Synthesis and characterization of nanostructured noble metals for medical applications

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Silver nanostructured materials have recently been developed for use in wound treatment. These newmaterials, which are made of equiaxed crystals that are less than 20 billonths of a meter in diameter, have dramaticallychanged the lives of people with chronic wounds like pressure sores and venous ulcers. In the past some ofthese wounds would not heal despite receiving the best available treatment, but when treated withnanocrystalline silver they healed very well. Remarkably this same nanotechnology may one day benefitpeople with diverse diseases like eczema, psoriasis asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. This research programwill look at nanostructured noble metals, including gold, silver and platinum, with a goal of optimizing theirstructures to achieve various biological responses including control of inflammation. Researchers will usesophisticated vacuumn equipment to create various types of nanostructured materials and then use advancedchemical techniques to characterize the final materials. Biological activity assessments will also be made andcorrelated to the nanostructure of the material so that the structure-activity relationships can be established.This will allow researchers to optimize the materials nanostructure for various applications and make thedevelopment of therapeutic products possible.This work will keep Canada at the forefront of nanostructured materials research through the training ofgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows. It may lead to the development of new therapeutic agents whichwill benefit Canadians both by creating high tech employment opportunities in nanotechnology and byimproving their quality of life through the treatment of disease.