I will summarize our recent efforts in the synthesis and functionalization of monodisperse magnetic nanoparticles for imaging and delivery applications. We have developed various synthetic procedures for making monodisperse magnetic nanoparticles of iron oxide MFe2O4 (M = Fe, Co, Mn), core/shell structured M/Fe3O4 (M = Co, Fe), and dumbbell-like NM-Fe3O4 (NM = Au, Pt) with tunable sizes and magnetics. The particles coated with polyethylene glycol and various peptides are stable in physiological conditions and are able to target either cancer cell membranes or cell nuclei depending on their surface functionalization. These nanoparticles can be used as sensitive labels for cancer diagnostics and as efficient delivery tools for therapeutics.

Professor Shouheng Sun received his B.Sc from Sichuan University , M.Sc. from Nanjing University and Ph.D. from Brown University all in chemistry. He was a postdoctoral fellow from 1996-1998 and a research staff member from 1998 - 2004 at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center working on nanomaterials synthesis and self-assembly for information storage applications. He joined the Chemistry Department of Brown University in January 2005 as an Associate Professor of Chemistry. He was appointed as an Associate Professor of Engineering in September 2005 and Associate Professor of Diagnostic Imaging in April 2007.