News and updates on research and technologies

Greetings!
We are pleased to present the third edition of the BINA newsletter, which gives you an inside look at some of the exciting activities and research taking place at the Institute for Nanotechnology and Advanced materials at Bar-Ilan University. For example, you’ll read about how one of our labs that experts in laser physics already hold the world record for the generation and transmission of single bi-photons. You’ll read about a breakthrough method for reducing bacterial infections with nanoparticle-coated hospital linens, as well as the discovery of an apoptotic pathway that may someday be “switched on” by doctors to induce death in cancer cells.
We hope you’ll enjoy reading about how BINA experts are contributing to both basic and applied science, and how our graduates are helping to shape the nanotechnology industry of the future.
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Prof. Yuval Garini

Nanotech to the (Medical) Rescue: Anti-bacterial Coating for Textiles Poised to Save Lives
Prof. Aharon Gedanken pioneered the field of sonochemistry – a discipline in which chemical reactions are accelerated through the application of ultrasonic sound waves.
In one of his most recent achievements, he has created a sonochemistry-based coating method for textiles which may significantly improve human health.
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SenseMode - BINA Grad's Startup Offers Remote Tracking Solutions
When BINA’s Prof. Shulamit Michaeli was looking for a laboratory manager in 2011, the obvious choice was Dr. Itai Tkacz, with whom she had worked closely ever since this Bar-Ilan alumnus joined her group as a Master’s student back in 2004. But while Tkacz’s doctorate – on the structure and function of RNA protein complexes in Trypanosome trans-splicing – demonstrated the skills he had acquired as molecular biologist, Tkacz also brought something else to the job: a natural talent for business.
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Stress and the Single Cell: Apoptosis-Mediating Pathway May Lead to New Therapeutic Strategies
Mammalian cell biology is filled with dramatic stories of cellular “altruism” in which individual cells, irreparably damaged by stress, contribute to the greater health of an organism by initiating apoptosis, or programmed cell death. But what would drive a single-celled organism to initiate the apoptotic process? In a study recently published in Science Signaling, BINA faculty member Prof. Shulamit Michaeli identified a molecular pathway that controls apoptosis in parasitic protozoa called trypanosomes.
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High-End Anaysis: Dr. Gili Cohen-Taguri Introduces BINA's XRD Lab
X-ray diffraction techniques are becoming ever-more important for the analysis of thin films. But because most research labs and technology companies lack the scientific infrastructure and know-how to personally perform X-ray measurements, they must rely on the help of specialists.
One of the busiest and most trusted specialists in Israel is Dr. Gili Cohen-Taguri, who heads BINA’s X-Ray Diffraction Lab.
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Hiding in Plain Light - Quantum Cryptography Advances by Dr. Avi Pe'er
In an age where even the most sensitive messages are delivered over networks, it is important to find a fast communication method that is ultra-secure. An exciting approach is “quantum cryptography”.
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BIU-WIS Material Research Society (MRS) Chapter Hosts First Annual Conference
A new partnership between graduate students from Bar-Ilan and the Weizmann Institute is helping to strengthen materials science collaboration – both within academia and with industry – from the bottom up.
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Prof. Shlomo Margel has been named the winner of the Israel Vacuum Society’s Excellency Award for Research for 2014, in recognition of his outstanding achievements in nano-medicine. Prof. Margel has demonstrated a nanoparticle-based treatment for brain cancer – developed together Prof. Chaya Brodie of the BIU Faculty of Life Sciences. More recently, he engineered a unique biodegradable NIR fluorescent bisphosphonate (BP) nanoparticle for cancer diagnosis and therapy.

Prof. Zeev Zalevsky was the recipient of two honors in 2014. Named the year’s Outstanding Reviewer by the publication Editors-in-Chief of OSA – the world’s leading professional association in optics and photonics – he was also inducted as a fellow of the European Optical Society. These awards were given in recognition of Prof. Zalevsky’s work on ultra-small applications that harness the power of light for high-speed information processing, medicine and super resolved imaging.

Prof. Benjamin Ehrenberg was appointed Associate Editor of the Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology – a publication that reports on fundamental studies of chemical phenomena induced by interactions between light and matter. Prof. Ehrenberg is an expert in drug discovery, design and delivery, as well as photodynamic therapy for the treatment of cancer.

Prof. Arie Zaban – who served as BINA’s founding Director – was recently awarded the ICS Prize of Excellence and was named a member of the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters’ Editorial Board. Prof. Zaban is a world-renowned leader in the design of materials and techniques for alternative energy production. He has channeled a number of his discoveries into successful start-up companies.

Prof. Moshe Deutsch was honored by both Israel and the European Union this year. Appointed a member of the Steering Committee for Research Infrastructure, Planning and Budget (VATAT) by Israel’s Council of Higher Education, Prof. Deutsch was also named Governmental Expert for Israel by the EU’s Horizon 2020 – a flagship initiative aimed at securing Europe's global competitiveness.

Prof. Aviad Frydman – an expert in the use of advanced microscopy techniques for the characterization of superconducting and ferromagnetic properties in nano-materials – has been awarded with a Chair of Excellence from the LANET program in Grenoble, France. LANET is a research consortium devoted to promoting basic research with an emphasis on condensed matter physics and nano-engineering.

Meital Shviro – a PhD candidate in the laboratory of Dr. David Zitoun – was awarded the 2014 Prize for Excellence in Graduate Studies by the Israel Chemical Society. Shviro’s research relates to the synthesis and controlled deposition of nanomaterials on surfaces.

Rinat Meir – a doctoral student in the laboratory of Prof. Rachela Popovtzer – was named a 2014 recipient of the Israel Ministry of Science’s Shulamit Aloni Scholarship. The scholarship is dedicated to promoting the advancement of women in engineering and the exact sciences.

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Institute of Nanotechnology, Bar Ilan University, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 5290002, Israel, 03-531-7067