Huan-Cheng Chang, Ph.D., an IAMS Distinguished Research Fellow, received the 2020 Outstanding Research Award of the Taiwan Nanomedicine Society.
Dr. Chang’s research focuses on the development of innovative methods, tools, and technologies based on physical chemistry and their application to biologically and medically significant issues. In particular, he pioneered the development and use of surface-functionalized nanodiamonds in life sciences with techniques including atomic force microscopy, flow cytometry, fluorescence microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, ion implantation, laser spectroscopy, magnetic resonance imaging, and mass spectrometry. In 2005, he developed a new type of carbon nanoparticle called fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs) for nanomedicine applications. These particles contain dense ensembles of nitrogen-vacancy centers with unique magneto-optical characteristics and are highly biocompatible and photostable. These properties make them well-suited for bioimaging and biosensing not only in vitro but also in vivo.
Dr. Chang has published more than 100 journal articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings on FNDs and related topics since 2005. According to Google Scholar (2021), his work reported in “S.-J. Yu, M.-W. Kang, H.-C. Chang*, K.-M. Chen, and Y.-C. Yu, Bright fluorescent nanodiamonds: No photobleaching and low cytotoxicity. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 127, 17604–17605 (2005)” has been cited over 1,000 times since its publication. A book entitled “Fluorescent Nanodiamonds”, authored by him, Wesley W.-W. Hsiao, and Meng-Chih Su, was published by Wiley in 2018. This is the first and most comprehensive reference on the physical and chemical properties of FNDs and their contemporary applications.