Soft nanoparticles and materials are derived primarily from an organic backbone, encompassing a wide array of structures including liposomes, micelles, and polymers. Soft nanoparticles can be engineered to encapsulate pharmaceuticals and release them at targeted sites, reducing systemic toxicity and improving pharmacokinetic profiles. In a newer scheme, DOX-conjugated poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) was loaded into an injectable nanoparticle generator spontaneously releasing nanoparticles upon pH stimulation, which are later cleaved into DOX within the cell showing enhanced efficacy in metastatic breast cancer models over free DOX.
Established Particles and Polymers
Willem Mulder, Director, Nanomedicine Laboratory at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
Talk Outline:
- Self-assembly and cellular life
- Lipoproteins
- Amphiphiles and phospholipids
- Vesicles, disks, micelles
- Liposomes
- Oil-in-water emulsions
- Nanocrystal core HDL
- Complex lipid/polymer hybrid nanoparticles
Particles and Polymers for Optical Imaging
Anthony McGoron, Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
Learning Objectives:
- Understand contrast material design driven by imaging modality vs application driven choice of contrast material/imaging modality
- Introduction into methods for ligand conjugation
- Understand different kinds of target interactions and their pros and cons for specific applications
Cancer cell membrane coated biomimetic nanoparticles for disrupting cancer cell-stromal cell interaction and priming the immune system
Jiefu Jin, John Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, USA
Talk Outline:
- RBC membrane camouflaged NPs for detoxification
- Synthesis and characterization of cancer cell plasma membrane fraction coated PLGA NPs (DDMF+PLGA NPs)
- In vivo behavior of DDMF+PLGA NPs
Multifunctional near-infrared polymer dots for precise imaging of metastatic lymph nodes
Liqin Xiong, Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
Talk outline:
- Fluroescence polymer dots
- Overview of the lymphatic system
- Synthesis and characterization of folate targeted tri-modal polymer dots
Targeted Photodynamic Pre-Treatment: a Novel Strategy to Enhance Tumor Nanoparticle Accumulation
Marta Overchuk, University of Toronto, Canada
Talk outline:
- Current status of nano-mediated drug delivery for cancer therapy
- Porphyrin-PSMA targeted particles
- Enhanced nanoparticle tumor delivery for photoacoustic imaging