Researcher biography

Dr. Run Zhang carried out his doctoral studies in the State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals at Dalian University of Technology (DUT, Dalian, China), and was awarded his PhD in July 2012. He moved to the Physics and Astronomy Department of Macquarie University (MQ, Sydney, Australia) as a postdoctoral research fellow immediately after finishing his PhD. Then, he won a highly competitive Macquarie University Research Fellowship (MQRF), and took up this independent position in the Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Science (CBMS) in January 2013. In January 2015, he was appointed as a visiting researcher in A/Prof Gordon Xu’s group, Nanomaterials Center in Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland (AIBN, UQ). In February 2016, he re-located to AIBN to work with A/Prof Xu as a research associate.

 

Research Overview

Through his postgraduate and postdoctoral research, Dr. Zhang has gained extensive research experience in the fields of synthetic and analytical chemistry, nanomaterial science, nano-/bio-interface (surface chemistry), biophotonics, bioimaging technology and cell biology. His research major contributions are: i) development of a series of specific biosensors to probe bioactive molecules in the cardiovascular, immune, and nervous systems; ii) inventing several chemosensors to detect the environmental pollutants, such as heavy metal ions, and toxic gases; iii) fabricating functional nanomaterial for tumour early diagnosis and imaging guided therapy. Since 2010, his research has led to more than 30 publications in high-impact journal, such as Biosensors & Bioelectronics, Analytical Chemistry, Biomaterials, ACS Applied Material & Interfaces, ACS Nano, Nature Photonics, etc.

Dr. Zhang’s research interests include:

  • Design and synthesis of novel organic, organometallic, and nano- materials for photochemical and electrochemical application.
  • Development of new-generation responsive biosensors for on-site detection of important biomarkers in biological systems.
  • Engineering of functional bio-nanomaterials for imaging guided tumour therapy.

  

Selected Publications

L. Liang, A. Care, R. Zhang, Y. Lu, N. H Packer, A. Sunna, Y. Qian, A. V Zvyagin. Facile Assembly of Functional Upconversion Nanoparticles for Targeted Cancer Imaging and Photodynamic Therapy. ACS Applied Material & Interfaces, 2016, 8, 11945-11953.

X. Liang, H. Wang, Y. Zhu, R. Zhang, V. C Cogger, X. Liu, Z. P. Xu, J. E Grice, M. S Roberts. Short-and long-term tracking of anionic ultrasmall nanoparticles in kidney. 2016, ACS nano, 10, 387-395.

L. Cao, R. Zhang, W. Zhang, Z. Du, C. Liu, Z. Ye, J. Yuan. A Ruthenium(II) Complex-Based Multisignal Chemosensor for Luminescent Bioimaging of Hypochlorous Acid. Biomaterials, 2015, 68, 21-31.

Q. Meng, H. Jia, P. Succar, L. Zhao, R. Zhang, C. Duan, Z. Zhang. A Highly Selective and Sensitive ON-OFF-ON Fluorescence Chemosensor for Cysteine Detection in Endoplasmic Reticulum. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 2015, 74, 461-468.

Y. Lu, J. Zhao, R. Zhang, Y. Liu, D. Liu, E. M. Goldys, X. Yang, P. Xi, A. Sunna, J. Lu, Y. Shi, R. C. Leif , Y. Huo, J. Shen, J. A. Piper, J. P. Robinson, D. Jin. Tunable lifetime multiplexing using luminescent nanocrystals. Nature Photonics, 2014, 8, 32-36.

R. Zhang, B. Song, Z. Dai, Z. Ye, Y. Xiao, Y. Liu, J. Yuan. Highly sensitive and selective phosphorescent chemosensor for hypochlorous acid based on ruthenium(II) complexes. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 2013, 50, 1-7.

Y. Xiao, R. Zhang, Z. Ye, Z. Dai, H. An, J. Yuan. Lanthanide Complex-Based Luminescent Probes for Highly Sensitive Time-Gated Luminescence Detection of Hypochlorous Acid. Analytical Chemistry, 2012, 84, 10785-10792.

R. Zhang, Z. Ye, G. Wang, W. Zhang, J. Yuan. Development of a Ruthenium(II) Complex Based Luminescent Probe for Imaging Nitric Oxide Production in Living Cells. Chemistry - A European Journal, 2010, 16, 6884-6891.