Abstract:
The present talk will discuss experimental data regarding successful fabrication of a novel Cu2+-complex of nitrogen-rich polymer nanodots, with a mean diameter of about 20 nm extracted from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs and 350 nm obtained from dynamic light scattering (DLS) data. In a first step, the N-rich polymer nanodots were fabricated from N-vynil imidazole (VIm) using a one-pot hydrothermal synthesis performed at 220 oC for 24 hour. Secondly, the as-fabricated VIm-based nanodots were used to fabricate the Cu2+-doped VIm-based nanodots (Cu2+@VIm) via efficient incorporation as a complex in aqueous medium. The relaxivity of the as-fabricated Cu2+@Vim nanodots was explored aiming at its application as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent. Enhancement of the relaxivity of the Cu2+@Vim nanodots (r1 = 1.05 mM−1 s−1) while compared to the relaxivity of the Cu2+ aqueous ion (r1 = 0.43 mM−1 s−1) will be presented and discussed. MRI tests performed while labeling MCF-7 cells with Cu2+@Vim nanodots show a remarkable contrast enhancement for T1-weighted imaging. Additional biomedical applications will be explored in the talk.
Biography:
Paulo C. DE MORAIS (H-61), PhD, was full Professor of Physics at the University of Brasilia (UnB) – Brazil up to 2013, Appointed as UnB’s Emeritus Professor (2014), Appointed as Guest Professor of Huazhong University of Science and Technology – China (2011), Visiting Professor at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) – China (2012-2015), Appointed as Distinguished Professor at Anhui University (AHU) – China (2016-2019), Appointed as Full Professor at Catholic University of Brasília (UCB) – Brazil (2018), Appointed as CNPq-1A Research Fellowship since 2010. 2007 Master Research Prize from UnB, 2008-member of the European ERA NET Nanoscience Committee, Member of the IEEE-Magnetic Society Technical Committee, Senior Member of the IEEE Society, 2012 China’s 1000 Foreign Expert Recipient, and 2012 Academic Excellence Award from Brazilian Professor’s Union. He held two-years (1987-1988) post-doc position with Bell Communications Research – New Jersey, USA and received his Doctoral degree in Solid State Physics (1986) from the Federal University of Minas Gerais – Brazil. He graduated in both Chemistry (1976) and Physics (1977) at UnB. Professor Morais is member of the Brazilian Physical Society and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers – IEEE. He has served as referee for more than 50 technical journals, takes part of the Editorial Board of more than 15 technical journals and has conducted research on nanomaterials for over 40 years. He is known for his research in preparation, characterization and applications of nanosized materials (magnetic fluid, magnetoliposome, magnetic nanoemulsion, magnetic nanocapsule, magnetic nanofilm, magnetic nanocomposite, nanosized semiconductors, polymeric dots, carbon dots, and graphene quantum dots). With more than 500 published papers in peer reviewed journals, more than 14,000 citations, more than 250 international invited talks (35 countries), and 16 filed patents. He has appeared in recent World ranking of top scientists, such as 2020-Stanford, 2022-Research.com, 2023-AD Scientific Index, 2023-Research.com, 2024-Elsevier, 2025-AD Scientific Index, 2025-Research.com, and ONE Research Community.
