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Belfield Elected as Fellow of the AAAS - December 03, 2013

Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Kevin D. Belfield, formerly Professor of Chemistry and Chair of the Department of Chemistry at University of Central Florida and now Dean of the College of Science and Liberal Arts at NJIT was elected as a fellow of the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the professional organization that publishes the journal Science. Officially announced in the November 29, 2013 issue of Science, Belfield is one of only 11 new Fellows elected from the state of Florida (338 fellows were elected nationwide, see http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2013/1125_fellows.shtml) and the only new Fellow from UCF elected in 2013.

Belfield was selected for his contributions to the field of photonic materials and processes, particularly two-photon based bioimaging and optical data storage. He was also recognized for “exceptional administration as department chair” while continuing to produce innovative research. Belfield was one of 40 Fellows elected in the Section on Chemistry that included fellows from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Duke University, ETH Zurich, and the Scripps Research Institute. The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874.


Recent Publications - April 2015

Recent Publications at Belfield Research Group

  1. Ghazvini Zadeh, E. H.; Bondar, M. V.; Mikhailov, I. A.; Belfield, K. D. “Linear Photophysics, Stimulated Emission and Ultrafast Spectroscopy of New Two-Photon Absorbing Diketopyrrolopyrrole Derivatives” Journal of Physical Chemistry C 2015, 119, 8864-8875.
  2. Ali, M.; Kim, B; Belfield, K. D.; Norman, D.; Brennan, M.; Ali, G. S. “Inhibition of Phytophthora parasitica and P. capsici by Silver Nanoparticles Synthesized using Aqueous Extract of Artemisia absinthium” Phytopathology 2015, 105, in press.
  3. Ghazvini Zadeh, E. H.; Woodward, A. W.; Richardson, D.; Bondar, M. V.; Belfield, K. D. “Stimuli-Responsive Cyclopenta[ef]heptalenes: Synthesis and Optical Properties” European Journal of Organic Chemistry 2015, 2271-2276.
  4. Yue, X.; Armijo, Z.; King, K.; Bondar, M. V.; Morales, A. R.; Frazer, A.; Mikhailov, I. A.; Przhonska, O. V.; Belfield, K. D. “Steady-state and femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy of new two-photon absorbing fluorene-containing quinolizinium cation membrane probes” ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 2015, 7, 2833-2846.
  5. Sui, B.; Yue, X.; Tichy, M. G.; Liu, T.; Belfield, K. D. “Improved Synthesis of the Triazacryptand (TAC) and its Application in the Construction of a Fluorescent TAC-BODIPY Conjugate for K+ Sensing in Live Cells” European Journal of Organic Chemistry 2015, 1189-1192.
  6. Sui, B.; Tang, S.; Liu, T.; Kim, B.; Belfield, K. D. “Novel BODIPY-based Fluorescence Turn-on Sensor for Fe3+ and its Bioimaging Application in Living Cells” ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 2014, 6, 18408-18412.
  7. Woodward, A. W.; Frazer, A.; Morales, A. M.; Yu, J.; Moore, A. F.; Campiglia, A. D.; Jucov, E. V.; Timofeeva, T. V.; Belfield, K. D. “Two-photon sensitized visible and near-IR luminescence of lanthanide complexes using a fluorene-based donor-π-acceptor diketonate” Dalton Transactions 2014, 43, 16626-16639.
  8. Belfield. K. D.; Bondar, M. V.; Yao, S.; Mikhailov, I. A.; Polikanov, V. S.; Przhonska, O. V.  “Femtosecond Spectroscopy of Superfluorescent Fluorenyl Benzothiadiazoles with Large Two-Photon and Excited State Absorption” Journal of Physical Chemistry C 2014, 118, 13790-13800. DOI: 10.1021/jp503106k
  9. Bashmakova, N.V.; Shaydyuk, Y.O.; Levchenko, S.M.; Masunov, A.E.; Przhonska, O.V.; Bricks, J.L.; Kachkovsky, O.D.; Slominsky, Y.L.; Piryatinski, Y.P.; Belfield, K.D.; Bondar, M.V. “Design and Electronic Structure of New Styryl Dye Bases: Steady-State and Time-Resolved Spectroscopic Studies.” Journal of Physical Chemistry A 2014, 118, 4502-4509.
  10. Zhang, Y.; Yue, X.; Kim, B.; Yao, S.; Belfield, K. D. “Deoxyribonucleoside Modified Squaraines as Near-IR Viscosity Sensors” Chemistry – A European Journal 2014, 20, 7249-7253.
  11. Frazer, A.; Morales, A. R.; Woodward, A. W.; Tongwa, P.; Timofeeva, T.; Belfield, K. D. “Luminescent Fluorene-Based Bis-Pyrazolyl Aniline Ligand for Aluminum Detection” Journal of Fluorescence 2014, 24, 239-250.


Belfield Research Group In the News

UCF Chemists Work on Cure for Cancer

Kevin Belfield and his team of chemists were featured on Fox 35 for their work on a new potential cure for cancer.This new therapy uses organic salt and light to kill cancer cells, potentially treating four types of cancer: melanoma, breast, colon, and prostate cancer.

The technique is a simple way around a problem that has frustrated researchers for years. For photodynamic therapy (the special laser-light treatment) to work, cancer cells loaded with photosensitizers need oxygen to trigger the fatal reaction. But by their very nature, most cancer cells lack oxygen. Nonetheless, scientists were intent on making the photodynamic system work because it offers a way to target cancer cells deep within human tissue without causing a lot of collateral damage.

Instead of focusing on oxygen, Belfield flipped the problem around and found another way to poison the bad cells, while protecting the healthy ones.

Killing Cancer With Salt

In The News

More than 12 million Americans live with some kind of cancer and researchers are constantly looking for new ways to stop this deadly disease. Now, scientists at the University of Central Florida are experimenting with a new therapy that uses salt to kill cancer cells.

One therapy for treating cancer involves shining lasers on light-sensitive materials to kill nearby cancer cells in the presence of oxygen. But, according to chemist Kevin Belfield from the University of Central Florida, “most tumor cells become hypoxic or have low oxygen concentrations.” Without the necessary oxygen, the lasers cannot kill the cancer cells.

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Recent Presentations - August 2015

248th ACS National Meeting and Exposition

Yue, X.; Belfield, K. D. Triarylsulfonium salt-based photodynamic therapy: A new paradigm in cancer treatment. 248th ACS National Meeting, Roy W. Tess Award: Symposium in Honor of James V. Crivello, San Francisco, CA, August 10-14, 2014, invited.

1st Workshop on Frontiers of Applied Surface and Colloid Chemistry

Belfield, K. D. Recent Developments in Squaraine Dyes: Supramolecular Assembly and Nonlinear Absorption Enhancement. 1st Workshop on Frontiers of Applied Surface and Colloid Chemistry, Xi’an, China, June 13-14, 2014, invited.

3rd Annual World Congress of Advanced Materials

Belfield, K. D.; Zhang, Y. Modulation of Optical Properties of Squaraines through Supramolecular Assembly. 3rd Annual World Congress of Advanced Materials, Chongqing, China, June 6-9, 2014, invited.

Recent Developments in Two-photon Vascular Imaging and Oxygen Independent Photodynamic Therapy

Belfield, K. D. Recent Developments in Two-photon Vascular Imaging and Oxygen Independent Photodynamic Therapy. Chongqing University, June 5, 2014, invited.

2014 Florida Annual Meeting and Exposition (FAME)

Zhang, Y.; Yue, X.; Kim, B.; Bondar, M. V.; Belfield, K. D. Recent Developments in Squaraine Dyes: Supramolecular Assembly and Fluorescent Turn-on Viscosity Probes. 2014 Florida Annual Meeting and Exposition (FAME), Showcase Symposium, Palm Harbor, FL, May 8-10, 2014, invited.