Yuanwei Zhang | People

Yuanwei Zhang

Assistant Professor, Chemistry and Environmental Science

ywzhang@njit.edu

353 Tiernan Hall

About Me

Yuanwei received his B.S. and M.S. in Chemistry from Nankai University (Tianjin, China) in the year of 2005 and 2008, separately. He majored in organic chemistry and organometallic chemistry during his M.S. study. He then worked in a pharmaceutical company, Basilea China Ltd., as a research scientist for almost a year in the Research & Development Department. After that, he moved to the U.S. for Ph.D. research and worked in the field of organic chromophore synthesis at Chemistry Department in the University of Central Florida. His Ph.D. thesis was focused on the design and synthesis of near-infrared (NIR) absorbable organic fluorophores for various functional materials applications, which included bovine albumin, viscosity and mercury sensors and their biological applications at cellular levels. These studies started from multi-step synthesis and had broad and strong connections with quantitative analysis, linear and nonlinear photophysical characterization, and biological applications. From 2014, Yuanwei worked as a postdoctoral associate in the Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology Department at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he developed approaches to activate neurons with optogenetics using NIR light. These studies broadening his biological technique knowledge, as well as animal handling skills. In 2016, Yuanwei joint Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science in New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), and started a lab with a focus on NIR-light-responsive organic chromophores and biomaterials development.

Education

Ph.D.; University of Central Florida; Philosophy; 2013

M.S.; State Key Laboratory of Elemento; Chemistry; 2008

B.S.; Nankai University; Chemistry; 2005

Website

http://chemistry.njit.edu/people/ywzhang

Teaching Interests

Organic chemistry, biomaterials, and nanotechnology

Past Courses

CHEM 243: ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I

CHEM 244: ORGANIC CHEMISTRY II

CHEM 244A: ORGANIC CHEMISTRY II LAB

CHEM 245: ORGANIC CHEM FOR CHEM ENGNRS

CHEM 791: GRADUATE SEMINAR

EVSC 791: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE SEMINAR

Research Interests

NIR Light-Regulated Cell Signaling, and Neuron Activation: Cellular signaling and neuron activities govern a wide variety of essential physiological processes, and strategies that can manipulate these activities will open up new avenues for elucidating cell functions, and potentially, for the treatment of diseases as well as other exciting possibilities. As a highly orthogonal external stimulus, light enjoys wide usage in materials science, chemistry, and biology, because it possesses the unique ability to manipulate photochemistry and photobiology with high spatiotemporal resolution. Herein, we focused on NIR light, which exhibits less tissue scattering, absorption and less photodamage for living organisms, and most important, much deeper tissue penetration than visible light. By working closely with biologists, these newly developed NIR-light-sensitive biomaterials were used to activate neurons in combination with optogenetics, regulate calcium signaling in immunotherapy and extend the vision ability. Overall, NIR-light-responsive biomaterials could transform the way researchers (especially biologist) interrogate and intervene in cellular behaviors in a less-invasive way with high accuracy of resolution. Ultimately, these approaches will offer novel toolboxes and lead to important new insights and therapies that are relevant to clinical practice. Organic Fluorophores Development for NIR Imaging and Sensing: NIR fluorescence imaging is an emerging biomedical imaging modality for use in both fundamental scientific research and clinical practice. Owing to advances in reducing photon scattering, light absorption, and autofluorescence, NIR fluorescence affords high imaging resolution with increasing tissue penetration depths. Together with advances in imaging instrumentation allowing for the efficient detection of long-wavelength NIR photons, recently developed NIR fluorophores have fueled biomedical imaging from contrast-enhanced imaging of specific biomarkers to functional imaging of physiological activities, leading the research for preclinical animal studies and clinical diagnostics and interventions. Yuanwei’s research contribute the knowledge of structure-to-property relationships that can enhance photophysical properties on demand, with a focus on two families of NIR organic fluorophores, namely BODIPY and squaraine dyes. We have synthesized and systematically studied the fluorophores’ optical properties and biomedical applications (such as viscosity sensors, protein fluorogenic probes, and photosensitizers).

Journal Article

Liu, Xuan, & Liu, Yuwei, & Yu, Shupei, & Zhang, Yuanwei (2023). Complex optically computed phase microscopy for label-free sub-cellular imaging. Opt. Continuum, 2(4), 793--800.

Liu, Yuwei, & Yu, Shupei, & Zhang, Yuanwei, & Liu, Xuan (2023). Label-free full-field Doppler phase microscopy based on optical computation. Biomed. Opt. Express, 14(1), 441--452.

Wan, Zhaoxiong, & Yu, Shupei, & Wang, Qi, & Tobia, John, & Chen, Hao, & Li, Zhanjun, & Liu, Xuan, & Zhang, Yuanwei (2022). A BODIPY-Based Far-Red-Absorbing Fluorescent Probe for Hypochlorous Acid Imaging. ChemPhotoChem, e202100250.

Liu, Xuan, & Liu, Yuwei, & Wan, Zhaoxiong, & Gunasekar, Arun, & Zhang, Yuanwei (2022). Quantitative dynamic cellular imaging based on 3D unwrapped optically computed phase microscopy. Appl. Opt., 61(27), 7999--8005.

Yeh, S-C. A. , & Hou, J., & Wu, J. W. , & Yu, Shupei, & Zhang, Yuanwei, & Belfield, Kevin, & Camargo, F. D. , & Lin, C. P. (2022). Quantification of bone marrow interstitial pH and calcium concentration by intravital ratiometric imaging. Nature Communications,

Conference Proceeding

Optically computed phase microscopy to assess cellular uptake of lipid nanoparticles
Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, 2022