IIN Frontiers in Nanotechnology Seminar Series – Luis M. Liz-Marzán

Professor Luis M. Liz-Marzán

Ikerbasque Research Professor
Scientific Director, CIC biomaGUNE
Location – Pancoe Auditorium
Hosted by Chad Mirkin

Abstract

The novel field of Nanoplasmonics focuses on the manipulation of light using materials with significantly smaller sizes than the radiation wavelength. This is typically achieved using nanostructured metals, since they can very efficiently absorb and scatter light because of their ability to support coherent oscillations of free (conduction) electrons. Although the remarkable optical response of “finely divided” metals is well known since more than 150 years ago, the recent development of sophisticated characterization techniques and modeling methods has dramatically reactivated the field. An essential pillar behind the development of nanoplasmonics is the great advance in fabrication methods, which have achieved an exquisite control over the composition and morphology of nanostructured metals. In particular, Colloid Chemistry has the advantage of simplicity and large scale production, while offering a number of parameters that can be used as a handle to direct not only nanoparticle morphology but also surface properties and subsequent processing.This talk will provide an overview of “colloidal nanoplasmonics” as a sufficiently mature field to bridge the basic fabrication of nanoplasmonic building blocks, all the way to biosensing in real systems, such as bacteria colonies and biofilms.

Biography

Dr. Luis M. Liz-Marzán is a PhD from the University of Santiago de Compostela (1992) and has been postdoc at Utrecht University and visiting professor at Tohoku University, University of Michigan, Melbourne University, University of Hamburg, as well as the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces. After holding a chair in Physical Chemistry at the University of Vigo, he is currently Ikerbasque Research Professor and Scientific Director of the Basque Centre of Cooperative Research in Biomaterials (CIC biomaGUNE), in San Sebastián. He is co-author of over 340 publications and 6 patents, supervised more than 20 PhD theses and received several national and international research awards, including the Humboldt Research Award, DuPont Award for Science, Rhodia Prize of the European Colloid and Interface Society, ACS Nano Lectureship Award, Langmuir Lectureship, and the Medal of the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry. He has been recently admitted at the Royal Academy of Sciences of Spain. He serves as senior editor for Langmuir, reviewing editor for Science, and is editorial advisory board member of several chemistry, nanotechnology and materials science journals. His current interests include nanoparticle synthesis and assembly, nanoplasmonics, and development of nanoparticle-based sensing and diagnostic tools.