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New York – Not just any high school student could go ahead and design a sensor that can rapidly detect a person's exposure to neurotoxins. David L.V. Bauer from the Bronx, New York did just that, and it led him to win first prize in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search (STS) along with a $100,000 scholarship.
The sensor, which uses nanocrystals (also called quantum dots), is designed to react to a certain family of neurotoxin chemicals found in nerve gas. When a neurotoxin is present, it causes the nanocrystals to emit a certain color of light. The sensor could be worn as a patch by people who are first responders to disaster scenes, or places where a terrorist attack has occurred.
The sensor, which could be worn by emergency responders or troops, shows not only whether there was exposure to a neurotoxin, but "it would be able to tell you how much this person has been exposed to," said Bauer. Knowing the amount of exposure helps doctors know what treatments to give.
Nanocrystal technology is an important, developing area within the biosensor field. Nanocrystals, which in some cases are less than a few hundred atoms across, are so small they exhibit physical and chemical characteristics which are more like atoms than those of larger molecules. Small molecules, such as proteins or protein fragments can be attached to them for various purposes.
Bauer explained how his project works in this way. "It has three main components, a battery, a switch and a little light bulb. The battery is this nanocrystal which is powering this whole set-up. The switch is the key to the whole system. The switch is designed so that when it is exposed to a neurotoxin, the switch is flipped on and powers up the quantum dot -- the battery which then triggers the light bulb which is our little chemical molecule. When you flip the switch you change the intensity of the light it's giving off, and this is easily detected." he said.
Unlike other types of materials that can emit light, nanocrystal reactions are stable and long-lasting making them very useful in biosensors.
In an interview with Access Excellence, it was clear that a project like the one Bauer worked on didn’t happen overnight, and the whole process was both a journey and powerful learning experience. Plus, it wasn't something he could simply work on in a regular high school science lab.
"I had started doing research at the City College of New York the summer after my sophomore year. I kind of stumbled into it. I didn’t know if I wanted to do anything related to science," he said. Bauer, who attended Hunter College High School, was 17 when he worked on the project. He is now attending the City College of New York where he is majoring in chemistry.
What led you to work on a nanocrystal project?
I looked up on the Internet different professors who were working at the City College of New York, which is not far from I live. I saw a couple that were working on interesting projects. I looked up their research papers and read them, but understood maybe every fourth or fifth word. But that was OK. One day I decided to go around the science building to try to find some of these professors. The first one I found, I knocked on her door. That was when I met Professor Valeria Balogh-Nair who teaches chemistry and biochemistry there. She started me off by getting me to clean things in the lab.
What else besides cleaning did you do at the lab?
I spent my junior year going to the lab after school and Saturdays, and did odd jobs. Then eventually started doing actual experiments and helping out. By June of my junior year I thought maybe I should pick a project to do for the Intel STS contest. The deadline was November.
How did you select the topic?
I basically locked myself in a room for two weeks during the summer and read scientific papers. I Googled everything I didn’t understand. Then, I came up with an idea for developing a sensor to detect neurotoxins, like nerve gas. I talked it over with Professor Balogh-Nair who said it was a good idea but too ambitious. I said that was a good challenge, and she gave me some tips on how to refine the concept, and the sorts of experiments that needed to be done to develop it.
What was it like working on this project?
There were several parts to the project. One involved a mix of synthesizing the molecules that would be part of the final product I was trying to make. Another was doing mathematical calculations and computer simulations to see if the molecules would all work together. For me this project was very interesting from a learning point of view, especially since I had to approach the problem from many different angles. I approached it from a chemical perspective, that is, explore the chemistry. I also had to synthesize the pieces that would build this molecule, and then figure out if they could really be assembled. I had to demonstrate that each of the building blocks, when put together, would actually function the way we predicted. There were theoretical and synthetic approaches to the problem.
What was it like winning the contest?
There were 1,600 applicants. In mid January they announced 300 semi-finalists. Two weeks later they announced the 40 finalists. It was nerve-wracking. The 40 were all invited to go to Washington DC for a week where we met and got to know the judges and each other. It was a very powerful experience. Everyone got along very well, and we formed some strong friendships. The final announcement of the winners was done when the 40 of us were on stage during the awards dinner. Then my name got called. It was all incredibly exciting.
This interview was conducted on Wednesday Dec. 21, 2005.
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