Creativity, Discovery, Engagement
Learning Like No Other
Stay up-to-date on the latest research and build relationships with academics at the Materials Science & Biophysics Seminar Series, which bring experts from around the world to campus to discuss their recent findings. Everyone is welcome!
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Softlanding mass spectrometry: from new materials to bio-relevant nanoparticlesFriday, January 24, 2025 Health Sciences Building EC 1210 2:00 - 3:00 PM Host: Dr. Trinanjan Datta (tdatta@augusta.edu) Soft-landing is a strong candidate for the study of novel materials because it allows for the rapid generation of monodisperse surfaces. This is a powerful experimental technique that is capable of generating a variety of phases very quickly. It is known that, in the gas phase, some systems exhibit stoichiometries that are not accessible in the condensed phase. Soft-landing is a unique platform from which to study these systems because it allows one to make usable surfaces of materials that are normally inaccessible to the researcher. Further, some systems exhibit limited stability in air, which makes the in situ multi analysis platform particularly intriguing. Softlanding can also allow exact sorting of Nanoparticle with a myriad of source production. Nanoparticles (NPs), which are properly defined as particles within the range of 1 to 100 nanometers (but can be larger), have become of interest in the nanobiotechnology field. The unique physiochemical properties displayed by materials on the nano-scale have opened the doors to many novel and revolutionary approaches in the bio applications of NPs in the diagnosis and treatment of human cancers. Factors such as metal composition, size, and shape play vital roles in the implementation of NPs in biomedical applications. Here I will introduce the instrument developed in our lab for the production and landing of new materials and nanoparticle. The talk will focus on the development, characterization, and future uses of the Softlanding field. |
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Probing and controlling quantum magnets using light: insights from RIXS and Floquet theoryFriday, March 14, 2025 Health Sciences Building EC 1210 2:00 - 3:00 PM Host: Dr. Trinanjan Datta (tdatta@augusta.edu)
The study of quantum magnetism is both challenging and essential for advancing modern technologies. Recent progress in experimental techniques has highlighted the pivotal role of light in probing and controlling quantum magnets. Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) using light in the X-ray regime has become a powerful tool for probing quantum magnets. In this talk, I will demonstrate how RIXS can be utilized to probe fractional quasiparticles in quantum magnets, focusing on the quantum spin liquid phase realized in one-dimensional cuprates. Specifically, I will discuss the observation of four-spinon excitations in these systems and present the correlation functions derived using the ultra-short core-hole lifetime expansion of the Kramers-Heisenberg formalism, establishing RIXS as a complementary technique to inelastic neutron scattering. In addition to probing, visible light offers a dynamic platform for controlling quantum magnets and engineering novel quantum phases that do not exist in nature. I will present pathways for realizing the quantum spin liquid phase of the Kitaev honeycomb model in ruthenates using multi-orbital Floquet theory. Additionally, I will discuss recent experimental progress in leveraging light to manipulate these systems, underscoring its transformative potential in quantum magnetism. |
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Nano-micro materials for cell and morphogen delivery in skeletal tissue regenerationFriday, April 4, 2025 Health Sciences Building EC 1210 2:00 - 3:00 PM Host: Dr. Mustafa Culha (mculha@augusta.edu) Translation of nanoscale discoveries from laboratory to clinic promises new diagnostic tools, drug targeting modalities, gene therapy platforms, and cellular constructs for tissue regeneration. Tissue morphogenesis during fetal development is highly dependent on spatial and temporal expression of multiple morphogens targeting progenitor cells. During fetal development, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and endothelial colony forming cells (ECFCs) coupled with paracrine signaling between the two progenitor cells are implicated in osseous tissue formation. The invading ECFCs secrete osteogenic morphogens (BMP) to stimulate cell differentiation and mineralization whereas the differentiating MSCs release vasculogenic morphogens (VEGF) to stimulate capillary formation for the metabolically active osteoblasts. The fetal development of articular cartilage starts with condensation of MSCs in the early limb bud to form a mesenchyme characterized by high cell density. Following condensation, sequential and timed expressions of multiple morphogens (TGF-β, BMP-7, IGF-1 and IHH) lead to the formation of superficial, middle, deep and calcified zones of articular cartilage with each exhibiting a unique matrix composition, organization and cellular expression. I will present in this seminar nano- and micro-scale materials and strategies for expansion of mesenchymal stem cells and spatiotemporal delivery of morphogenetic proteins in skeletal tissue regeneration.
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Mechanisms of sex chromosomes mediated arterial stiffening and blood pressure regulationFriday, April 18, 2025 Health Sciences Building EC 1210 2:00 - 3:00 PM Host: Dr. Josefa Guerrero-Millan (jguerreromillan@augusta.edu) Blood pressure and arterial stiffness increase after middle age and are exacerbated in women. Arterial stiffening promotes vascular damage and remodeling that can lead to atherosclerotic disease in a sex-dependent manner. In this presentation, we measure blood pressure using radiotelemetry and arterial stiffening by pulse wave velocity (PWV). To study structural vascular remodeling, we cannulated the carotid artery on a pressure myograph using stress-strain as a surrogate for structural stiffness. Our study uses the four-core genotype (FCG) mouse model with sex chromosome mutation, which enables male and female mice to have either XX or XY sex chromosomes. When we removed ovaries and testes from the mouse model, we eliminated sex hormones and investigated the contribution of sex chromosomes to blood pressure and arterial stiffening. Our results show an increase in PWV and blood pressure in XX compared to XY female mice. We propose a role for X-linked genes in regulating blood pressure and arterial stiffness.
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 Mustafa Culha, PhD, Professor of Chemistry
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Hexagonal boron nitrides and their applications from nanomedicine to nanophotonicsFriday, September 6, 2024 Health Sciences Building EC 1218 2:00 - 3:00 PM Host: Dr. Trinanjan Datta (tdatta@augusta.edu) Hexagonal boron nitrides (hBNs) are 2D nanomaterials with unique physicochemical properties. They are formed by the covalent bonding of boron (B) and nitrogen (N) atoms in a hexagonal pattern similar to graphene. Thus, their properties are often compared but they have rather different properties due to the difference in the electronegativity of the B and N atoms compared to the C-C bond in graphene, where the electron cloud in the s bond is more localized on N atom. The bond p consists of an empty p orbital of B and the full orbital p of N. In this way, the electrons of N are less delocalized. Therefore, the bond is more ionic and the symmetry of the electronic state is broken. Due to this electronic structure, the band gap is rather wide (~5.9 eV), and as a result, they lose their electrical conductivity. However, this electronic structure brings other novel photonic properties including single photon emission. The hBNs have also attracted the attention of biomedical researchers in recent years due to their biocompatibility, low toxicity, and potential use in neutron capture therapy, drug delivery, and cancer therapy through their degradation products. In this talk, I will present our effort to utilize these unique nanomaterials as nanocarriers, cancer therapeutics, and single photon emitters. |
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Cell softening/stiffening as a driver of morphogenesisFriday, October 4, 2024 Health Sciences Building EC 1218 2:00 - 3:00 PM Host: Dr. Abdul Malmi-Kakkada (amalmikakkada@augusta.edu) During animal development, the acquisition of three-dimensional morphology is a consequence of the interaction between cellular forces and the mechanical properties of cells. While the generation and transmission of cellular forces has been widely explored, less is known about cell material properties, which are often assumed to be uniform or constant. Recently, this view is being challenged by new work showing that cells dynamically adjust their material properties to optimize tissue development. In this talk I will illustrate this with two examples: limb bud extension, the process by which our arms and legs start to develop; and gastrulation, the process by which cells in a monolayer form a furrow and ingress to create a new tissue layer. Using a combination of experiments and computational modelling, we show that older models of limb bud formation that rely on a growth gradient or cell migration are not feasible, and propose a new model that combines convergent extension movements and a gradient of tissue softening to drive limb extension. In the next example we used line-scan Brillouin microscopy to show that gastrulating cells undergo rapid and spatially varying changes in their mechanical properties. We identify microtubules as potential effectors of cell mechanics in this system and show through computational modelling that while stiffer cells correlate with deeper furrows, better outcomes are achieved if cells are initially softer and stiffen over time, as seen in our measurements. Together our work highlights the existence and importance of evolving cell mechanical properties during morphogenesis. |
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Coordinating adhesion with repulsion: how cells use polymer brushes to orchestrate lifeFriday, November 1, 2024 Health Sciences Building EC 1218 2:00 - 3:00 PM Host: Dr. Abdul Malmi-Kakkada (amalmikakkada@augusta.edu) Multi-cellular organisms rely on reversible adhesions to orchestrate the motion and organization of cells. To date, the physics of tissue formation and cohesion has primarily focused on the molecular adhesions between cells and the balance of forces throughout the tissue. In this talk, I will introduce an important but neglected physical mechanism that cells may use to break or weaken cellular adhesions in a controllable, dynamic fashion. At the heart of this control is cells’ ability to rapidly extrude giant sugar polymers to form a polymer brush-like structure at cell interfaces. I will present data confirming that the repulsive forces generated by this compressed brush (glycocalyx) substantially modify the adhesive state of cells. Further, I will share how our lab has hijacked the cell’s method for tailoring its interface to generate a novel class of ultra-thick polymer brush. We employ these tunable brushes as a biomimetic system to systematically explore the forces exerted by glycocalyx on adherent cells. Experiments confirm that the polymer-generating enzyme, hyaluronan synthase, can squeeze polymers into tight confined spaces and drive dramatic cell deformation or even force cells to detach from the substrate. In light of the observed upregulation of hyaluronan glycocalyx synthesis in biological events that require adhesion modulation, ranging from embryogenesis to synaptogenesis, I argue that controlled growth and organization of large hyaluronan polymers at the cell’s interface may play a substantial role in the mechanics and dynamics of cell organization in multi-cellular systems. |
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Altermagnets: a new phase of matter(?)Friday, November 15, 2024 Health Sciences Building EC 1218 2:00-3:00 PM Host: Dr. Trinanjan Datta (tdatta@augusta.edu) Electrons have intrinsic angular momenta (spin), which give rise to the familiar ferromagnets when they are ordered in a parallel fashion. While (ferro)magnets were discovered about 2500 years ago, antiferromagnets where the spins of electrons in a solid order in a staggered fashion, has a much shorter history, and was conclusively observed less than a century ago. In the last 5 years, the possibility of a novel magnetic phase, dubbed altermagnetism, was raised. This to-be-new phase is claimed to be different from both ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism. In this talk, I am going to provide a theoretical discussion of altermagnetic materials using a combination of first principles quantum mechanical simulations (Density Functional Theory) and group theory based symmetry approaches. After providing an introduction to different types of magnetism in solids, I will derive mathematical conditions that provide a definition of an altermagnet, and then use computational simulations to provide examples of real altermagnetic materials and the connection between their microscopic and macroscopic properties. |
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Seminar series sponsored by: Augusta University Research Institute, College of Science and Mathematics, Department of Physics and Biophysics
