Background:

Annually, about 40,000 hip and 43,000 knee replacement revision surgeries are performed in the US alone. This number has increased steadily over the past years and is expected to continue to increase over the next several decades. The current lack of direct monitoring capabilities for polymer implant debris analysis in a fluid environment is a significant factor in limiting the understanding of the specific mechanisms of prosthesis failure.

Highlights for AY 2014:

(1) M. Pablico-Lansigan, S. Situ, A.C.S. Samia,* Nanoscale 2013, 5(10), 4040.(2) F. Lu, A. Popa, S. Zhou, J.J. Zhu, A.C.S. Samia,* Chem.Comm. 2013, 49, 11436. (3) S. Situ, A.C.S. Samia,* Hybrid Iron Oxide@Carbon Nanochains as Recyclable Antibacterial Agents,” submitted.(4) S. Shu, L. Bauer, M. Pablico-Lansigan, A. Popa, M.A. Griswold, A.C.S. Samia* Tuning the Magnetic Relaxation Processes in Superparamagnetic Magnetite – Polyethylene Nanocomposites ," submitted.

Research Program Goals:

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CAREER: Magnetic Imaging Guided Composite Materials DevelopmentAnna Cristina S. Samia, Case Western Reserve University, DMR 1253358

Schematic representation of the MPI guided research on polymer implant materials in the PI’s laboratory.

Magnetic composites of iron oxide@carbon nanochains (IO@C NChs) were fabricated through a facile hydrothermal synthesis method involving the carbonization of simple and readily available sugars in the presence of self-assembling iron oxide nanoparticles. The IO@C NChs were used to fabricate a new class of magnetic-UHMWPE composites with excellent mechanical properties and improved resistance to chemical oxidation.

In this research program, Dr. Samia is working towards the development of a novel class of UHMWPE-based composite materials with special magnetic and mechanical properties that will facilitate the in situ study of implant-type materials in various chemical and biological fluid environments using magnetic particle imaging (MPI). The information gathered from these studies will provide valuable knowledge on wear debris formation mechanisms of biopolymers and will contribute to the fabrication of innovative composite material systems possessing highly desired magnetic properties and good mechanical performance and reliability. This work is expected to lead ultimately to the ability to track wear and the generation of debris in real time inside the body, providing a transformational tool for improving the performance of UHMWPE prostheses.

Fabrication of Novel Magnetic Nanocomposites:

Optimization of Tracers for MPI:

The MPI response of different tracers were systematically investigated in order to optimize and understand the origins of the magnetic signal derived from the fabricated magnetic UHMWPE nanocomposites.

Publications (02/01/2013 – present):

CAREER: Magnetic Imaging Guided Composite Materials DevelopmentAnna Cristina S. Samia, Case Western Reserve University, DMR 1253358

Outreach Programs to Introduce and Encourage Young Women and Underrepresented Minorities to STEM Fields:

Magnetic phenomena and concepts are inherently attractive to young people and are highly adaptable for inquiry based and hands-on learning experiences. Through this NSF funding, the “Cleveland's Traveling Magnetism Show” was developed by Dr. Samia to serve as a modular teaching platform at four adaptive levels for K-12 students, and is showcased in different local schools and museums to enrich the education of students into the chemistry and physics of magnets, and inspire them to pursue careers in the STEM fields.

Engaging Local K-12 Schools and Museums with “Cleveland’s Traveling Magnetism Show”:

Because of this grant support from NSF, Dr. Samia is actively involved in the “Introduce a Girl to Science Day” program at CWRU. She also serves as an active mentor and laboratory host to women and minority students involved in the Protégé program that trains and mentors young women to careers in STEM fields, the Shadowing project that pairs high school to graduate students pursuing advanced education in Chemistry, and the the ACS-SEED summer research program.

Dissemination of Scientific Findings in International Workshops and Conferences:

Dr. Samia co-organized and chaired together with Profs. Ruya Ozer (Univ. Tulsa) and Robert Ofolio (picture not shown, Michigan State Univ.) a symposium on “Functional Nanomaterials: Fabrication and Applications” at the 247th ACS National Meeting & Exposition in Dallas, TX last March 2014. Graduate students working with Dr. Samia gave oral presentations about their research on the fabrication and magnetic particle imaging characterization of magnetic nanocomposites.

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Establishment of the Women in Chemistry @ CWRU (WIC@CWRU) Professional Development Workshop Program:

ACS Seed Prog.: Vy Lam (John Hay HS), 2014

Protégé Prog.: Sofia Yi (Laurel HS), 2014

Shadowing Prog.: Yichen Li (Andrew Os-borne Acad.), 2014

Introduce a Girl to Science Day

The WIC@CWRU professional development workshop program was established by Dr. Samia with the help of funds from her NSF grant to provide a venue to support promising ladies in their career development that is geared towards graduate students and postdocs majoring in Chemistry. This program provides a mentoring and coaching platform for graduate and post-graduate female chemistry students that will guide them in tackling important aspects of career advancement specific to women scientists.