Unfortunately, Prof. Peppas' lecture scheduled for December 11 at 17h, at IBMC-INEB, is cancelled.

The bad weather currently in the US east coast has made it impossible for him to keep his flight plans.

ABSTRACT

Engineering the molecular design of intelligent materials by controlling recognition and specificity is the first step in coordinating and duplicating complex biological and physiological processes. We address design and synthesis characteristics of novel nanoscale systems based on crosslinked networks capable of protein release as well as artificial molecular structures capable of specific molecular recognition of biological molecules. Recent developments in protein delivery have been directed towards the preparation of targeted formulations for protein delivery to specific sites, use of environmentally-responsive polymers to achieve pH- or temperature-triggered delivery, usually in modulated mode, and improvement of the behavior of their mucoadhesive behavior and cell recognition.  Configurational biomimetic  imprinting and microimprinting techniques, which create stereo-specific three-dimensional binding cavities based on a biological compound of interest can lead to preparation of biomimetic materials for intelligent drug delivery and drug targeting. We have been successful in synthesizing novel glucose-binding molecules based on non-covalent directed interactions formed via molecular imprinting techniques within aqueous media. Finally, this talk will address important questions related to the successful implementation on nanotechnology in drug delivery and especially in cancer treatment. [Stephanie D Steichen, Mary Caldorera-Moore, N A Peppas, Current nanoparticle and targeting moieties for the delivery of cancer therapeutics, Europ. J Pharm. Sci., 48, 416-427 (2013);  Mar Creixell, N A Peppas, Co-delivery of siRNA and therapeutic agents using nanocarriers to overcome cancer resistance, 7, 367-379 (2012); William B Liechty, N A Peppas,  Responsive polymer nanoparticles in cancer therapy, Europ. J Pharm. Biopharmac., 80, 241-246 (2012)].

 

SHORT BIOGRAPHY

Nicholas A. Peppas is the Fletcher Stuckey Pratt Chair in Engineering; Professor of Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacy; and Chairman of the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Peppas is known for his pioneering research in biomaterials, drug delivery, bionanotechnology and medical devices. His research blends modern molecular and cellular biology with engineering to generate the next-generation of medical systems and devices for patient treatment. He set the fundamentals and rational design of drug delivery systems. He is the inventor of numerous medical products including contact and intraocular lenses, artificial kidney membranes, cartilage, and devices for oral delivery of insulin for treatment of diabetics, calcitonin for osteoporosis and interferon beta for multiple sclerosis. For his major contributions to chemical and biomedical engineering he received the 2012 Founders Award of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). He is an elected member of NAE, the Institute of Medicine (of the National Academies, the National Academy of France, the Royal Academy of Spain, and the Texas Academy.  AIChE has awarded him the 2008 Founders Award, the 2006 William Walker Award, the 2008 Institute Lectureship, the 2007 Jay Bailey Award, the 1992 Pharmaceuticals and Bioengineering Award and the 1984 Materials Award. On the occasion of its centennial in 2008, AIChE included him in the “100 chemical engineers of the modern era”. Peppas is a fellow of AAAS, AIChE, ACS, APS, MRS, BMES, AIMBE, SFB, CRS, AAPS and ASEE. One of the most cited engineers in the world with 57,000 citations, he has published 1,300 papers and 55 patents and has authored or co-edited 37 books. More than 750 researchers have worked in his laboratories, including 100 visiting scientists and postdoctoral fellows and 95 PhD students, 55 of them professors in other universities. Peppas holds a Dipl.Eng., National Technical University of Athens (1971), a Sc.D. from MIT (1973), and honorary doctorates from the Universities of Ghent (Belgium), Parma (Italy), Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Athens (Greece).

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