IN-PERSON EVENT - REGISTER HERE to attend
By Dr Nikola Ž. Knežević, BioSense Institute, University of Novi Sad, Serbia
Abstract: Nanostructured porous silicon-based materials have attracted considerable attention due to their high surface area, tunable pore architecture, versatile surface chemistry, and broad applicability in fields such as drug delivery, biomedical imaging, separation science, sensing, and heterogeneous catalysis. Depending on their framework composition, these materials can be broadly classified into three major categories: porous silica, porous organosilica, and porous silicon. Each class can be synthesized through distinct fabrication approaches, enabling precise control over structural and physicochemical properties.
Variations in framework composition, pore characteristics, and surface functionalization strategies provide access to a wide range of functionalities, allowing these materials to be tailored for specific applications. This lecture will present an overview of the design, synthesis, and functionalization of porous silica-, organosilica-, and silicon-based nanomaterials, with a particular focus on their emerging roles in cancer targeting, drug delivery, and biomedical imaging. Furthermore, recent advances in the development of sensing platforms based on porous silica and porous silicon will be discussed, highlighting their potential for sensitive and selective detection of biologically and environmentally relevant analytes.
This presentation aims to provide a comprehensive perspective on the unique properties of porous silicon-based nanomaterials and their growing impact across biomedical and analytical sciences.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the European Union’s Twinning HORIZON-WIDERA- 2023-ACCESS-02 call under grant agreement 101159710 (Know4Nano).
Short bio: Dr. Nikola Ž. Knežević is employed as a Full research professor at the Biosense Institute, Novi Sad, Serbia. He received his doctorate degree in 2009 at Iowa State University, USA, in the area of mesoporous silica nanoparticles for stimuli-responsive and targeted drug delivery. He gained further research experience as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Houston (research in the field of multistep organic synthesis), Universidad Complutense de Madrid (nanomaterials science, mesoporous silica), Institute Charles Gerhardt Montpellier (nanomaterials science, porous silicon and organosilica), FP7–ERA ERA Chairs postdoctoral fellow at the Vinča Nuclear Institute and as Pole Chimie Ballard Visiting Professor at the University of Montpellier. Nikola is the author/co-author of over 50 peer-reviewed journal publications and one patent. Nikola was the coordinator of one H2020 project (NANOFACTS GA 952259), three Serbian national projects (PRECAST—6060755, proof of concept—5566, technology transfer -1135), and two bilateral research projects (with France and Germany). He also participated in two innovation projects with industry as a principal investigator. His main research interests include the synthesis of functional bioresponsive nanostructured materials for protection of health and the environment.
Links to publications:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1563-7763
https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=Xhjg8iwAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate
Hosted by ICREA Research Professor and Group Leader Arben Merkoçi, Nanobioelectronics and Biosensors Group at ICN2.