Day 2 :
Keynote Forum
Abdel Salam H Makhlouf
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA
Keynote: Quick fabrication of highly porous dual tissue scaffolds using textile techniques
Time : 9:30-10:15
Biography:
Abdel Salam H Makhlouf is a Star Professor and Founder of Surface Engineering Laboratory at UTRGV. He is a multiple-award winner for his academic excellence.rnHe received several prestigious awards in Germany (Humboldt Research Award for Experienced Scientists at Max Planck Institute) and USA (Fulbright VisitingrnScholar, NSF Fellow, and DOE Fellow). He is an Expert Evaluator for the EU’s FP7, German Ministry of Education and Research, German Academic ExchangernService, and German Aerospace Center. He is a reviewer for the US Fulbright Commission, and a reviewer/panelist for several NSF programs. His publication listrn(+200) includes 11 books, 21 book chapters, and 2 US patents. He supervised 11 PhD and Master’s students, and 5 Post-doctoral fellows.
Abstract:
Quick fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds with tunable mechanical properties while retaining their highlyrnporous structure have received an increasing interest for fabrication of vascular tissue scaffolds. Conventional methodsrnsuch as electrospinning have several drawbacks including limited production rate, scaffold porosity, and the need for electricalrncharging of polymer solutions during synthesis. Textile techniques for making fabrics allow fast fabrication and porousrnarchitectures. This article presents the concept of single and dual air jet spinning (AJS) for the fabrication of finely tunedrnmicro and nano-fibrous membranes and vascular grafts for use in tissue engineering applications. The mechanism of AJS isrnbased on the extrusion of polymer solutions, under controlled pressure and polymer solution properties, through a nozzle thatrnallows for precisely tuned fiber morphology, diameter, mechanical properties and web porosity. We successfully optimized thernexperimental parameters for fabrication of fibrous scaffold membranes composed of pure polycaprolactone, pure nylon 6 andrntheir mixtures at different ratios. The scaffold biocompatibility was examined by analyzing cell attachment and proliferationrnby seeding with EA.hy926 endothelial cells. Surprisingly, the AJS method developed in this article facilitated (in less than 3rnminutes) the fabrication of 3D constructs that are highly porous and supportive of permeability to nutrients and metabolites.rnTherefore, we believe that the AJS approach could be a promising method for the fast construction of high performance micrornand nanofiber vascular structures that are not amenable to compete with other conventional techniques such as electrospinning.
- Biomedical Nanomaterials
Medical Nanotechnology Devices
Nanotechnology in Cardiovascular Medicine
Chair
Agnes Bonvilain
University of Grenoble Alpes, France
Co-Chair
Fabian Davamani
International Medical University, Malaysia
Session Introduction
Agnes Bonvilain
University of Grenoble Alpes, France
Title: Microsensors for instrumented medical tools for their real time monitoring
Biography:
Agnès Bonvilain received an MS degree in Electrical Engineering in 1986, a PhD degree in Automation and Computer Science in 2002 and a HDR in October 2012. In 2005, she joined the University of Grenoble, France as an Assistant Professor in Electrical Engineering. Her research activities are related to the integrated BioMEMS.
Abstract:
In the field of interventional radiology, when a physician wants to make a puncture or a biopsy for example, he must insert a long medical needle in the human body. This instrument can be deformed by its environment (because of the inhomogeneity of the human tissues) and miss its target. The consequences can be dramatic. Traditionally, the physician use medical imaging to help him to reach its target. But no medical imaging gives satisfactory results for different reasons. Another possibility is to use the modeling. But all modeling methods use assumption that the needle and/or the human tissues are crushproof. And it is well known that this assumption is not realistic. So in our work, we propose to instrument a needle with microgauges. These microsensors allow to measure in real time, during its use, the strain of the needle. We can calculate from this strain the real shape of the needle and give it to the physician, in a previous medical image of the patient. The novelty in this work is that the microfabrications are processed on an unconventional substrate (curved surface and stainless steel). The perspective of this work is to broaden the applications to other medical tools.
N John Sushma,
Sri Padmavati Women’s University, India
Title: Rivastigmine loaded solid lipid nanoparticles: Formulation and in vitro characterization and antioxidant activity
Biography:
N John Sushma has completed PhD from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, India. She is working as an Assistant Professor, Department of Biotechnology, Sri Padmavati Women’s University, Tirupati. She has published 50 research articles in reputed journals. She has presented her research work in various international and national conferences. She has presented a paper in International Conference on “Prevention of Dementia” by Alzheimer’s Association held at Washington DC, USA in 2007. She was awarded with Young Faculty award and National Environmentalist award. She is currently involved in the Nanobiotechnology, Biochemical Pharmacology and Herbal Drug Development against neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Abstract:
Injectable biodegradable nanoparticles have an important potential application in the treatment of a variety of neurological disorders. Rivastigmine is an oral medication used to treat patients with Alzheimer’s disease. It is a short acting cholinesterase inhibitor (ChEI) and blocks the action of acetylcholinesterase, the enzyme responsible for the destruction of acetylcholine. The purpose of the present study was to formulate and evaluate rivastigmine loaded solid lipid nanoparticles for sustained release. In the present study, rivastigmine loaded solid lipid nanoparticles were prepared using fish oil and flax seed oil by melting emulsification coupled with high shear homogenization technique. Variable drug/polymer ratios in nine different batches were taken to identify the suitable lipid ratios for better entrapment efficiency of the drug and also for sustained release of the drug. The prepared nanoparticles were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The particle size of the SLNs was found to exponentially decrease with the increase in surfactant solution. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and differential Scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis revealed that there was no chemical interaction between the ingredients of SLNs. Further drug entrapment efficiency and in vitro release studies were carried out. Scanning electron microscopy results revealed that the nanoparticles were spherical in shape. In vitro release studies showed that rivastigmine loaded SLNs were capable of releasing the drug in a sustained manner. In vitro antioxidant activity of SLNs and different concentrations of rivastigmine alone was determined by reducing power assay and DPPH activity. The experimental results showed the suitability of SLNs as a potential carrier for providing sustained delivery of rivastigmine.
Mary Mehrnoosh Eshaghian-Wilner
University of Southern California, USA
Title: Security in pervasive healthcare systems
Biography:
Mary Mehrnoosh Eshaghian-Wilner is an interdisciplinary scientist and patent attorney. She is currently a Professor of Engineering Practice at the Electrical Engineering Department of USC. She is best known for her work in the areas of Optical Computing, Heterogeneous Computing, and Nanocomputing. Her current research involves the applications and implications of these and other emerging technologies in medicine and law. She has founded and/or chaired numerous IEEE conferences and organizations, and serves on the Editorial Board of several journals. She is the recipient of several prestigious awards, and has authored and/or edited hundreds of publications, including 3 books.
Abstract:
Current healthcare and wellness monitoring devices make medical follow-up convenient. A Secure Body Unit (SBU) such as a wearable computing device allows for autonomous collection of a patient’s physiological data, such as glucose levels and blood pressure. This data can be sent to the patient’s smartphone and then to a physician for review. This process relies extensively on network connectivity, and yet current healthcare IT endeavors do not pay enough attention to protecting this highly-sensitive physiological data. Therefore, we propose a generic infrastructure that can be used by health technologies to enhance data security. A patient’s smartphone can use the industry-standard RSA protocol to safely exchange a secure key with the SBU. The health device can then use this key along with the AES algorithm to encrypt its data before transmitting it to the smartphone. The smartphone is then able to decrypt the health data with its copy of the secure key. This data is converted into a readable health report which is sent to the Physician Interface System (PIS), a generic web-based system maintained by a health provider that houses patient medical records. This transmission can occur over the ‘https’ protocol, which is widely deployed and considered secure. Overall, this architecture is a noninvasive method of physiological data protection and can be applied to any generic health technology infrastructure. It utilizes reliable protocols like https, RSA, and AES over more complex alternatives. As the proliferation of smart devices continues, this generally applicable method of data protection is an imperative.
Mahi R Singh
Western University, Canada
Title: A study of biophotonic sensors in metallic nano-hole structures
Biography:
Mahi R Singh received PhD (1976) degree from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi in Condensed Matter Physics. After that, he was awarded an Alenxander von Humbold Fellow in Stuttgart University, Germany from 1979 to 1981. Currently, he is Professor in the same university. He was a visiting Professor at University of Houston. He also worked as a Chief Researcher at CRL HITACHI, Tokyo and he was a visiting Professor and Royal Society Professor at University of Oxford, UK. He was the Director of the Centre of Chemical Physics and Theoretical Physics Program at Western. He has worked in many fields of research in science and technology including nanoscience, nanotechnology, nanophotonics, optoelectronics, semiconductors structures, high temperature superconductors, nanophotonics, plasmonics, polarotonics and nanoscience and technology.
Abstract:
A large amount of research on plasmonics has been devoted to noble metal nanostructures, which to control electromagnetic energy flow on nanometer length scales. Metallic nanostructures have applications in biophotonics and sensing. Recently, there is an interest in studying surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in metallic nano-hole structures experimentally and theoretically. They provide simple way to excite SPPs at perpendicular incidence without varying the angle of the incident beam. It is found that these structures transmit more radiation than that of incident light due to the presence of SPPs in these structures.We have investigated theoretically and experimentally the transmission of light in metallic nano-hole structures in the presence of SPPs. The transmission spectrum is measured for several samples having different radii and periodicities. We found that the spectrum has several peaks. The effective dielectric constant of this structure is calculated by using the transmission line theory. Using effective dielectric constant, the SPPs are calculated using the transfer matrix method and it is found that the SPP energies are quantized. The transmission expression is compared with experimental results.We found that the location of the transmission peaks can be modified by depositing biomaterials. These results can be used to make nanosensors for medical and engineering applications.
Kai A Carey
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, USA
Title: Bioinspired hemozoin nanocrystals as high contrast photoacoustic agents for ultrasensitive malaria diagnosis
Biography:
Kai A Carey is currently pursuing PhD at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences under the supervision of Dr. Vladimir Zharov in the Arkansas Nanomedicine Center. His work currently focuses on the use of near-infrared lasers for noninvasive early detection and treatment of malarial infection.
Abstract:
Unprecedented nanotechnological advances promise to revolutionize deadly disease diagnosis and therapy by enhancing imaging contrast and improving drug/vaccine delivery. Nevertheless, challenges still remain in treating malaria which kills over half a million people every year. Early disease diagnosis and accurate staging are crucial for good treatment outcomes. We show here that early noninvasive (needleless) label-free diagnosis and, hence well-timed treatment of malaria are feasible by the use of hemozoin nanocrystals as intrinsic high contrast photoacoustic (PA) agents in combination with in vivo PA flow cytometry (PAFC). Hemozoin, with the average size of 50-400 nm are created in infected red blood cells (RBCs) as a result of detoxification of the byproducts from hematophagous parasites, in particular, P. yoelii. We discuss the properties of these not yet well characterized NPs and demonstrate that they can provide very high levels of PA contrast in infected RBCs above hemoglobin background comparable to that of engineered artificial metal nanoparticles (NPs) used for targeting circulating tumor cells and bacteria. Moreover, laser-induced vapor nanobubbles around overheated hemozoin nanocrystals as a PA signal amplifier makes it possible to detect rare infected RBCs even in deep vessels that improve diagnostic speed and sensitivity. PA detection of hemozoin in combination with fluorescent detection of GFP-expressing parasites provide a detailed real-time picture of infection dynamics. Laser disruption of hemozoin containing RBCs may be used for destruction of infected cells. We are confident that natural hemozoin nanoparticles may find multiple applications in health care similar to those of metal engineered nanomaterials.
Miranda N Hurst
Kansas State University, USA
Title: Two Dimensional Fluorescence Difference Spectroscopy (2D FDS) to characterize nanoparticles and their interactions
Biography:
Miranda N Hurst received her bachelor of science in cell and molecular biology from Missouri State University in 2015. She is currently working as a Research Assistant under Dr. Robert Delong at the Nanotechnology Innovation Center of Kansas State (NICKS). Her current research focuses on the stabilization and delivery of RNA via nanoparticles into human and mouse cell lines. Her research interests include the relationship between structure and function of RNA and protein in the complex cellular environment, specifically for the development of cancer therapies. She has two publications in peer reviewed journals and one patent submitted.
Abstract:
Splice Switching Oligonucleotides (SSOs) are a class of antisense RNA that directly modulates pre-mRNA splicing. SSOs require a delivery vehicle to reach the nucleus such as nanoparticles. An assay has been developed using cancer cells stably transfected with luciferase reporter gene that is interrupted by human ï¢-globin intron. This construct results in production of non-functional luciferase protein. Upon successful nuclear delivery of 705 SSO, the intron is correctly spliced out resulting in expression of functional luciferase76. We analyzed nanoparticle delivery of SSO to cancer cells. We observed that Co3O4 (size < 100 nm) displayed the highest payload (83 nM SSO per mM nanoparticle). Binding constants were evaluated by UV-vis absorption (2.2 x 106 M-1) and fluorescence spectroscopies (2.128 x 106 M-1). Nanosight and DLS analyses indicate increase in NP size upon complexation. Positive zeta potential of Co3O4 shifts towards the negative indicating electrostatic interaction. First generation nanoparticles were screened for SSO delivery to A375 pLuc cells measuring photoluminescence. Cobalt oxide was found to deliver SSO in a dose-dependent manner. Cytotoxicity evaluation against HEK cell lines indicates 100% cell viability after 24 hrs of Co3O4 treatment. Significant increase in splicing correction as compared to the control was observed by RT-PCR and gel electrophoresis. Binding, uptake and delivery is being further evaluated by multiple microscopy methods. Overall, these results support our claim that unmodified Co3O4 nanoparticle mediated SSO delivery corrects RNA splicing and restores active Luciferase expression.
Yaw Opoku-Damoah
China Pharmaceutical University, China
Title: The quest to achieving a concerted cancer treatment: Challenges in nanotheranostics delivery
Biography:
Yaw Opoku-Damoah is a Post-graduate student at China Pharmaceutical University. As part of his National Service, he worked with the Import and Export Control Department of the Food and Drugs Authority, Ghana, West Africa before being awarded a Joint Chinese Government Scholarship/Ghana Government Scholarship to pursue postgraduate studies in Pharmaceutics. His research is focused on Nanotechnology, Drug Delivery and Theranostics. He is specifically interested in the use of nanotheranostics for site-specific delivery and diagnosis. He recently published a paper in Biomaterials IF: 8.57 and has another accepted paper in press which is focused on the design of versatile delivery systems for cancer theranostics.
Abstract:
The complexity of cancer remains a huge obstacle to achieving an antidote, and as such the disease requires pragmatic strategies for effective treatment. Cancer theranostics is regarded as a promising approach for the future treatment of all forms of cancer. With the rapid development of nanotechnology, an intimate combination of therapy and diagnosis by a single delivery system combined with an imaging technique will obviously hold the key to early cancer diagnosis and site-specific treatment. With several biological barriers and physiological constraints, the delivery of nanotheranostics remains a challenge to researchers. A few of these theranostics are under clinical studies while others are still under development. It is expected that theranostic medicines will be fast-tracked from the bench to bedside in the next couple of years. Apparently, the expectation seems impossible unless the major challenges in sitespecific delivery can be efficiently managed. Herein, we seek to offer a detailed discussion of the challenges involved in major delivery systems employed in cancer theranostics. This review also provides specific techniques or strategies that can be used to overcome these difficulties.
Walter Harrington
University of Arkansas at Little Rock, USA
Title: Photoswitchable nonfluorescent nanoprobes for tracking individual tumor and bacterial cells
Biography:
Walter Harrington is a second year graduate student at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) pursuing a PhD in the Interdisiplinary Biomedical Sciences. His current work focuses on developing novel photoswitchable nanoprobes for labeling and tracking of cells in vivo and use this diagnostic platform for study of biodistribution of bacteria (S. aureus) in the body. He works under the supervision of Vladimir Zharov, PhD, Professor, who is Director of Arkansas Nanomedicine Center at UAMS and who pioneered photothermal nanotherapy and in vivo photoacoustic flow cytometry.
Abstract:
The development of photoswitchable fluorescent proteins with controllable light–dark states and spectral shifts in emission in response to light led to breakthroughs in study of cell biology. Nevertheless, conventional photoswitching is not applicable for weakly fluorescent proteins and is limited by low penetration of UV and visible light used into tissue, strong autofluorescent background, and phototoxicity concerns. As an alternative, photoacoustic (PA) imaging has demonstrated a tremendous potential in biomedical study of nonfluorescent cells and proteins. However, little progress has been made in the development of photoswitchable PA contast agents. Here, we introduce a novel concept of photoswitchable PA probes consisting of capsulated thermochromic dyes and absorbing nanoparticles, which can control light–dark states and spectral shifts in absorption in response to laser light. In these hybrid probes, temperature-sensitive dye absorption is photoswitched through laser heating of doped nanoparticles. The proof-ofconcept was demonstrated using near-infrared laser and two thermochromic dyes with magnetic nanoparticles that are reversibly photoswitched either from a colored light state to colourless dark state or from one colour to another. PA imaging provided visualization of these probes in solution and cells. We also propose photoswitching of plasmonic resonances in gold nanoparticle clusters through interparticle distance changes. A potential application of new nonfluorescent photoswitchable multicolour probes are discussed with focus on cellular diagnostics, tracking circulating tumor cells, viruses and bacteria, and magnetic and NIR photothermal therapy of cancer and infections.