Professor Sotiris E. Pratsinis from the ETH Zurich, Switzerland, has been a visiting scientist at the Universität Duisburg-Essen (UDE) since January 2012 and carries out fundamental research on nanoparticles.
Prof. Dr. Sotiris E. Pratsinis
Pratsinis has selected the UDE and the research team of Prof. Dr. Markus, a professor for Nanoparticle Process Technology at the Institut für Verbrennung und Gasdynamik, for their excellent professors and knowledgeable students. He won the research award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Along with the prize money worth €60,000, he also got the opportunity to work with German colleagues in specific projects.
At the ETH Zürich, Pratsinis lectures process technology with focus on combustion synthesis of nanomaterials, particle technology and mass transfer. At UDE, his area of focus is conducting simulation study by gas-phase coating the nanoparticles to understand the mechanism of their bonding and the influence of the synthesis conditions on their properties, characteristics and properties in numerous applications. This will be helpful in using nanoparticles properly for applications such as biomedical applications.
Pratsinis’ team has already recognized the efficiency of nanoparticles in the healing process through a bio-detector invented in 2010. The sensor, produced from flame-synthesized mixed ceramics deposited directly on gold electrodes, is capable of detecting diabetes by measuring the acetone content in the exhaled human breath. The drug delivery efficiency of the nanoparticles depends on how they are coated. Studies conducted at the ETH Zürich demonstrated the capability of the nanoparticles to detect cancer cells. Soon the nanoparticles may be bonded with the cancer cells to destroy the cells utilizing electromagnetic radiation, thus paving the way to destroy tumors in a non-invasive manner.