Seminars
Wednesday 17th September 2008
Senior Common Room
Programme:
- 5-5.20pm: " Saliva and salivary peptides: The natural non-invasive Dentists" by Dr Paul Anderson.
- 5.20-5.30pm: Discussion
- 5.30-5.50pm: "Carbon Nanotubes: The Building Blocks of Nanotechnology?" by Dr Mark Baxendale
- 5.50-6pm Discussion
- 6-7pm Refreshments
Speakers:
Dr Paul Anderson. Reader in Biophysics in relation to Dentistry
Dental Physical Sciences
Oral Growth and Development
Institute of Dentistry
Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry
Saliva is an amazingly complex bio-fluid, containing over 1000 different peptides (at the last count). Some of these peptides are associated with enamel homeostasis, protecting enamel from the ravages of tooth decay by modifying the chemical environment at dissolving enamel surfaces. The purpose of this talk is to demonstrate the influence of one of these peptides, statherin, on the chemical kinetics of enamel mineral loss, using novel X-ray absorption techniques developed at QMUL. Xerostomic patients, with little or no salivary flow, are prone to severe tooth decay, and we demonstrate how synthetic statherin-like peptides could be used to treat this increasingly common distressing condition.
Email:p.anderson@qmul.ac.uk
Dr Mark Baxendale, Reader in Nanotechnology, Department of Physics
Mark Baxendale has research interests in the understanding, characterisation, and manipulation of matter on the scale of several atoms to large macromolecules: the basis of what has become known as nanotechnology. The prime focus of his research is the physics and applications of carbon nanotubes - considered to be the archetypal building blocks of nanotechnology - in the physical and life sciences. These applications include molecular quantum electronic devices; novel probes and techniques for scanning probe microscopy, and single molecule detection.
Email: m.baxendale@qmul.ac.uk
