Thomas Justel

Title : Rare earth doped LuPO4 nanoparticles for multimodal medical applications

Abstract:

A novel approach for the improved treatment of cancer in the framework of radiation therapy will by presented, including a comparison to traditional cancer treatment schemes. This approach is about UV emitting LuPO₄:Pr³⁺ nanoparticles in contact to cancer cell lines. Those nanoparticles absorb X-rays and convert it into UV-C radiation, whereby cancer cells will be efficiently inactivated. In consequence, the harm of the radiation treatment for the patient can be reduced tremendously. Selected materials have to meet specific physical and chemical properties to be applicable, like nanoscale Pr³⁺ doped LuPO₄. Recent research results are shown to proof the concept, as well as further possible applications of rare-earth doped LuPO₄.

Audience take-away:

• The audience gets an inside view of a completely new form of cancer therapy.
• It is a novel pathway in cancer therapy, while the radiation dose at the patient can be reduced due to higher treatment efficiency. This could reduce the negative “side effects”. The proof of concept at the cellular level has been made, however, much more research with capable partners is required.

Biography:

Thomas Jüstel was born in Witten, Germany in 1968. He studied chemistry at the University of Bochum from 1987 to 1992. He received his Ph.D. in coordination chemistry in 1995 in the group of Prof. Dr. K. Wieghardt (Faculty of Chemistry). He was hired by the Philips Research Laboratories Aachen in summer 1995 as a research scientist, where he started to work on luminescent materials. Some years later he became a Senior Scientist; then he was promoted to a Principal Scientist in 2003. In spring 2004 he became a professor of Inorganic Chemistry and Material Sciences at the Münster University of Applied Sciences in Germany. His current research at the University deals with nanoscale materials and novel luminescent compositions for LEDs, UV radiation sources, and X-ray detectors. He also consults several companies in the field of chemistry and light sources. His work has been published in about 250 papers and has led to 100 granted US patents on inorganic luminescent materials and their application in detectors, fluorescent lamps, plasma displays, and solid state light sources (LEDs and OLEDs).