Hoi Kei Choi
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Research Mentor(s): Raoul Kopelman
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Chemistry / LSA
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Oral5
Session: Session 3 – 1:40pm – 2:30 pm
Room: Breakout Room 6
Authors: Amy Choi, Jeff Folz, Raoul Kopelman
Presenter: 3
Abstract
Cancer is a diverse set of diseases, but it does have some universal features. Tumors do not have the same pH as normal tissue. Tumors are acidic, and they secrete acids into the surrounding tissue. So a pH sensor might be helpful to detect tumors. Significant efforts have been focused on the development of hydrogel based biosensor detection of viruses in the past. Recently, the use of molecules with refined properties as biosensors for cancer detection on the basis of their ability to bind to different targets, their chemical and thermal stability, synthesis and storage has been explained. Our aim of this project is to synthesize a hydrogel nanoparticle (NP) which is pH sensitive, which can be used in detecting tumors or cancer state in the future medical use without patients’ exposure to X-ray. Hydrogels are formed by chemical or physical crosslinking. With respect to hydrogel porous structures and their unique large internal surfaces, the way of detecting biological events involves hydrogel-based biosensors that can accommodate bioreceptors for detection of biochemical or biological interactions. This is a new project and there involves many trials and errors at this stage. We try to capture the bromothymol blue dye (BTB) which is pH-sensitive in the synthesized hydrogel nanoparticle. There are different contributing factors that can cause the dye not to stay in the NP. Our next step is to try out different solutions to increase dye retention
Interdisciplinary, Natural/Life Sciences, Physical Sciences
