Associate Professor Xiangqun Zeng Uses Gold Nanoparticles In Her Biomedical Reearch

CBR member Xiangqun Zeng, an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry, specializes in the development of new and sophisticated methods and instruments for biomedical research. In the May 2009 issue of Biosensors and Bioelectronics, Zeng and her team--including postdoc Yang Liu, who was first author on the paper--published a study on how to use Single Chain Fragment Variable Recombinant Antibody Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles for a Highly Sensitive Colorimetric Immunoassay (Volume: 24, Pages: 2853-2857). Their method makes use of small "nano" particles of gold.  They conclude that

"With the advantages of speed, simplicity and specificity, the colorimetric immunoassay based on the functionalized [single chain fragment variable recombinant antibodies] stabilized gold [nano particles] represents a promising tool for use in protein analysis and clinical diagnostics."

Zeng's research is supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.