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Old Tuesday, November 06, 2007
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Default Optical biomedical imaging

PHD PROJECTS IN BIOPHOTONICS
Optical biomedical imaging: towards live imaging and single protein detection
The MQ Photonics at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia is one of the leading institutions in the world for photonics research. We are seeking a candidate for a postgraduate research scholarship (PhD) in the field of Biophotonics. You will explore both experimental and theoretical development of optical biomedical imaging as a part of a dynamic research team. A passion for doing good science and excellent study record are main selection criteria, whereas a range of undergraduate degrees may qualify for this postgraduate research.

Three projects are available, described below - please contact Associate Professor Andrei Zvyagin (azvyagin@ics.mq.edu.au) for more details. To apply, please supply a detailed CV and the email addresses of two academic referees.

1. Background-free optical imaging of biological macromolecules and nanoparticles
In most cases in optics, imaging resolution is limited to roughly the wavelength of light. At the same time, the optical detection sensitivity of individual particles is unlimited theoretically. It is limited practically by the ratio of wanted versus unwanted photons, called background. The better the background is suppressed, the smaller particles, e.g. proteins, are detectable. A PhD project will address realisation of this detection principle.

2. Application of multiphoton microscopy to study of collagen regeneration
Multiphoton microscopy (MPM) is a new imaging method, which produces exquisite images of live cells and biological tissue. Tightly focused ultrashort pulsed laser radiation elicits non-linear optical response in the biological matter, which is detectable and carries wealth of information.
We intend to apply MPM to image collagen-abundant tissue, such as cartilage, relying on a strong second-harmonic signal from collagen. In collaboration with the medical and laser physics researchers, we will investigate, yet mysterious, mechanisms of collagen regeneration under the exposure to the laser light. Understanding these mechanisms will have tremendous impact on the current practice of treatment of osteoarthritis and the related disease.

3. Application of luminescent nanodiamonds to intracellular imaging
Imaging at the molecular level has recently become a reality, if specific molecular sites are tagged with "optical labels", so that even an individual molecule becomes visible in the cell. These optical labels can be engineered as organic dyes, quantum dots, or luminescent nanocrystals. Our research is focused on the latter, i.e. luminescent nanodiamond (LND). LND is a diamond nanocrystal with a colour centre, which renders nanocrystal highly visible in the cell, even on the background of the cell's own fluorescence, called autofluorescence.

A PhD student will carry our research into characterisation of LNDs and LND-assisted intracellular imaging
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