Ian M. Kennedy

tel: 530 752 2796
fax: 530 752 4158
E-mail: imkennedy@ucdavis.edu

Area of Expertise

Optical biosensors, nanotechnology, material synthesis

Biography

Dr. Kennedy joined the Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering at the University of California Davis in 1986 after a period as a Research Staff member at Princeton University and several years at the Aeronautical Research Laboratories in Australia. He has developed a major aerosol research facility at the University of California Davis in which efforts are directed at varied problems related to nanoscale particle synthesis and applications in technology. A major thrust of Dr. Kennedy's efforts is directed towards understanding the impact of ultrafine aerosol particles on human health. This interest is pursued via extensive multidisciplinary collaborations with colleagues in Environmental Toxicology, Land Air Water Resources, Veterinary Medicine, Chemistry and Civil and Environment Engineering. This work studies the transport of ultrafine particles in tissues and organism by making use of nanophosphor materials that are excited with lasers and that emit long lifetime phosphorescence. He is also involved in applying nanoscale particles to detection technologies in biology and biophotonics e.g., using nanoscale phosphors as labels of biomolecules. This work involves collaborative research with colleagues in the Departments of Entomology and Internal Medicine. Currently, he is working at implementing multiple immunoassays on top of a magnetic/phosphorescent nanoparticle. He is also exploring the use of these optically active particles in cancer detection and therapies with a colleague at the UC Davis Medical Center.

Lecture Title(s)

Synthesis of Particles Possessing Magnetic and Fluorescent Properties: Application of Magnetic/Luminescent Particles in Immunoassays
Many types of fluorescent nanoparticles have been synthesized as alternatives to organic dyes in biochemistry. Magnetic beads also have a long history of biological applications. In our work we apply spray pyrolysis in order to engineer a novel type of particle that has both fluorescent and magnetic properties. The particles have magnetic cores of iron oxide and a fluorescent shell of europium - doped gadolinium oxide (Eu:Gd2O3). Measurements on a Vibrating Sample Magnetometer showed an overall paramagnetic response behavior of the composite particles. Fluorescence spectroscopy showed luminescent spectra typical of the Eu ion in a Gd2O3 host with a narrow emission peak centered near 615 nm. Our synthesis method provides a low-cost, high-rate synthesis that allows a wide range of biological applications of magnetic/fluorescent core/shell particles. Immunoassays make us of highly specific antibodies to bind to toxins in food or water samples. We show that it is possible to carry out multiple immunoassays on one nanoparticle by using the magnetic and fluorescent properties of the particle.