The College of Life Science at National Taiwan University Professor Ja-an Annie Ho ( 何佳安 ) BioAnalytical Chemistry and NanoBiomedicine Laboratory: Design and Development of Biosensors and Targeted Nano-drug Delivery Systems Dr. Annie Ho and her research team seek to design and develop new analytical techniques for the rapid, sensitive, and reliable detection of pathogenic agents, such as bacterial toxins and microbes. These methods have great potential for application in clinical diagnostics, food safety monitoring, epidemic control, and, most recently, counterterrorism campaigns. Nanostructured materials have become attractive targets in much of contemporary advanced material research; they are appealing for use in electronic and optical devices, as well as in the development of medical diagnostic devices. The fabrication of nanostructured materials has especially garnered considerable attention because of their superior thermal, optical, chemical, and physical properties. In recent years, Dr. Ho and her research team have The photocaged folate nanoconjugates are activated by irradiation to remove the caging groups, and then to target cancer cells (NBA=2-nitrobenzylamine). 30 Department of Biochemical Science and Technology Cartoon representation of the assembly and amplified detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) using the anti-CEA-CdS biotracer and the carbon nanoparticle/ poly(ethylene imine) (PEI)-modified screen-printed graphite electrode (CNP–PEI/ SPGE). devoted much effort to learning the improving electrochemical performance of modified electrodes incorporating various nanomaterials. In addition to the development of biosensors, Dr. Ho’s group is also using liposomes and various nanomaterials to study drug delivery. Many biochemists and pharmacists in industry, academia, and government administration are interested in designing novel, controlledrelease drug delivery systems. Drugs that exhibit narrow therapeutic indexes often create major challenges for pharmaceutical scientists during their development. The application of nanotechnology to the delivery of such drugs can overcome these dilemmas. An ideal anticancer drug/gene delivery vector encapsulates the drug (or gene) to prevent its interaction with healthy cells. The ligandassisted nanocarrier reaches the diseased sites and releases the drug (or gene) from the drug delivery vector to destroy the cancerous cells. Such drug delivery vectors offer many advantages, including improved efficacy and reduced toxicity. Selected publications 1. Fan, N. C., Cheng, F. Y., Ho, J.-a. A.,* Yeh, C. S.* (2012) Photocontrolled targeted drug delivery: photocaged biologically active folic acid as a light-responsive tumor-targeting molecule. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 51, 1-6. 2. Wang, L.-S., Chuang, M.-C.*, Ho, J.-a. A.,* (2012) Nanotheranostics – a review of recent publications. International Journal of Nanomedicine. 7, 4679–4695. 3. Ho, J.-a. A.,* Chang, H.C., Su, W.T. (2012) DOPA-mediated reduction allows the facile synthesis of fluorescent gold nanoclusters for use as sensing probes for ferric Ions. Analytical Chemistry, 82(7), 3246-3253. 4. Tanwar, S. Chuang, M.C., Prasad, K.S., Ho, J.-a A.* (2011). Template-free synthesis of electroactive Au-Calix-PPY nanocomposite for electrochemical sensor applications. Green Chemistry. 14(3), 799-808. 5. Wang, L.S., Wu, L.C.,* Lu, S.Y., Chang, L.L., Teng, I.T., Yang, C.M.,* Ho, J.-a A.* (2010). 31 The College of Life Science at National Taiwan University Biofunctionalized phospholipid-capped mesoporous silica nanoshuttles for targeted drug delivery: improved water suspensibility and decreased nonspecific protein binding. ACS Nano. 4(8), 4371-4379. 6.Ho, J.-a A.,* Chang, H.C., Shih, N.Y., Wu, L.C., Chang, Y.F., Chen, C.C., Chou, C. (2010). Diagnostic detection of human lung cancer-associated antigen using a gold nanoparticle-based electrochemical immunosensor. Analytical Chemistry. 82(14), 5944-5950. 7.Ho, J.-a A.,* Hung, C.H., Wu, L.C., Liao, M.Y. (2009). A folic acid-anchored PEGgylated phospholipid bioconjugate and its application in a liposomal immunodiagnostic assay for folic acid. Analytical Chemistry. 81(14), 5671–5677. 32 8.Liao, W.C. and Ho, J.-a A.* (2009). An attomole DNA electrochemical sensor for the detection of Escherichia coli O157. Analytical Chemistry. 81(7), 2470–2476. 9.Ho, J.-a A.,* Lin, Y.C., Wang, L.S., Hwang, K.C., Chou, P.T. (2009). Carbon nanoparticleenhanced immunoelectrochemical detection for protein tumor marker with CdS biotracers. Analytical Chemistry, 81(4), 1340-1346. 10. Ho, J.-a A.,* Hung, C.H. (2008). Using liposomal fluorescent biolabels to develop an immunoaffinity chromatographic biosensing system for biotin. Analytical Chemistry, 80(16), 6405–6409.