Seoul National University · Materials Science
Professor Hongje Jang's research lab specializes in the design and application of advanced nanomaterials for biomedical and biotechnological applications. The lab focuses on developing novel nanomaterials—particularly gold-silver and graphene oxide-based systems—for real-time biosensing, targeted drug delivery, and combinational cancer therapy. Key research directions include the engineering of hollow and porous nanostructures with tunable optical, catalytic, and loading properties, as well as the development of innovative assays for high-throughput screening of antiviral and anticancer agents. The lab integrates nanoscience with enzymatic and molecular functions to create multifunctional platforms for diagnostics and therapeutics.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Time to unwind: Graphene oxide (GO) enables the quantitative measurement of helicase-dependent double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) unwinding activity in real time. GO selectively binds to unwound fluorescent-dye-labeled single-stranded DNA and quenches its fluorescence (see picture). The helicase activity is monitored by following the change in fluorescence. Detailed facts of importance to specialist readers are published as ”Supporting Information”. Such documents are peer-reviewed, but not copy-edited
In recent years, nanoscience and nanotechnology have emerged as promising fields in materials science.
Galvanic replacement reaction is a useful method to prepare various hollow nanostructures. We developed fast and facile preparation of biocompatible and structurally robust hollow Au-Ag nanostructures by using dextran-coated Ag nanoparticles. Oxidation of the surface dextran alcohols was enabled by catalytic activity of the core Au-Ag nanostructure, introducing carbonyl groups that are useful for further bioconjugation. Subsequent doxorubicin (Dox) conjugation via Schiff base formation was achie
Nanozymatic reactions that produce or consume oxygen (O<sub>2</sub>) or reactive oxygen species (ROS) consist of oxidase, peroxidase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase-type activity. Although extensive studies were conducted to overcome hypoxia through nanozymatic reactions, the construction of an ideal system is challenging, given that the reactants and products are arranged in a recurring structure for continuous consumption in a full cycle. In this study, speckled Ru-Te hollow nanorods
The polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-coated spherically clustered porous gold-silver alloy nanoparticle (PVP-SPAN) was prepared by low temperature mediated, partially inhibited galvanic replacement reaction followed by silver etching process. The prepared porous nanostructures exhibited excellent photothermal conversion efficiency under irradiation of near-infrared light (NIR) and allowed a high payload of both doxorubicin (Dox) and thiolated dye-labeled oligonucleotide, DNAzyme (FDz). Especially, PVP
A GO-to solution: A simple graphene oxide (GO)-based assay to screen for selective inhibitors of a hepatitis C virus (HCV) helicase along with inhibitors of a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS CoV) helicase was tested (see scheme). A single screen found five inhibitors highly selective for the HCV helicase orthologous to the SARS CoV helicase. Some of these hits were validated using the same GO-based assay. Worldwide, over 170 million people have hepatitis C virus (HCV) infecti
Rhodium nanoparticles are promising transition metal nanocatalysts for electrochemical and synthetic organic chemistry applications. However, notwithstanding their potential, to date, Rh nanoparticles have not been utilized for biological applications; there has been no cytotoxicity study of Rh reported in the literature. In this regard, the absence of a facile and controllable synthetic strategy of Rh nanostructures with various sizes and morphologies might be responsible for the lack of progre
Gold nanomaterials are commonly used in biomedical applications owing to their excellent biocompatibility and unique physicochemical and optical properties, whereas Pd nanomaterials are mainly used as catalysts. Here, we re-examined the possible applications of Pd nanomaterials. Reducing agent-assisted excessive galvanic replacement-mediated porous Au nanoplates, porous Pt nanoplates, and porous Pd nanoplate synthesis enabled us to compare the properties and efficiency of nanoplates composed of
Mit bloßen Auge zu erkennen: Mithilfe von Graphenoxid (GO) kann die Helicase-abhängige Entwindung doppelsträngiger DNA (dsDNA) quantitativ und in Echtzeit verfolgt werden. GO bindet selektiv an entwundene fluoreszenzmarkierte einzelsträngige DNA und löscht die Fluoreszenz (siehe Bild). Die Helicaseaktivität wird über die Fluoreszenzänderung registriert. Detailed facts of importance to specialist readers are published as ”Supporting Information”. Such documents are peer-reviewed, but not copy-edi
Biocompatible and robust gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were prepared via a simple synthetic strategy employing dextran as a reducing agent and surface coating material. Cross-linking and amination of the surface-coated dextran significantly improved the colloidal stability of AuNPs and rendered the nanoparticles more amenable to bioconjugation.
Chemotherapy, the most commonly applied cancer treatment, often causes unexpected failure due to multidrug resistance (MDR). To overcome MDR, we have designed a platform to realize a combinational synergistic effect of a natural bioactive product (fucoidan), anticancer small compound (doxorubicin), and photothermal nanocarrier (Pt nanoparticle) to treat drug-resistant breast cancer cells. Especially, fucoidan, a sulfated, polysaccharide-structured, therapeutic biopolymer, has been recently recog
Beyond the synthesis of typical nanocrystals, various breakthrough approaches have been developed to provide more useful structural features and functionalities. Among them, galvanic replacement, a structural transformation reaction accompanied by constituent element substitution, has been applied to various areas. However, the innovative improvement for galvanic replacement needs to be considered because of the limitation of applicable element pairs to maintain structural stability. To expand t
Although nanoparticles based on Group 8 elements such as Fe and Ru have been developed, not much is known about Os nanoparticles. However, Os-based nanostructures might have potential in various applications including biomedical fields. Therefore, in this study, we synthesized Os-Te nanorods (OsTeNRs) by solvothermal galvanic replacement with Te nanotemplates. We explored the nanozymatic activity of the synthesized OsTeNRs and found that they exhibited superior photothermal conversion and photoc
Nanoflowers, which are flower-shaped nanomaterials, have attracted significant attention from scientists due to their unique morphologies, facile synthetic methods, and physicochemical properties such as a high surface-to-volume ratio, enhanced charge transfer and carrier immobility, and an increased surface reaction efficiency. Nanoflowers can be synthesized using inorganic or organic materials, or a combination of both (called a hybrid), and are mainly used for biomedical applications. Thus fa
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