Synthesis and characterization of nanostructured biomaterials

银纳米结构薄膜每天都用于世界各地的伤口治疗。这些新材料由直径小于20亿分之一米的等轴晶体制成，极大地改变了患有压疮和静脉溃疡等慢性伤口的人的生活。在过去，尽管接受了最好的治疗，这些伤口中的一些不会愈合，但当用纳米晶银治疗时，它们愈合得很好。值得注意的是，同样的纳米技术有一天可能会使患有湿疹、牛皮癣、哮喘和风湿性关节炎等多种疾病的人受益。这项研究计划将着眼于纳米结构的贵金属，包括金和银，目标是优化它们的结构，以实现各种生物反应，包括控制炎症。研究人员将使用先进的真空设备来制造各种类型的纳米结构材料，然后使用先进的化学技术来表征最终材料。还将进行生物活性评估，并将其与材料的纳米结构相关联，以便建立结构-活性关系。这将使研究人员能够针对各种应用优化材料纳米结构，并使治疗产品的开发成为可能。这项工作将通过培训研究生和博士后研究员，使加拿大保持在纳米结构材料研究的前沿。它可能会导致新的治疗剂的开发，这将有利于加拿大人创造纳米技术的高科技就业机会，并通过治疗疾病改善他们的生活质量。

Silver nanostructured films are used daily in wound treatment around the world. These new materials, which are made of equiaxed crystals that are less than 20 billonths of a meter in diameter, have dramatically changed the lives of people with chronic wounds like pressure sores and venous ulcers. In the past some of these wounds would not heal despite receiving the best available treatment, but when treated with nanocrystalline silver they healed very well. Remarkably this same nanotechnology may one day benefit people with diverse diseases like eczema, psoriasis asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. This research program will look at nanostructured noble metals, including gold and silver, with a goal of optimizing their structures to achieve various biological responses including control of inflammation. Researchers will use sophisticated vacuum equipment to create various types of nanostructured materials and then use advanced chemical techniques to characterize the final materials. Biological activity assessments will also be made and correlated 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 the development of therapeutic products possible. This work will keep Canada at the forefront of nanostructured materials research through the training of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. It may lead to development of new therapeutic agents which will benefit Canadians both by creating high tech employment opportunities in nanotechnology and by improving their quality of life through the treatment of disease.