Nanotechnology, Imaging, and Infectious Diseases
Welcome to the Hajfathalian Lab Website
We are a nanobiotechnology lab at New Jersey instutute of Technology. Our research focuses on the development, synthesis, and characterization of theranostic nanomaterials, as well as their direct applications in sensing, imaging, and therapy. This area aims to create organic and inorganic nanostructures and investigate their optical properties for biomedical applications.
One of our research areas is the development of complex metal nanoparticles to diagnose and treat oral and wound biofilms. Biofilms are one of the most common and costly causes of tooth decay and skin infections. We are demonstrating an effective, antibiotic-free, and low-cost method to destroy biofilm bacteria within a short period of time.
A second area of our research focuses on the synthesis of biocompatible plasmonic nanoparticles for imaging, labeling, and sensing. Nanoparticles have excellent contrast and optical properties. These properties make them great candidates for in vitro and in vivo biological applications. We are exploring colloidal-based nanoparticles with unique optical properties that effectively enhance biocompatibility, efficiency, and reliability for multimodal contrast agents.
A third area of active research in our lab involves bacteriophage-based probes as theranostic agents. Phages are highly biodegradable, and they can be produced inexpensively and in large numbers. In our lab, we are modifying bacteriophage coat proteins and assembling them with plasmonic nanoparticles (such as Au, Ag, and Pt nanoparticles). This will construct a hybrid phage-nanomaterial probe that can specifically detect disease cells, target with the intensity of the light signal generated by the plasmonic metal nanoparticles and phages under light irradiation, and simultaneously infect the bacteria.
A fourth area of research is investigating the optical properties of bacteriophages for environmentally friendly sunblockers. In this research area, we are exploring a set of naturally occurring bacteriophages, viruses produced by bacteria, that have the remarkable property of absorbing UV light. They are safe, structurally stable, completely biodegradable, inexpensive, and non-toxic to human cells or aquatic bacteria.