Xiaohua Huang, Ph.D.

Emory CCNE Distinguished Fellow

Prior to coming to Emory/Georgia Tech, Dr. Huang received her B.S. in Chemistry from Jilin University (Changchun, P.R. China) in 1996 and M.S. in Physical Chemistry from Peking University (Beijing, P.R. China) in 2001. In 2002 she began graduate school at Georgia Tech where she received her Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry in 2006 and continued as a postdoctoral fellow under the guidance of Prof. Mostafa A. El-Sayed. Her dissertation was entitled, "Gold Nanoparticles Used in Cancer Cell Diagnostics, Selective Photothermal Therapy and Catalysis of NADH Oxidation Reaction". In this project, she synthesized, characterized and bioconjugated gold nanoparticles in different sizes and shapes. Using these functionalized gold nanoparticles, especially colloidal gold nanospheres and nanorods, she developed optical methods for cancer diagnosis using dark field light scattering imaging, surface plasmon resonance absorption spectroscopy and surface enhanced Raman scattering. She also developed selective photothermal therapy of cancer using antibody conjugated gold nanospheres in combination with a visible argon ion laser and gold nanorods in combination with a near infrared diode laser.

Her current research is medical applications of novel nanoparticles with focuses on two areas: one is to develop colloidal gold nanoparticles (including nanorods) for tumor therapeutic applications and the other is to develop advanced quantum dots and related nanoparticles for intraoperative cancer imaging. Colloidal gold nanoparticles have demonstrated great potential for cancer therapeutic applications due to the unique photothermal properties, as shown by in vitro and preliminary in vivo studies. Comprehensive studies on some critical issues such as the bio-distribution, toxicity, tumor accumulation and photothermal efficiency of gold nanoparticles especially gold nanorods in different aspect ratios will be conducted before their uses in clinic trials. In addition, she will devote her efforts in developing other types of advanced nanoparticles such as quantum dots and iron oxide for cancer imaging and their translation to practical applications.

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