Wayne State University President Irvin D. Reid recently announced the awardees from a $1.2 million research enhancement program earmarked by the university. The goal of this program is to strengthen the university’s performance as a nationally recognized leader in research within a targeted interdisciplinary research area and is intended to contribute toward developing research themes for the university that are consistent with an emphasis on the urban mission, a global presence and technology. This year’s funds are designated for developing projects and pilot studies in nanotechnology.

“Wayne State has great strengths in the area of nanotechnology, and it is critical to build on the excellent research and training we are carrying out in this field,” Reid said. “This investment in nanotechnology research at Wayne State will help Michigan become a cornerstone of an exciting industry that has the potential to create new products and reinvigorate old ones. This initiative and others at Wayne State will aid in expanding nanotechnology expertise in Michigan, ultimately leading to increased federal funding in this area and improving economic competitiveness, technological advancement and job creation within the state,” he added.

The five proposals that received funding from the research enhancement program are:

Dr. David Benson of Troy, MI, assistant professor of Chemistry. “Development of a Nanoparticle-based Sensing Platform for Dynamic Monitoring of Glucose Transport in Oxidately Stressed and Diabetic Red Blood Cells.” With 18 million cases of diabetes reported in the US alone and the rate of diabetic cases among African-Americans being double of non-Hispanic whites, this project aims to advance nanobioscience and diabetic science, and assist in addressing current issues in treating complications associated with diabetes. A common trait among people with diabetes is hyperglycemia, or high levels of glucose, in the bloodstream. Typically, glucose in the blood plasma is measured; however, recent research has suggested that the amount of glucose inside of cells that are part of the blood stream (such as red blood cells, or erythrocytes) may also be important in diabetic complications. Currently, there is no simple and sensitive method to simultaneously determine the amount of glucose that is outside and inside of the red blood cell. This project will use nanotechnology to measure glucose transport in and out of red blood cells. Specifically, a protein that binds only to glucose will be attached to sub-microscopic semiconductor particles (a nanoparticle). When glucose binds to the protein, the amount of light that is emitted from the nanoparticle will change. The amount of light emitted is proportional to the glucose present in the sample.

Dr. Alan Hudson of Novi, MI, professor of Immunology & Microbiology. “Nanotechnology-based Approaches for Understanding and Preventing Chlamydial Pathogenesis.” Different species of Chlamydia are responsible for sexually transmitted disease and chronic disease associated with community-acquired pneumonia. These micro-organisms are known to be intracellular pathogens, but the pathogenesis of this disease is poorly understood. This project will initiate a new and unique basic science-oriented research that will have a significant impact on investigational approaches to understanding chlamydial pathogenesis. It will initiate use of atomic force microscopy, novel nanotechnology-based drug delivery vehicles, and other powerful, unexploited new experimental methods to investigate currently unaddressable questions in chlamydial molecular genetics, immunology and pathogenesis.

Dr. Fred Miller of Grosse Pointe Parks, MI, professor of Pathology. “Nanoparticles in Breast Cancer Therapy – Delivery of Gene, siRNA, and Chemotherapeutics.” Dr. Miller and his team of researchers will work on three projects that use nanotechnology as a novel delivery method for treating breast cancer. The first project will use nanoparticles to introduce a highly immunogenic molecule into breast cancer cells in vivo as a strategy to activate the host’s immune system against autologous, established tumors. The second project will use nanoparticles to silence proteins that facilitate tumor progression. The third project will test the concept that dual agent nanoparticles can reverse multi-drug resistance (MDR) in MDR breast cancer cells, and will also optimize the in vivo delivery conditions for the nanoparticles used in the first two projects.

Dr. Jayanth Panyam of Northville, MI, assistant professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences. “Enhancing Chemo- and Photodynamic Therapy in Breast Cancer using Nanotechnology.” Development of multi-drug resistance (MDR) is a major obstacle to the success of chemotherapy in breast cancer patients. Dr. Panyam and his team of researchers will evaluate the feasibility of a combined therapy strategy to overcome chemotherapy-resistance in tumor cells. They will study the nanoparticle-mediated delivery of a P-glycoprotein substrate and a photosensitizing agent in regressing breast cancer.

Dr. Yong Xu of Troy, MI, assistant professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering. “Nanoparticle Modified Nanomechanical Parylene Cantilevers with Integrated Piezoresistors for Biochemical Sensing.” Biochemical sensors play crucial roles in disease diagnosis, drug discovery, national security, environment monitoring, food safety and more. Currently there is a demand for low-cost, low-power, sensitive, reliable and miniaturized sensors. In this project, Dr. Xu will design and fabricate parylene cantilever sensors modified by nanoparticles to increase surface area. This cantilever sensor will have higher sensitivity and thus will be able to detect very small surface stress changes. This sensor would lend itself to volume manufacturing, low unit cost, excellent portability, rapid deployment, and a wide range of uses. In Dr. Xu’s pilot study, he and his team of researchers will use this sensor to study the detection of serum antibodies for diagnosing ovarian cancer.

Wayne State University is one of the nation’s pre-eminent public research universities in an urban setting. Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and throughout the world.