Prof. Dr. Sedat Nizamoğlu, "Optoelectronic Medicine: Controlling Vision, Heart, and Bacteria with Light"

Wednesday 5 Nov 2025, 15:00 → 17:00 Europe/Istanbul

Fizik Mühendisliği Bölümü Seminer Salonu / Department of Physics Engineering Seminar Room

Bioelectronic medicine helps us understand how the brain and body function and offers new ways to treat conditions such as paralysis, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and heart rhythm disorders. One exciting approach uses light instead of wires or drugs to control cellular activity. In our research, we develop optoelectronic biointerfaces made of quantum dots—tiny crystals only a few nanometers wide that absorb light and convert it into electrical signals. These nanomaterials combine the strength and stability of inorganic semiconductors with the flexibility and processability of polymers. By precisely tuning their structure and surface chemistry, we can make them interact safely and efficiently with living cells.

In this presentation, I will show how these light-activated materials can stimulate single neurons, restore vision in degenerated retinal tissue, control heartbeats, and even mimic brain-like communication between cells. Beyond these applications, we also discovered that quantum dots can generate beneficial reactive oxygen species (ROS) under illumination, which effectively kill harmful bacteria—opening new possibilities for antibacterial coatings and medical devices.