Education

2012.8-2018.1, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ph.D.

2008.9-2012.6, Hubei University, B.S.

Work

2018.1-2023.1, The University of Texas at Dallas, Postdoctoral researcher

Research interest

Neurotransmitters and neuromodulators play a significant role in maintaining physiological activities and the health of the brain. Elucidating the function of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators in the brain is helpful for a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the cognitive function of the brain and the development of new drugs for treating brain diseases. An effective strategy of this study is to precisely control the release of neurotransmitters and modulators in the brain and establish a direct link between the substances and neuronal activities, neural circuits, and animal behavior. Neurotransmitters and neuromodulators can be precisely released on demand from nanocarriers triggered by external physical stimuli such as light, ultrasound, magnetic field, etc. or physiological environment such as pH, enzymes, etc., thus enabling the study of their function and therapeutic properties in the brain. Therefore, we aim to develop new nanocarriers and technologies for the intelligent and controlled release of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators and provide powerful tools for investigating the function of the brain and treating brain diseases.

Representative publications

(⁺ co-first author; * corresponding author)

1. Hejian Xiong⁺, Blake A. Wilson⁺, Xiaoqian Ge^+,*, Xiaofei Gao, Qi Cai, Xueqi Xu, Robert Bachoo*, Zhenpeng Qin*.  Glioblastoma Margin as a Diffusion Barrier Revealed by Photoactivation of Plasmonic Nanovesicles. Nano Letters 2024, 24(5), 1570–1578.

2. Dongquan Xiang⁺, Xinli Han⁺, Jianxiong Li, Jiabing Zhang, Haihua Xiao, Ting Li, Xueling Zhao, Hejian Xiong*, Meng Xu*, Wenzhi Bi*. Combination of IDO Inhibitors and Platinum(IV) Prodrugs Reverses Low Immune Responses to Enhance Cancer Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy for Osteosarcoma. Materials Today Bio 2023, 20, 100675.

3. Hejian Xiong, Kevin A. Alberto, Jonghae Youn, Jaume Taura, Johannes Morstein, Xiuying Li, Yang Wang, Dirk Trauner, Paul A. Slesinger*, Steven O. Nielsen*, Zhenpeng Qin*. Optical control of neuronal activities with photoswitchable nanovesicles. Nano Research 2023, 16(1), 1033−1041. (Inside Cover Feature)

4. Hejian Xiong, Blake A. Wilson, Paul A. Slesinger, Zhenpeng Qin*. Understanding Neuropeptide Transmission in the Brain by Optical Uncaging and Release. ACS Chemical Neuroscience 2023, 14, 4, 516–523.

5. Hejian Xiong, Emre Lacin, Hui Ouyang, Aditi Naik, Xueqi Xu, Chen Xie, Jonghae Youn, Blake A. Wilson, Krutin Kumar, Tyler Kern, Erin Aisenberg, Daniel Kircher, Xiuying Li, Joseph A. Zasadzinski, Celine Mateo, David Kleinfeld, Sabina Hrabetova, Paul A. Slesinger*, Zhenpeng Qin*. Probing neuropeptide volume transmission in vivo by simultaneous near-infrared light triggered release and optical sensing. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2022, 61(34), e202206122. (Hot paper)

6. Xueqi Xu, Xiaoqian Ge, Hejian Xiong*, Zhenpeng Qin*. Towards dynamic, anisotropic, high-resolution, and functional measurement in the brain extracellular space. Neurophotonics 2022, 9(3), 032210.

7. Hejian Xiong^#, Xiuying Li^#,*, Peiyuan Kang, John Perish, Frederik Neuhaus, Jonathan Ploski, Sven Kroener, Maria O. Ogunyankin, Jeong Eun Shin, Joseph A. Zasadzinski, Hui Wang, Paul Slesinger, Andreas Zumbuehl*, Zhenpeng Qin*. Near-infrared light triggered-release in deep brain regions using ultra-photosensitive nanovesicles. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2020, 59(22), 8608-8615.

8. Hejian Xiong, Yanran Li, Haihang Ye, Gang Huang, Dongfang Zhou*, Yubin Huang*. Self-healing Supramolecular Hydrogels through Host-guest Interaction between Cyclodextrin and Carborane. Journal of Materials Chemistry B. 2020, 8(45), 10309-10313.

9. Hejian Xiong, Dongfang Zhou*, Xiaohua Zheng, Yanxin Qi, Yongheng Wang, Xiabin Jing, Yubin Huang*. Stable Amphiphilic Supramolecular Self-assembly Based on Cyclodextrin and Carborane for The Efficient Photodynamic Therapy. Chemical Communications 2017, 53, 3422−3425.