UB Establishes Institute For Research On Lasers, Photonics And Biophotonics

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo has established a new, multidisciplinary institute to conduct research designed to harness the power of light in a broad spectrum of applications and potential products, ranging from telecommunications to cancer therapy.

The Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics, which will capitalize on synergies between UB and Western New York industry and research and medical institutions, was announced today (Nov. 23, 1999) by David Triggle, Ph.D., SUNY Distinguished Professor and UB provost.

The institute is headed by Executive Director Paras Prasad, Ph.D., SUNY Distinguished Professor in the departments of Chemistry and Physics in the UB College of Arts and Sciences, and Samuel P. Capen Chair in the Department of Chemistry.

The idea is to foster economic growth in Western New York by tapping into UB's strengths in lasers, photonics and biotechnology. Photonics is the information-processing counterpart of electronics, using photons instead of electrons to process information and biotechnology.

"UB and Western New York enjoy a unique set of resources, both locally and across the border in Canada, which has made it possible for us to take an early lead in lasers, photonics and biophotonics research by creating a world-class institute in these fields," said Triggle.

He said the institute's goals are to conduct research and development on new materials and technologies leading to technology transfer, to provide education and industrial training to develop a skilled workforce and to offer a world-class facility for consulting and testing.

The Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics will serve as the focal point of a photonics corridor that is envisioned to encompass institutions and firms in Western New York and in nearby Ontario.

"This institute is a stellar example of the highly productive, interdisciplinary partnerships that UB is fostering with businesses, industries and research institutions in Western New York and southern Ontario," said UB President William R. Greiner. "Because UB's photonics research facilities under Professor Prasad have focused on both the fundamental science involved in the design of photonic materials and their industrial applications, we have already scored major achievements in the preparation of new optical materials -- paving the way for additional successes from our new institute in the near future.

"We're excited about the institute's potential to stimulate economic development in the region, and we look forward to the institute's future advances in scientific knowledge and the development of new partnerships with other institutions under Professor Prasad's leadership."

"With this institute, UB is doing something that goes far beyond an academic exercise," explained Prasad. "We are really reaching out to industries and research institutions in an entrepreneurial endeavor that will benefit this community. Together with our partners, we will be developing real cost-effective products and solutions that will attract new businesses to this area and generate economic development."

The Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics has its roots in UB's Photonics Research Laboratory (PRL), established in 1990 and considered one of the most advanced and comprehensive facilities for photonics research in the U.S.

Home to nearly $10 million worth of equipment acquired over the past decade, the PRL has an extraordinarily strong focus on developing innovations through research that is truly cross-disciplinary.

"Whereas other research facilities have tended to focus either on the fundamental science behind the design of photonic materials or on their industrial applications, the UB program was designed to do both," said Prasad.

The author of more than 350 scientific papers and the founder of the PRL, Prasad is responsible for generating annual research funding of $1 million. He is the founder and president of a high-tech company, Laser Photonics Technologies, Inc., located in UB's business incubator, which develops innovative optical materials.

A broad, multidisciplinary emphasis has allowed photonics and laser research to thrive under Prasad, leading to key achievements not only in preparing, processing and modeling new optical materials, but also in developing diverse applications for them, including the technologies that may be used in those applications.

"This institute is unique because in one facility, we are developing lasers, photonics materials and biophotonics technologies," explained Prasad.

Researchers collaborate closely and become conversant in disciplines other than their own. Such an emphasis on collaboration ensures faster and more robust innovations and an intense focus on marketable applications, Prasad said.

For example, chemists at the institute are developing new optical materials designed to expand the efficiency of photosensitizers in patients undergoing photodynamic cancer therapy. These materials are activated by infrared laser light, thus increasing their ability to treat deeper tissue sites.

At the same time, Prasad explained, physicists and engineers at the institute have been working on developing a new generation of just that type of laser.

"So one part is photonics and the other part is lasers and when we combine them, the result is a far more advanced, far more appealing technology to industry than either development would be by itself," he said.

One of the most promising technologies developed by institute researchers is the nanoclinic, described by Prasad as "the world's smallest clinic." This tiny nanobubble -- about a billionth of a meter in size -- is designed to perform any one of a number of varied diagnostic or therapeutic tasks by carrying a chemical treatment or diagnostic tool to a specific site in the body.

In cell-culture experiments, the group already has developed one formulation of the nanoclinic that selectively destroys cancer cells without the use of chemotherapeutic agents.

"The entire purpose of this is to take the therapy inside the cancer cell," said E. J. Bergey, Ph.D., research associate professor of chemistry at UB. "The advantage of the nanoclinic concept is that we can target specific cancers and effect the therapy from within the cancerous tissue or cell, minimizing collateral damage to the health cells. The size of the nanoclinic is critical to allow for efficient distribution throughout the body."

The nanobubbles are synthesized to include one of the institute's two-photon dyes. This allows the researchers, using a two-photon, laser-scanning microscope, to track them as they make their way through living cells.

According to Bergey, the nanoclinics have the potential to be remarkably versatile, capable of carrying optical probes, drugs, genes, controlled-release substances, inorganic compounds and other diagnostic and therapeutic agents. Hormones, antibodies or other appropriate chemical agents can be attached to the surface to selectively target specific types of cell.

"The nanoclinics can be of tremendous benefit in the noninvasive treatment of early stage cancer, infectious disease, gene therapy and oxygenation of damaged tissues," said Bergey.

The institute has developed a working prototype and samples of the nanobubble material, both of which are available for testing.

Other products in advanced development at the institute are:

• Sensitive, cellular probes that are allowing scientists their first birds-eye view of what actually happens in a cancer cell. A patent has been issued on this material.

• Infrared-light-activated photosensitizers that allow for more effective therapy in deep tumors. The work was aided by the institute's interaction with Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

• Compact disks that store information, not just on the surface, but in three dimensions, allowing for thousands of times the storage space that currently is available.

• Materials that allow for the nondestructive probing by infrared-laser light deep into polymers, coatings and other samples, up to depths of more than 250 microns.

The institute will build on its existing network of partnerships with both industry and research.

One partner, BASF, has had a successful partnership with Prasad's laboratory for about three years.

"UB is the only university our division is working with right now," said Steve Goldstein, manager, technical services, BASF Colorants and Additives for Plastics division. "With Prasad's lab, we are working on ways to enhance our product line in thermoplastic resins that can be found in anything from toys to automotive parts. We also are looking for colorants that can be activated using lasers for marking and labeling, and for doing nondestructive testing of dyed materials."

Within the university, the institute already has ongoing relationships with other photonics research programs in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, the School of Dental Medicine, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the Department of Physics.

The institute will build on the PRL's current collaborations with BASF, Kodak, the Calspan-UB Research Center (CUBRC) and Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and foresees fruitful relationships with other institutions, including Kaleida Health Group, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute and Rochester General Hospital Laser Center. The institute already has formed a collaboration with Photonics Research Ontario. Interactions with regional industries are expected to form an important linkage of the new institute.

Both inside and outside the university, the institute will offer its partners access to a broad range of scientific instruments and technologies, each of which is involved in the growth of major markets. They include:

• Industrial and medical lasers

• Sensor technologies

• Fiber optics

• Imaging and display technologies

• High-density data storage

• Optical coatings and solar energy panels

• Medical and dental imaging and diagnostics

• Bioinformatics

• Laser-activated treatments

• Photodynamic cancer therapies

In addition to world-class testing and research facilities, the institute will offer to its industrial partners technical expertise, joint efforts to develop new products, short courses on innovative technologies, and training and recruitment opportunities.

For the university, the institute will offer an interdisciplinary graduate program of study, postdoctoral training, visiting-faculty programs, summer programs, and international collaborations and exchange programs.

"It's a pleasure to see this next step in the institution's commitment to the work of one of the university's most leading and innovative researchers," said Kerry S. Grant, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "I look forward to providing the support for what we anticipate to be a center of excellence with even greater recognition than it currently enjoys, and to paying greater attention to Dr. Prasad's work."

"The School of Medicine is very excited about the institute," said Bruce A. Holm, Ph.D., the school's senior associate dean and professor of pharmacology and toxicology, and gynecology-obstetrics. "Our interest is two-fold, related to the development of new therapeutic modalities for the treatment of conditions ranging from cancer to skin disease, and to the opportunity to use the institute as a mechanism for establishing a true biomedical-engineering program that will expand our current activities in other areas."

"The integration of research, technology transfer, and education and training by the institute and its partners will constitute a critical force in Western New York for the creation and development of new technologies," said Mark Karwan, Ph.D., dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Efforts in the biomedical arena include research into new cancer treatments, new instruments and laser training for medical, dental and aesthetic applications.

Funding to launch the institute is provided by the UB Office of the Provost, with faculty support from the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.