CHEE Seminar: Roberto Guzman
Monday, January 31, 2022 – 3 p.m. MST
Roberto Guzman
Professor
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering
"Synthesis of Nanomaterials for Development of Targeted and Controlled Drug Delivery Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapeutics: Synthesis, Modeling, In Vitro and In Vivo Applications"
Harshbarger Bldg., Room 206 | Zoom link
Due to the surge in COVID cases statewide, there will not be a social hour this week.
ABSTRACT
This presentation describes the encapsulation in polymeric nanoparticles and the targeted controlled delivery of therapeutic drugs for potential and effective minimally invasive cancer treatments. For the most part, the functional nanoparticles consist of a matrix of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) containing encapsulated anticancer drugs as chemotherapy agents (enzyme inhibitors or proteins). The drug release from biodegradable nanoparticles has been analyzed mathematically using new approaches that include three major mechanisms of release: initial burst, nanoparticle degradation relaxation, and diffusion. The steps occur simultaneously and provide a more accurate description of the release behavior of a real system. The theoretical release studies were corroborated experimentally by evaluating the cytotoxicity effect of the kinase-inhibitor drug PHT-427-loaded nanoparticles over BxPC-3 and MiaPaCa-2 pancreatic cancer cells in vitro. These studies showed that the encapsulated PHT-427 drug in the nanoparticles is more accessible and thus more effective when compared with the drug alone. In addition, the PHT-427-loaded nanoparticles cytotoxicity was evaluated in vivo studies with MiaPaCa-2 pancreatic tumors. The results show that the kinase inhibitor is more effective when is loaded into polymeric nanoparticles compared to the drug alone, by reducing MiaPaCa-2 orthotopic pancreatic tumor growth. The experimental formulation parameters in the synthesis of drug-free PLGA nanoparticles were investigated to find the best conditions for nanoparticle preparation. The effects of theoretical drug loadings on the nanoparticle characteristics were examined. The release of these drugs from PLGA nanoparticles was evaluated to determine the overall release profile characteristics. Preliminary research on the effective nanoparticle encapsulation and release of therapeutic proteins was assessed with the encapsulation of IGF1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor-1) and its application in the regeneration of salivary glands function.
BIOSKETCH
Professor R. Guzman has been a Chemical Engineering professor at the University of Arizona since 1989 and has faculty joint appointments in Biomedical Engineering and in the Pharmacology and Toxicology Departments at the University of Arizona. He received a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering/Biotechnology from North Carolina State University, an MSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois, Chicago and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Guanajuato, Mexico. At present, his research is in biomolecular and bioengineering nanotechnology with an emphasis in the synthesis of metal-hybrid theranostic nanoparticles. Specifically, nanoparticles for cancer diagnostics and target drug delivery, synthesis of proteins and peptides specific adsorbents for affinity purifications and used in the discovery and isolation of biomarkers from biological fluids. His research has strong foundations in molecular recognition, affinity technologies, synthetic chemistry, applied biochemistry and mathematical modeling. The areas of research in his laboratory fall in the boundaries between chemistry, biology, medicine, polymer sciences and engineering and incorporate both experimental and theoretical work analysis.