The third edition of the Junior Nanotech Network, to be held in 2010, promises to continue the student exchange’s tradition of cutting-edge research. During the 2006 and 2008 sessions, PhD students from McGill and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) collaborated on projects such as:
Third Harmonic Generation of Gold Nanoparticles. Led by McGill student Jonathan Bélisle, this project used a multiphoton laser-scanning microscope to image gold nanoparticles on glass. Bélisle’s work proved relevant to his subsequent research with McGill physics professor Paul Wiseman on developing a groundbreaking new malaria detection technique.
Stretching Biological Polymers in Optical Tweezers. Melanie Reisinger and Philipp Feldpausch from LMU directed a team whose goal was to give insight into the stability of different types of optical tweezers, used to manipulate individual molecules attached to a micrometre-sized bead.
Organic Semiconductors. Led by Martin Huth of LMU, this project helped reveal the semiconducting properties of aromatic hydrocarbons, which has implications for developing products such as flexible displays.
Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles. Adil Kassam from McGill drove this exploration of different methods of growing gold nanoparticles (two to 50 nanometres wide), which are used as optical labels in cell biology and as very effective catalytic converters.
Antibacterial Effects of Silver Nanoparticles for Water Purification. McGill student Theresa Dankovich led this demonstration of how silver nanoparticles, a known bactericide with low toxicity to humans, can be incorporated into a paper water filter.