Jinwoo Cheon tells Stephen Davey how nanoparticles can be used in medical diagnostics.

Jinwoo Cheon is professor of chemistry at Yonsei University, Korea, and head of the nanomaterials division of the Nano-Medical National Core Research Center of Korea. His research areas include the fabrication and shape control of inorganic nanocrystals, nanoscale biomagnetics, and the applications of nanocrystals for biomedical sciences. Jinwoo is on the editorial board of Journal of Materials Chemistry.

What inspired you to become a scientist?
I have always had a love for the arts, and art is what I saw in my first chemistry classes. The representation of molecules and the systematic formation or cleavage of bonds to give different molecules with different properties fascinated me. I found it easy to comprehend what was happening in this molecular world and I viewed it as if playing a Lego® game.

Can you tell me a little about your background?
My training is in the area of synthetic inorganic chemistry. I studied organometallic and materials chemistry under the guidance of some wonderful mentors including Gregory Girolami at the University of Illinois, John Arnold at Berkeley, and Jeffrey Zink at UCLA. The areas of molecular precursor chemistry for materials synthesis and their transformations from a mechanistic point of view are of particular interest. I have extended these concepts to nanoparticle synthesis in which the size, shape, and composition are of significant importance to their material properties. I hope to make major contributions towards solving today's health issues, such as cancer, and energy storage concerns by using nanoscale materials.

Is there an experiment you remember doing as a young student that inspired you?

The sublimation experiments of inorganic compounds that I performed in my graduate studies at Illinois were the most beautiful and fascinating memories that I have in the lab. Making dull solid powders disappear and deposit elsewhere in the reaction vessel in the form of vivid and shiny multicolored crystals was like performing my own magic show.

One of the applications of your research into magnetic nanomaterials is in medical diagnostics. Can you explain how this works?
Nanoparticles are important in biomedical applications due to their small size and wonderful properties. Magnetic nanoparticles are especially useful for biological separation, diagnostics and treatment of diseases. By tuning their magnetism by varying their size or composition, we have been able to fabricate extremely sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) probes. They selectively target biological species with strong enhancement of detection sensitivity for the diagnosis of smaller cancers. We are also developing biocompatible nanoparticles which are free of potential toxicity without losing their properties.

What's the trickiest problem that you've faced, and how did you solve it?
Interdisciplinary research topics such as nanomedicine require collaboration between different research fields. This is not always easy as it is difficult to get people to buy into concepts that they are not familiar with. I often have to be persistent and an advocate for our nanomaterials. However, synergistic results between research groups are the most important outcome. As scientists, researchers and educators, we should try to understand each other's language and to overcome the boundaries between different disciplines. As chemists, we are in a good position to be translators of these different languages since chemistry plays a pivotal role in interfacial problem solving and bridges interdisciplinary subjects.

What is the secret to running a successful research group?
Highly motivated and enthusiastic students are the most important assets. A research group's goals cannot be realized without open communication and ownership. Members must share the group's vision but also be willing to take a chance with new ideas and bring their own insight to the table. There has to be an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect in order to nurture the growth of all involved.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your work?
Working with next generation chemists who will be the leaders in our global community through our research efforts is the most rewarding part. Hopefully, in the future, new nanomaterials that are developed as a result of our work can contribute, towards enhancing the quality of human life in terms of medical sciences or energy- related technologies.

Do you have a message for young scientists?
Try to develop your own interpretation of science. In your pursuit of becoming a scientist, be persistent and enjoy the ride and you will be rewarded in the future, regardless of where the road takes you.

Which scientist, current or historic, do you most admire and why?
Marie Curie. She was not only a great chemist but she was successful despite being in adverse surroundings which included gender and racial discrimination and extremely poor research environments.

If you weren't a scientist, what would you do?
A pilot, if wearing glasses did not matter!