated diagnosis and treatment agent can use its photothermal conversion ability to achieve photothermal treatment while increasing the local temperature of the tumor site, thereby improving the efficiency of hydroxyl radical production in the tumor site, thereby improving the effect of chemokinetic treatment.

Zhao Zhenghuan's team mainly explores the significance of magnetic resonance imaging on tumor treatment and includes the identification of tumor typing.

In recent years, a series of new high-efficiency magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents have been obtained, and the detection of orthotopic tumors or metastatic tumors has been successfully achieved in mouse models. Based on magnetic materials with magnetic resonance contrast capabilities, a variety of integrated diagnosis and treatment drugs that respond to tumor microenvironment are designed and synthesized. On the basis of tumor diagnosis in tumor-bearing mouse models, it effectively inhibits the growth of solid tumors.

Introduction to the speaker and the core points of the lecture

Li Banglin,As an associate professor at Southwestern University, he published more than 30 papers included in SCI in internationally renowned journals such as Nature Commun., Adv. Funct. Mater., Environ. Sci. Technol., Anal. Chem., J. Chem. Educ., Mater. Horiz., Nanoscale Horiz., ACS EST Water, Langmuir, ACS Mater. Lett., Environ. Sci. Nano, J. Mater. Chem. A/C, Nanoscale, Analyst and other internationally renowned journals. At present, the paper has been cited more than 2,500 times, with a H factor of 30.

Key points of the lecture: The trivalent Au ions are easily reduced to zero-valent atoms by the coexisting reducing agent reagent, resulting in subsequent accumulation of Au atoms and the formation of plasma nanostructures. Au nanoparticles (NPs) always undergo aggregation growth in the absence of or weak stabilizers, thus constructing irregular multidimensional Au materials.

Associate Professor Li Banglin mentioned in the lecture that the addition of nanomolar mercury ions can effectively prevent the epitaxial accumulation of Au atoms and obtain separated Au NPs with mediated morphology and excellent plasma characteristics. Experimental results and theoretical simulations show that in the presence of weak reducing agents, mercury concentration depends on the formation of plasma nanostructures and their mediated size and shape. Furthermore, the sensitive plasma response of the reaction system exhibits a comparable selectivity to the mercury species.

Associate Professor Li Banglin also demonstrated a high-performance sensing strategy for staining hydrogels (including nanohydrogels). In addition to mercury sensing, nanohydrogels can be developed as a high-performance on-site monitoring pathway for a variety of pollutants through doping emerging materials and advanced chemical/biological strategies. The significant mesh skeleton structure of the hydrogel and excellent stability capabilities show great prospects in a wide range of sensing applications, especially in on-site environmental monitoring of pollutants.