Nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Among the winners of the Russian Scienсe Foundation's competition for initiative research conducted by young scientists is a project carried out at the Department of Electrodynamics of the UNN Faculty of Radiophysics under the guidance of  Associate Professor Ivan Pavlichenko. The project focuses on nanoparticles,  objects that are one thousand times smaller than the thickness of a hair. The type of nanoparticle structure being studied resembles a matryoshka nesting doll in which spherical layers of metal and dielectric alternate. Nanoparticles have a remarkable property of amplifying laser radiation when irradiated with laser light. It is possible to choose the parametres of nanoparticles (thickness of layers, their materials) so that they amplify laser radiation in the spectral region in which live tissues are transparent. This property can be used for various biological and medical applications, including  the study of living cells and bacteria, photothermal cancer therapy, two-photon laser scanning  microscopy. This project is aimed at developing the theory of interaction of laser radiation with multi-layer nanoparticles and building a complete and adequate physical model of this interaction. The model thus developed should make it possible to calculate the parameters of the optimal nanostructure for such applications.