UAMS Researcher Receives $1.5M Grant from National Institutes of Health

Vladimir Zharov demonstrates the use of the hand-worn photoacoustic clinical device he uses in his research with photoswitchable nanoparticles.

A researcher at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences has received a $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate the use of nanoparticles in cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Vladimir Zharov, the director of the Arkansas Nanomedicine Center at UAMS and a professor in the College of Medicine Department of Otolarynology-Head & Neck Surgery, will synthesize photoswitchable nanoparticles, which change color under laser light, and test them in different biological environments.

Zharov’s research will observe how the nanoparticles interact with circulating tumor cells in blood. Combined with nanodrugs and laser radiation while inside cells, nanoparticles create nanobubbles that enhance drug action that kills cancer cells.

His grant application received the best score possible and was in the first percentile among all applications.

Previous research by Zharov used gold and magnetic nanoparticles with attached antibodies for targeting and detecting circulating tumor cells in the bloodstream. Photoswitchable nanoparticles provide an opportunity to label cancer cells and track their movement. In turn, that allows for a better understanding in how cancer spreads. 

In the process, a laser, which is safe for use with humans, is used to heat the nanoparticles and change it to a specific color for labeling and tracking purposes. Laser pulses can also produce sounds in the nanoparticles to allow for detection. Researchers at the Photonics Center at Boston University recently confirmed his findings and named it the “Zharov splitting” effect.

“Right now in cancer research, fluorescent proteins are used that provide only two switchable colors in the visible range,” Zharov said in a news release. “New nanoparticles providing multiple colors are safe for use in humans, and fluorescents aren’t. With nanoparticles, we can produce 10 to 20 very distinct colors, and we can switch each color.”

Zharov’s method is hoped to help develop advanced diagnosis techniques and individualized therapies. 

Zharov also received state support for his research. In September, the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority awarded him a Basic Research Grant for $38,726.