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Professor Jung Won Park of the SNU Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering Develops an Algorithm that Analyzes Nanoparticles' Facial Expressions, Published in 'Advanced Science'
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2021.03.02.
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Professor Jung Won Park of the SNU Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering Develops an Algorithm that Analyzes Nanoparticles' Facial Expressions, Published in 'Advanced Science'
- Development of an algorithm for particle observation with a detailed 'eye' of 10 billionth of a meter.
- Expected to be used to analyze the three-dimensional structure of new viruses and to improve the performance of semiconductor devices
(Picture Description, From left Professor Jung Won Park ot the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Researcher Junyoung Heo)
- Expected to be used to analyze the three-dimensional structure of new viruses and to improve the performance of semiconductor devices
(Picture Description, From left Professor Jung Won Park ot the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Researcher Junyoung Heo)
In order to improve the performance of semiconductor devices and develop treatments through virus structure analysis, there is a need of an "eye" that can closely identify the structure of each nanometer (nm) atom. A new algorithm has been developed to significantly improve the performance of this 'eye'.
A research team led by Professor Jung Won Park of the Seoul National University Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, through joint research with Monash University in Australia and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, developed an algorithm called "3D SINGLE" that can analyze nanoparticles at the atomic level.
Material properties are sensitive to the slightest changes in the location of the atoms that make up the material. The catalytic activity and the color purity of the display changes. Therefore, the development of high-performance materials requires technology to analyze the three-dimensional structure of materials at the atomic level.
In addition, analysis technology becomes even more important in situations where unprecedented viruses such as the Coronavirus Disease-19 (hereinafter referred to as COVID-19) pandemics have emerged. This is because the three-dimensional structure of the virus must be accurately and quickly identified at the atomic level to find out where to target when developing diagnostic technologies and treatments.
The development of analytical technologies such as cryo-electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) has allowed us to identify the three-dimensional structure of nanoparticles, but the existing technology has limitations in processing only images obtained from frozen samples. This means that structural changes in proteins and materials may occur during the freezing process. Furthermore, existing techniques also involved the freezing of large quantities of particles with the same structure at once to obtain multiple angles of photography, and this data was processed to obtain a 3D image of a particle.
"Just as group photograph reveals to have different facial expressions in each individual, even the same nanoparticles can differ in atomic arrangement. Rather than synthesizing several particles and reconstructing them into a single particle, tracking one atom is a technique that can accurately identify the expression of nanoparticles," explained researcher Junyoung Heo, the first author.
In 2020, researchers developed the world's first technology that allows three-dimensional observation of atomic arrays beyond the overall shape of nanoparticles using liquid cell TEMs ('20.04, Science). In this study, the '3D SINGLE' algorithm, which was developed by itself, was applied to liquid transmission electron microscopy to greatly increase observation performance.
Nanoparticles are used for analysis by being stored in graphene-based special containers (liquid cells). Due to this, there was the problem that graphene and liquid that was used as containers were captured together in addition to nanoparticles that were intended to be observed. As a result, the researchers improved the algorithm to eliminate noise, including graphene and liquid, by themselves, and allowed the observation of only the atoms they want to observe up to 1.5 times more clearly. In addition, the efficiency of tracking free-spinning nanoparticles in solutions has been improved, allowing us to identify three-dimensional structures at a speed of about 10 times faster than before. As a result, it was possible to trace even ultra-fine particles of less than 2 nm in size, which were difficult to observe with conventional research work.
"It will be possible to detect and analyze minute structural changes that are different from the existing ones, such as variations in the COVID-19 virus strain. In addition, we will contribute to improving the performance of designing and synthesizing new materials in a wide range of areas such as catalysts, displays and new drugs," said Professor Jung Won Park.
The research was conducted with the support of the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), the Samsung Foundation for Future Technology Promotion, and the Korea Research Foundation. The findings were published in the January 30 issue (Korean Time) of Science Advances (IF 13.116), a world-renowned journal in the field of materials.
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