Deen Group People


Department of Chemical Engineering
Room 66-453
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 USA

Telephone (617) 253-6483
Fax: (617) 253-2072
Email: zacharia@mit.edu



Ian Zacharia

Graduate Research Assistant


A.B., Physics, Harvard University, 1995
S.M., Physics, M.I.T., 2000


Research Interests

Transport of Nitric Oxide in Biological Systems

Nitric oxide has recently been found to be a very important biological molecule. It is used in the body as a signaling molecule regulating vasodilation and platelet aggregation, and it can act as a neurotransmitter. This same molecule is used by macrophages in the immune system as a toxic agent to attack invading pathogens or tumor cells. Unfortunately, the nitric oxide molecule is implicated in many diseases as well. Chronic infection and inflammation have long been known to be risk factors for cancer, and the reaction products of nitric oxide, which would be produced in large amounts during infection/inflammation, are known to be carcinogenic. Our interest in studying nitric oxide biotransport is in part due to our desire to be able to characterize any potential links between nitric oxide produced in the body and cancer.

My research is focused on studying nitric oxide transport through biological systems. As a first step, I am studying the diffusional resistance of water, proteins, cell membranes, and cells. To properly characterize these resistances, one must take into account reactions that may occur in these systems. Part of my research will therefore be aimed at studying these reactions and measuring consumption of nitric oxide by cells. I hope to use my experimental data to construct models which would help predict the fate of nitric oxide produced in the body so that one can assess its role in pathology.

Personal Interests

I am interested in problems with biomedical applications and have been pursuing this project in Prof. Deen's research group. This research combines aspects of chemical engineering, biomedical engineering, as well as both experiments and theory. I am excited to be studying nitric oxide and contributing to a field which will hopefully lead to therapeutic results in time.


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