UWindsor biochemistry professor Bulent Mutus will discuss the applications of nanoparticles— submicroscopic collections of atoms—in a free public lecture on Wednesday, October 16, at Canada South Science City.

Nanoparticles are roughly the size of molecules and too small to be seen in optical microscopes. They have properties that can differ significantly from the bulk material and that open new possibilities in analysis and therapeutic treatment.

Dr. Mutus will show how he and his research group use the properties of nanoparticles in a variety of applications, including:

• detecting sulfur-containing compounds in the atmosphere and in our bodies;
• identifying the location of sulfur-containing moieties in proteins that are susceptible to alteration in their structure and function by the gasotransmitters nitric oxide and hydrogen sulfide; and
• making wound-healing bandages.

An award-winning Senior Research Chair and the head of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mutus is the founding director of the University of Windsor’s Health Research Group and has published widely in his area of chemistry for health sciences.

Wednesday’s lecture, which begins at 7:30 p.m., is part of the Science Cafés series, discussions of important science research for the general public. The series is sponsored by the Faculty of Science at the University of Windsor.

Canada South Science City is located at 930 Marion Avenue.