The Rice Thresher, Vol. 99, No. 14, Ed. 1 Friday, December 2, 2011 Page: 8 of 20
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8 NEWS
O CANCER
FROM PAGE 1
"Nanorod particles have interesting optical
properties and are a fairly new area of research,"
Vigderman said. "Nanorods scatter light, so you
can see them when they are collectively together,
which is good for imaging, and their photothermal
property of turning light into heat offers potential
for cancer treatment."
Implications for cancer treatment would in-
volve targeting low-beam laser light on cancer
cells that have been injected with nanorods. The
light would induce the nanorods to produce heat,
generating enough thermal energy to "cook" the
cancer cells, effectively killing the cells and pre-
venting metastases.
Vigderman has been researching gold nanoro-
ds as part of his doctoral work since his arrival at
Rice four years ago, and his topic of interest has
proven to be a breakthrough area in nanotech-
nology research. His recent success in loading
nanorods into cancer cells has eliminated one
barrier toward the prospective use of nanorods in
cancer treatment.
The biological implications of his research,
however, were not in his original research plans.
"I'm a chemist," Vigderman said. "My research
wasn't originally focused on biological applica-
tions. I started with nanorods right away, but the
core research I do is how to functionalize the sur-
face of the nanorod. I only saw the potential for a
biological purpose later on."
Vigderman says the knowledge that nanorods
could be used for eradicating cancer is not exactly
a new idea, and has been tried in other labs around
the country. What is new about his research is the
sheer number of nanoparticles he and collabora-
tors have been able to induce cells to uptake and
the method of eliminating toxic surfactants to pre-
vent toxic effects on surrounding cells.
Rice research into gold nanorod particles be-
gan with funding from the National Science Foun-
dation a few years ago. After studying basic char-
acteristics of the nanorods, Zubarev said it became
important to find real-world applications for the
particles.
"That's how we made this connection to can-
cer treatment," Zubarev said in an online video
covering the research project earlier this month.
Prior to the successful uptake of nanorod
particles by cancer cells, researchers were fac-
ing difficulties in how to get the gold-based
particles to dissolve in solution without adding
solvents that could be toxic to healthy human
cells. The Rice chemists succeeded in dissolving
the gold particles and forcing them into cancer
cells via development of a new method using a
surfactant called MTAB in replacement of the
traditionally used CTAB. CTAB is commonly
known for its use in hair conditioners and works
like most surfactants by coating particles, al-
lowing them to dissolve into a solution. CTAB is
toxic to animals, likely because of its propensity
to leak into media surrounding cells rather than
remaining contained within regions of nanorod
localization.
"Nanorods can't be synthesized without
CTAB," Vigderman said. "They just won't grow. We
knew CTAB was toxic, so we had to make a surfac-
tant that was similar in structure but had a higher
affinity for nanoparticles and would not leach into
surrounding media where it could be harmful to
surrounding cells."
Their solution: MTAB, a molecule chemically
similar to CTAB but with a greater affinity for the
nanorods and thus less likely to leak outside of
the cancer cells targeted for destruction. The pa-
per published this month reported their success
in using MTAB for nanorod synthesis and effective
elimination of toxic CTAB from tissues that previ-
ously scientists were unable to eliminate.
Thus far, the Rice research team has only fo-
cused on cell culture studies, which is not always
indicative of how live organisms will respond to
treatment with nanorods.
"We would like to try the photothermal therapy
in tissues," Vigderman said, speaking of the next
stages of his research.
Vigderman said that though he is excited for
future experiments to test the effectiveness of
nanorod cancer therapies, he remains confident
that nanorods also have potential for further appli-
cations outsideW biomedical uses.
"I think, in the future, nanorods could even be
used in photovoltaics or for new energy sources,"
Vigderman said. The optical and thermal proper-
ties of nanorods offer varied opportunities of fu-
ture research for Vigderman to pursue in his con-
tinued career at Rice and beyond, as he hopes to
graduate and work in industry.
The original research article published
in Angewandte Chemie reporting the find-
ings of Vigderman, Manna and Zubarev can
be found online at http://onIinelibrary.wHey.
C0m/d0i/w.i002/anie.20ii07304/suppinf0. A
video posted by Rice Media containing inter-
views with the researchers and a view of the
lab where the research is being conducted can
be found at http://www.media.rice.edu/me-
dia/NewsBot. asp ?MODE = VIEW8tID=i 6/467.
the Rice Thresher
Friday, December 2,2011
ice' dashes with Alaskan congressman
History professor Brinkley gets in heated exchange during congressional testimony
es] by the wrong name and say what they're
saying is garbage. Young has been doing this
to numerous people ... I didn't do anything
great or amazing; I just defended myself
against a bully."
In an official statement from Young's office,
his spokesman said Brinkley's actions were an
effort to sell more books.
a
Dr. Douglas Brinkley
by Nicole Zhao
Thresher Editorial Staff
Professor of History Douglas Brinkley
clashed with Alaskan Representative Don
Young at a congressional hearing two weeks
ago in a heated argument after Young dubbed
Brinkley's testimony "garbage" and mistakenly
called him "Dr. Rice."
"It's Dr. Brinkley," Brinkley replied. "Rice is
a university. I know you went to Yuba [Commu-
nity] College and couldn't graduate."
Young responded by saying, "I'll call you
anything I want to call you while you sit in that
chair. You just be quiet!"
"You don't own me. I pay your salary," Brin-
kley retorted, before Committee Chairman Doc
Hastings interrupted, calling for order.
The altercation occurred at a U.S. House
Natural Resources Committee hearing regard-
ing the potential effects of oil drilling in the
Arctic National Wildlife Reiujje in Alaska.
Brinkley, whose latest book is titled The Qui-
et World: Saving Alaska's Wilderness Kingdom,
1879-1960, testified as a witness to advocate for
the protection and preservation of ANWR.
Brinkley said he does not regret the way he
responded to Young at the hearing.
"It was one of the best things I've ever
done," he said. "You can't just call [witness-
I didn't do anything
great or amazing; I
just defended myself
against a bully.
Douglas Brinkley
99
"What happened ... was nothing more than
a publicity stunt," Young's press secretary,
Luke Miller, said in the statement. "Witnesses
are invited ... to answer questions and provide
insight, not repeatedly interrupt... members of
the committee and be disrespectful."
However, Brinkley said he has received
positive feedback from people from all over the
nation and nothing but support from the Rice
community.
"I didn't expect such a warm ... over-the-
moon embrace [at Rice]. It makes me feel even
closer to the university," he said. "I think that
Rice is very proud of its faculty and [the Rice
community is] loyal. We value the written word
and the fact that I gave a benign testimony on
an issue I care very much about."
His students applauded him in class and his
colleagues expressed their support, he said.
"It was awesome. He had a right to stand
up for himself," Bro".-r 'unior Kylie Cullinan,
who is currently taking Brinkley's HIST 291:
20th Century American Presidents class, said.
"He's super passionate about what he does. In
our class, he talks a lot about Teddy Roosevelt
and how important conservation was to him,
and you can tell it's an important topic to Dr.
Brinkley as well."
Other students had mixed feelings about
the exchange at the hearing.
"I just can't believe it's two grown men in
this professional setting trying to actually
get things done and they're getting so catty,"
Brown freshman Madlyn Constant said.
"Though I have seen the footage, I think
it is hard to make a judgement on the situ-
ation," Sid Richardson College senior Raj
Salhotra said. "[But] if we ... focus on the big
picture, [the fact that] Rice's faculty are such
experts in their field that they are called to
testify before the United States Congress ... is
a testament to the intellect and firepower of
Rice's faculty."
Politicians have debated over whether or
not to drill ANWR, the largest of the nation's
555 wildlife refuges, for oil and gas for years.
After the quarrel at the hearing, Young
made his argument in favor of drilling.
"The Arctic Plain is ... part of the most defi-
cit part of the area. And this country is starving
itself because we're buying foreign oil," Young
said. "Seventy-six percent of Alaskans support
it. I'm listening to the people that live there.
Not the people that live 400 miles away. Not the
people who say they represent a certain group
when they do not."
However, Brinkley received the last word at
the committee meeting.
"I don't know a representative who doesn't
love their district," Brinkley said after Young
left the hearing. "Every state in America's
landscape is beautiful if you love it. But some
people love money more than their homeland."
According to Brinkley, ANWR is the "crown
jewel" of the nation's wildlife refuge system.
"They're finding uranium in the Grand Can-
yon, does that mean we mine the canyon? No,
that's not what [these places] were created for,"
he said. "As for money, these places are price-
less. These heirlooms should be passed down
from generation to generation. ANWR is Amer-
ica's Serengeti, not Exxon Mobil's."
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Rutenberg, Josh. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 99, No. 14, Ed. 1 Friday, December 2, 2011, newspaper, December 2, 2011; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth398433/m1/8/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.