1. Can you please briefly summarize the paper?

Naked-eye detection utilizing hydrogel-based sensors have been widely studied owing to their unique properties and simple practical applications, where the responses toward the analytes can be monitored just by visual recognition. However, it remains challenging to construct a naked-eye hydrogel sensor that visualized physical transformation during detection of cancer, which can simplify the cancer monitoring in practical application. We designed a cancer-selective sol-gel transition of mineralized hydrogel (PAA-MnO2) for a facile cancer sensing by manipulating mineralization phenomena induced by cancer cells. The presence of ROS-responsive manganese oxide (MnO2) in polyacrylic acid (PAA) chain blocked the mineralization and formation of hydrogel, in which the mineralization was occurred after cleavage of MnO2 induced by high level of ROS in cancer cells to form PAA-MnO2 mineralized hydrogel. This phenomenon allows a naked-eye observation of sol-gel transition for easily discriminate cancer cells from normal cells. By incorporating PD in PAA-MnO2, PAA-MnO2 mineralized hydrogel not only provide a physical transformation, but also fluorescence recovery and electroconductivity change depend on cancer cells concentrations. Hence, this unique method is potential for a simple cancer detection in the future point-of-care diagnostics.

2. Can you please tell us the main difficulties you had in the laboratory work and how you overcame them?

The main challenge is to decide the optimum ratio between PAA and MnO2 that shows ROS-triggered mineralization process. It often failed because some ratios still showed sol-gel formation in the absence of ROS. Finally, after a few months and a lot of experimental set up, the optimum ratio was achieved and can be applied for the rest of experiment.

3. Please introduce your laboratory, university or organization to bio-researchers in Korea.

Functional Biomaterials Lab, Korea National University of Transportation, Chungju (Supervisor: Prof. Sung Young Park) is focused on the development of smart stimuli-responsive biomaterials, ranging from nanoparticles to hydrogel, for a facile and effective disease theragnostic, including cancer, osteoarthritis, and bacterial infections. We use the specific interaction between our stimuli-responsive biomaterials (such as polymer dot) with biomarkers and stimuli (ROS, GSH, enzyme, etc) that presence in the diseases, which later produces specific signal/change in physicochemical properties of biomaterials, such as fluorescence, electroconductivity and viscoelastic properties. Those properties changes are not only used as a diagnostic parameter but also utilized for a target-specific drug delivery system for improving therapeutic effect of drug.

4. Please tell us your experiences and your thoughts related to research activities abroad.

Become a researcher at foreign institutions abroad have enriched me with valuable experiences and different ways of thinking. Working as a researcher in a multi-cultural community and engaging in collaborative and multi-disciplinary academic-research activities have given me insights from diverse environment. It instilled me with profound awareness on respecting a spectrum of cultures, identities, and perspectives. As a minority, this experience poses as a challenge, yet the community I involve with allows strong tolerance and respect towards equality. During conducting my research projects, I actively participated in exchanging viewpoints and collaborating with team consist of diverse characters, which enriched me with open-minded mindset.

5. Can you provide some advice for younger scientists who have plans to study abroad?

Be resilient! What ever the challenge you will face, just stick to your goal and future plan. Also, adapt quickly, do whatever it takes to achieve your goal and ready take the risk. I believe those mindsets will help you to survive and reach your goal during studying/working abroad.

6. Future plan?

Get a permanent/tenure-track position in a reputable institution abroad (Korea or other countries). Establish my own research lab and continuously contributing to the society by producing high-quality research.

7. Do you have anything else that you would like to tell Korean scientists and students?

Keep a hard work with an open-minded mindset. Absorb all the good things from a diverse community and collaborate more with other fellow researchers with a different spectrum of cultures, identities, and perspectives.