Biopolymers and Nanoengineering for Drug Delivery and Molecular Imaging
Our research objective is to develop polymeric drug delivery systems (DDSs) that can efficiently deliver anticancer drug to cancer cells. Polymers used for these DDSs are biocompatible and biodegradable. DDSs can be prepared in millimeter, nanometer and molecular scale. For the millimeter scale, the research aim is to develop intratumoral implantations that can be injected directly insides tumors. Anticancer drugs that are kept inside will release and kill cancer cells.
For the nanoscale, we develop magnetic nanoparticles that can be detected by MRI once injected inside the body. Not only to visualize cancer cells in vivo but these nanoparticles can also selectively deliver anticancer drugs to these cancer cells. For the molecular scale, anticancer drugs are chemically conjugated to the polymer chain to enhance the cancer cell uptake and reduce the side effects of these drug