Engineering functional nanoparticles using libraries of polymers

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The field of drug delivery thrives at the frontier of chemistry, nanotechnology and biology. In theory, nanoparticles can encapsulate active ingredients and potentiate their effect so they reach their targets with full potential. Despite significant advances in materials science and engineering, many fundamental considerations slow down the development of nanomaterials. In this research program, we propose to develop enabling technologies to tackle these problems. Since more than one hundred billion nanoparticles can fit inside a droplet of water, organizing architectures in that size range is a complex matter. Currently, the preparation and optimization of nanoparticles that adequately encapsulate drugs or imaging molecules is a time consuming process. Factors like total loading, encapsulation efficiency, and the carrier's capacity to retain its payload until it reaches destination, must all be taken into consideration. Herein, we propose to develop novel, robust technologies to facilitate in vitro characterization of nanoparticles. These methods will enable the investigation of a library of newly designed hybrid copolymers that facilitate encapsulation of payloads. The first objectives of this research is to design materials that can streamline the purification and in vitro evaluation of nanoparticles. By increasing the throughput of these procedures, we will facilitate the parallel investigation of large numbers of nanoparticle candidates, and enable the use of library approaches to solve challenging issues. The second objective of the program is to use those enabling technologies to evaluate a library of newly designed copolymers exhibiting affinity for specific molecules. Such materials could self-assemble into nanoparticles with high encapsulation capacities, potentially resolving issues in nanoparticle preparation and payload encapsulation. By offering an unbiased evaluation of the purification approaches that are currently available, and, more importantly developing technologies for the in vitro characterization of materials, we will provide useful knowledge to researchers in the field, and provide them with novel alternatives to face the current limitations. These advances will pave the way toward standardization of the procedures, a factor that could seriously accelerate the development of translational technologies. In parallel, the development of a library of versatile, biodegradable copolymers that exhibit improved affinity for various payloads will facilitate the development of paradigm-changing biomedical technologies. Altogether, these elements will contribute to emergence of novel technology platforms, establish my research team as leaders in the field and allow the training of highly qualified personnel in the field of biomedical-nanotechnology.