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Irma Sanchez defends PhD Thesis On January
21, 2008, Irma Yolanda Sanchez successfully
defended her PhD thesis in the Department
of Electrical Engineering of the Instituto
Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de
Monterrey (ITESM), Mexico. Irma worked in
our laboratory from January 2006 to May
2007. Her PhD thesis was co-supervised by
Professor Peppas and Professor
Sergio Martinez
of Tecnologico. Her PhD thesis addressed
the synthesis of novel hydrogel materials
containing glucose oxidase, systems that
can be used for glucose recognition and
insulin delivery. The recovery of diminished
or lost regulatory functions of physiological
systems drives important research efforts
in biomaterials and modeling and control
engineering. Special interest was paid to
diabetes mellitus because of its epidemic
dimensions. Hydrogels provide the multifunctionality
of smart materials and the applicability
to medical regulatory systems, which is
evaluated in this dissertation. The polymeric
matrix of a hydrogel experiences reversible
changes in volume in response to the pH
of the environment, which depends on the
presence of key metabolites in a physiological
medium. The hydrogel swells due to internal
repulsive electrostatic forces opening the
matrix and releasing a preloaded drug. The
contracted state of the hydrogel hinders
the diffusion of the drug out of the polymer.
In this work, poly(methacrylic acid-graft-ethylene
glycol), P(MAA-g-EG), hydrogel membranes
that incorporate glucose oxidase were used
for insulin delivery. These glucose sensitive
membranes were characterized and modeled
for the closed loop treatment of type I
diabetes mellitus. A physiological compartmental
model was extended to represent the treatment
system of a diabetic patient. Physical parameters
of the P(MAA-g-EG) hydrogel material were
obtained from experimental characterization
and used as a basis to describe anionic
and cationic hydrogels. The performance
of the system closed by a hydrogel-based
device was explored and compared to the
dynamic behavior of a conventional scheme
with an explicit controller element. A control
algorithm for optimal insulin delivery in
a type I diabetic patient was presented
based on the linear quadratic control problem
theory. The glucose-insulin dynamics was
first represented by a linear model whose
state variables are the glucose and the
insulin concentrations in the blood. These
variables allowed the formulation of an
appropriate cost function for a diabetes
treatment in terms of the deviation from
the normal glucose level and the dosage
of exogenous insulin. The optimal control
law was computed from this cost function
under the servocontrol and regulatory approaches.
Superior robustness of the regulatory control
design is shown before random variations
of the parameters of the linear physiological
model. Further evaluation of the regulatory
controller was realized with a high order
nonlinear human glucose-insulin model. The
control system performance could be improved
by adjusting the weighting factors of the
optimization problem according to the patients
needs. The optimal controller produced a
versatile insulin release profile in response
to the variations of blood glucose concentration.
Simulations demonstrated limitations in
the range of swelling and contraction of
hydrogels in a physiological environment
due to factors such as the continuous presence
of glucose in blood composition, the buffer
characteristics of physiological fluids
and the Donnan equilibrium effect. Results
showed that insulin loading efficiency is
critical for the long term service of a
hydrogel-based device, while delivery by
a diffusion mechanism was convenient since
it allowed a basal insulin supply. The evaluation
of hydrogel macrosystems prompted the consideration
of the detected pros and contras in hydrogel
microsystems, as well as in composite systems
that may combine different materials and
structures. Irma's work has been accepted
for publication in the AIChE Journal. Irma
has accepted a position as Associate professor
at the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios
Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), Mexico.
Tania Betancourt joins group as a Postdoctoral
Fellow
Tania Betancourt, a recent PhD graduate
of the Biomedical Engineering Department
who finished her PhD with Professor
Lisa
Brannon-Peppas, joined our group as a postdoctoral
fellow effective January 16, 2008.
Participation
in the 2007 US-Japan Drug Delivery Meeting
Seven PhD students participated in the 9th
US-Japan Drug Delivery meeting in Kaanapali
Beach, Maui, Hawaii. Organized by the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology this meeting presents
novel and advanced drug delivery systems.
In this meeting Daniel Carr presented his
latest results on “Complexation Hydrogels
of Methacrylic Acid and N-Vinyl Pyrrolidone
for the Oral Delivery of Therapeutic Proteins”,
while Carolyn Bayer talked about “Conductive
Polymers for Recognitive Hydrogels".
Justin
Shofner addressed the problem of “Oral Delivery
of Insulin-Transferrin Bioconjugates Using
Intelligent Complexation Hydrogels”, while
Maggie Phillips presented her new work on
“Carbohydrate-Containing hydrogels for Oral
Protein Delivery”, Proceed. US-Japan Drug
Delivery Meeting, 9, 56 (2007). In the same
meeting, Steve Marek talked about “Intelligent
Glucose-Responsive Insulin Delivery via
Cationic Hydrogel Systems", while
Marty
Gran analyzed new work on "Metal-Polymer
Composites as Externally-Controlled Intelligent
Therapeutic Systems”. Finally, Diana Snelling
talked about “Towards the Development of
Biodegradable Sensors from Smart Hydrogels”.
Barbara Ekerdt wins Senate Undergraduate
Research Award
Barbara Ekerdt, a sophomore
in chemical engineering, is the winner of
the inaugural Undergraduate Research
Award of the Senate of College Councils.
The award is sponsored by the Senate of
College Councils along with the Office of
the Dean of Undergraduate Studies. The award
seeks to encourage students to get involved
in research early in their undergraduate
experience. Barbara started working on research
from her first day here at UT, first with
Steve Marek on enzyme-sensitive drug delivery
systems. Since May she has been working
with Peppas on synthetic and mechanistic
aspects of molecular recognition of undesirable
biomarkers (analytes) with associated intelligent
delivery of therapeutic proteins. Barbara
will receive a $1000 award from the Senate
of College Councils.
The Senate of College Councils is a body
of student governance at the University
charged with the specific task of “representing
students of the University of Texas at Austin
in academic affairs.” The constitutional
purpose of Senate is: the representation
of the students of The University of Texas
in academic affairs; the coordination and
representation of the various student councils
of the Colleges and Schools of The University
of Texas at Austin; to be a medium for exchange
and presentations of the ideas and opinions
of the student bodies of the various councils
of The University of Texas at Austin; and
the administration of funds collected through
the Student Services Fee.
Three Former Students Elected AIMBE Fellows
Three former associates of this laboratory
have been elected Fellows of the American
Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers
(AIMBE), the biological sciences academy.
The new Fellows are Richard Korsmeyer
(MS '80, PhD '83), Head of Global Licensing,
Pfizer, Balaji Narasimhan (PhD '97),
Associate Dean and Professor of Chemical
Engineering at the Iowa State University,
and Julia Ross (BS '90), Head of
Chemical and Biological Engineering, University
of Maryland at Baltimore County.
Election to this Institute is done by nomination,
selection by a primary committee and final
vote by 75% of the current AIMBE membership.
Election to Fellow of AIMBE is one of the
highest scientific recognitions in the biological
and biomedical sciences.
This election brings to eleven the total
number of former lab associates who have
been AIMBE Fellows (including Robert Gurny,
Tony Mikos, Surya Mallapragada, Lisa Brannon-Peppas,
Chris Bowman, Kristi Anseth, Tony Lowman
and David Meadows).
New Chronobiology Volume Edited by Professors
Smolensky and Peppas
A new edited volume on Chronobiology,
Drug Delivery and Chronotherapeutics
was published this week by Elsevier as a
special volume of the journal Advances
in Drug Delivery Reviews. The
volume was coordinated by Professor Michael
H. Smolensky, of the School of Public Health,
Division of Environmental and Occupational
Health Sciences, of the University of Texas
Health Science Center at Houston, and Professor
Nicholas A Peppas. Dr Smolensky is the world's
expert on chronobiology and is widely recognized
for is pioneering books in the field.
This volume brings together the leading
scientists in the fields of medical chronobiology
and chronopharmacology. Chronobiology is
the study of biological rhythms and the
mechanisms that drive them. Chronopharmacology
is the study of the manner in which the
endogenous body rhythms of diverse period,
for example, from the short-period pulsatile
to the intermediate-period circadian (24-hour)
and longer-period menstrual and annual ones,
affect the pharmacokinetic and dynamics
of medications as a function of the time
when they are ingested, injected, infused,
or applied by other routes. For nearly 3
decades, medical chronobiologists have been
regularly meeting with peers at international
congresses of chronobiology and chronopharmacology
to report important findings relating to
the predictable-in-time 24-hour variation
in the pathophysiology, symptom intensity
of acute and chronic human diseases, and
dosing-time differences in the kinetics
and dynamics of medications. For decades
drug-delivery and pharmaceutical scientists
have been meeting with peers at national
and international drug-delivery and pharmaceutical
science congresses to present new advances
in drug-delivery technology, systems, and
devices. Medical chronobiologists have been
searching for systems to make possible better
and safer therapeutics based on the principles
and findings of chronobiology, and drug-delivery
scientists also have been searching for
new applications or already existing systems
and technology to make possible better and
safer therapeutics. Many chronic
and acute medical conditions exhibit prominent
circadian patterns of symptom manifestation
and severity. Among the many examples are
allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma, and
peptic ulcer disease; all tend to worsen
overnight. The circadian patterns in the
signs and symptoms, risk of severe life-threatening
cardiovascular events, and medical conditions
that are predisposing to serious disease
present a new, i.e., chronotherapeutic,
opportunity and approach, one in which the
delivery of medications are synchronized
in time to biological need and respects
the chronobiology of the target tissues.
Thus, future applications of drug-delivery
systems ought to be based on release-response
to high or low concentration of analytes/markers
to realize optimal chronotherapeutic systems.
After an introduction to the field of general
and medial chronobiology, chronopharmacolgy,
and candidate systems for chronotherapeutics
by the guest editors, subsequent articles
address the topics of: (i) allergy and asthma,
(ii) pain and arthritis, (iii) aminogylcoside
antibiotics, (iv) blood pressure rhythms,
(v) hypertension, (vi) cardiac arrhythmias,
(vii) ischemic heart disease, (viii) hemostasis,
(ix) endocrine system, (x) clocks for rhythmic
delivery of cancer medications, (xi) cell
cycle automaton model for cancer chronotherapy,
and (xii) modeling oxaliplatin drug-delivery
to circadian rhythms in drug metabolism
and host tolerance. These articles clearly
make apparent the many potential applications
of existing drug-delivery systems and devices.
Seven BME, ChE, and Plan II Undergraduate
Students Receive URF Fellowships in the
Fall of 2007
Seven undergraduate students from Chemical
Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and
Plan II (Honors) have received prestigious
URF Fellowships to work in our laboratories
this Fall. They are Alex Corona (ChE), Farha
Butt (BME, premed), Alper Konuk (ChE, plan
II), Steve Dietz (BME), Kristin Lutek (ChE),
Yonic Medina (ChE) and Akshar Patel (ChE).
The University Cooperative Society provided
generous funding for the Undergraduate Research
Fellowship (URF) Program. The Co-op gift,
with additional funds from the Student Government
and University colleges and schools, provides
university-wide funding for undergraduate
student research. The Undergraduate Research
Fellowship program provides support for
specific scholarly research projects conducted
by full-time UT undergraduate students.
Two Graduate Students Participate in
the International Meeting of the Microencapsulation
Society
Two PhD students of our laboratory,
Daniel Carr and Justin
Shofner will present their most
recent research at the 16th International
Symposium on Microencapsulation in Lexington,
Kentucky, on September 9-12, 2007.
Daniel Carr, a third year
PhD student will discuss his latest work
on novel carriers for oral protein delivery,
especially delivery of growth hormone. A
NSF and Thrust Fellow, Daniel is a 2005
ChE graduate of Louisiana Tech in Ruston,
LA. He has filed for US patent for his latest
work and has several presentations and awards
to his credit.
Justin Shofner, a third year
PhD student will present his latest finding
on transporters used for improved bioavailability
of proteins during oral delivery. A NSF/IGERT
and Thrust Fellow is a 2005 ChE graduate
of the University of Kentucky. In the summer
2006 he spent an internship in the laboratories
of Prof. Bruno Gander at the Swiss Technical
University (ETH) in Zurich. Justin has also
presented several papers in national meetings
Maggie Phillips Receives Cockrell Fellowship
Maggie Phillips, a second
year PhD student in biomedical engineering,
was just awarded a multi-year Cockrell Fellowship.
Maggie is recognized for her exceptional
academic and research performance. A BME
graduate of St Louis University, Maggie
joined our group in September 2007 and is
already working on a NIH-sponsored PhD project
involving carbohydrate-decorated structures
as protein carriers
Steve Marek is Awarded Special Fellowship
Steve Marek, a third year
PhD student in chemical engineering, was
just awarded a special supplemental Fellowship
from the School of Engineering. A
ChE graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology,
Steve is working on enzyme-triggered recognitive
systems for insulin delivery
Brandon Slaughter on Internship in Switzerland
Brandon Slaughter, a second year
PhD student in biomedical engineering, is
spending the months of August and September
in the laboratory of Professor Melody Swartz
at the Ecole Polytechnic Federale in Lausanne,
Switzerland. Brandon, who is an NSF Fellow
and also an IGERT Fellow is studying fundamental
aspects of drug delivery in the lymphatic
system.
Isis Trenchard wins BMES Undergraduate
Award
Isis Trenchard, a senior in
biomedical engineering, will be the recipient
of the 2007 Undergraduate Research
& Design Award of the Biomedical
Engineering Society (BMES).
Isis is recognized for her work on
“Doping of Polyaniline for Use in Recognitive
Hydrogels”, done in my laboratory
and supervised by BME PhD student Carolyn
Bayer.
Isis' award will be given at the Annual
Meeting of BMES in Los Angeles on September
26-29, 2007. The award comes with
complimentary registration to the meeting,
a travel grant-in-aid, and an honorarium/stipend.
Isis is spending her summer doing research
in Dr Suh's laboratory in BME at Rice University
as a NSF/REU Fellow.
http://openwetware.org/wiki/User:Isis_Trenchard#University_of_Texas_Spring_2007
and
http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~js8/People.html
Ruben Morones Awarded Scholarship for
Performance in Entrepreneurship Competition
Ruben Morones, a ChE PhD student
co-advised by Nicholas Peppas and Wolfgang
Frey, has been awarded the Malcolm
Milburn Endowed Scholarship and Award in
Entrepreneurial Studies from the
Cockrell School of Engineering at The University
of Texas at Austin.
The award is the result of Ruben's exceptional
performance in the I2P Competition earlier
this year.
Publication of the Latest Analysis of
the Dynamics of PEG-Tethered Biomaterials
The latest work on the Dynamics of Poly(ethylene
glycol)-Tethered, pH Responsive Biomaterials
was published this week in the journal
Polymer, volume 48, pp. 5042-5048
(2007). The work describes the
latest results from the PhD thesis of
J. Brock Thomas, who defended
his PhD thesis in July 2006. In his thesis,
Brock, who is now a researcher with Eastman
Chemicals in Kingsport, TN, analyzed the
dynamics of chain distribution and swelling
behavior of PEG-tethered structures. Co-authors
of Brock's published work were former undergraduate
students Joe Tingsanchali,
now a PhD student at the University of California
at Berkeley, Adrianne Rosales,
a NSF fellow and also a ChE PhD student
and at Berkeley, Courtney Creecy,
now a second year PhD student in BME at
the University of Texas at San Antonio,
and Professors James McGinity and Nicholas
Peppas.
Maggie Phillips Elected President of
the Society for Biomaterials Student Chapter
Maggie Phillips,
a PhD student in BME, was elected President
of Society for Biomaterials National Student
Organization for the 2007-2009 period. Founded
in 1974, the Society represents all biomedical
engineering programs with active Biomaterials
Programs and has about 550 student members
on 16 campuses nationwide. Maggie joined
our group in August 2007, after a BS degree
in BME at St. Louis University. While there,
she worked on biomaterials research under
the direction of Professor Rebecca Willits.
Classic Paper from Lab Research is the
Most Highly Cited Paper in the History of
the "Journal of Controlled Release"
The Journal of Controlled Release
was published in 1984 by Elsevier.
Since it inception it has been the official
organ of the Controlled Release Society.
Its first two editors were Jorge Heller
(previously of APS) and Jan Feijen (of Twente
University). Among 4,367 papers, the two
most cited papers in this journal are the
well-known contributions of Phil Ritger
and Nicholas Peppas that introduced the
exponential equation for the analysis of
relaxation and diffusion-controlled release
behavior from swellable and non-swellable
delivery systems. The paper "A simple
equation for description of solute release.
II: Fickian and anomalous release from swellable
devices", published in 1987, in
volume 5, pp. 37-42, has 565 citations and
is ranked first among all papers of the
journal, while the first part of the same
work "A simple equation for description
of solute release. I: Fickian and non-Fickian
release from non-swellable devices in the
form of slabs, spheres, cylinders or discs",
published also in 1987, in volume
5, pp. 23-36, has 468 citations and is ranked
second. The exponential equation was actually
introduced in a simple form in a 1985 publication
in Pharmaceutica Acta Helvetiae
by Prof. Peppas, but it was in these
two 1987 papers out of the MS thesis of
Phil Ritger that the full mathematical analysis
for all geometries was presented.
Most Cited Article in the History of the
"International Journal of Pharmaceutics"
is Based on Lab Research
It was announced recently that the most
cited publication among 9,180 papers in
the 31-year history of the International
Journal of Pharmaceutics
is the paper "Mechanisms of
Solute Release from Porous Hydrophilic Polymers"
co-authored by Drs Richard Korsmeyer
(now Global Head of Licensing, Worldwide
Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pfizer Global Research
& Development), Robert Gurny and Eric Doelker
(now professors at the University of Geneva),
Pierre Buri (now retired professor at the
same University) and Professor Nicholas
Peppas. Published in January 1983, this
paper has become a "classic" in the field
and the most cited publication of this premier
international pharmaceutical journal published
by Elsevier. Published in Volume 15, pages
25-25, this paper reported the earliest
studies on the mechanisms of Fickian and
anomalous transport of drugs from glassy,
hydrophilic polymers. Most of the work was
done in collaborative research by Purdue
and University of Geneva investigators and
especially when Dr Korsmeyer had visited
the University of Geneva in 1981. Dr Peppas
was on sabbatical leave at the University
of Geneva in September-December 1982.
This paper has received 316 citations.
Most Cited Article in the History of the
journal "Drug Development and Industrial
Pharmacy" is Based on Lab Research
It was also announced recently that
the most cited publication among 3,878 papers
in the 33-year history of the international
journal Drug Development
and Industrial Pharmacy
is the paper "Pharmaceutical
and Medical Aspects of Bioadhesive Systems
for Drug Administration" co-authored
by Drs Dominique Duchêne (now retired professor
of the University of Paris-Sud), Frederic
Touchard of Paris and Professor Nicholas
Peppas. Published in February 1988, this
paper has become the most cited publication
of this premier international pharmaceutical
journal. Published in Volume 14, pages 283-318,
this paper reported on fundamental studies
on mucoadhesion, performed while Dr Peppas
was on sabbatical leave at the University
of Paris-Sud in July-December 1986.
This paper has received 148 citations.
Six Current Papers Authored by Researchers
in the Lab are in the List of "Top Twenty
Five Hottest Articles" of Science Direct
TM
A recent analysis of the "Top Twenty Five
Hottest Articles" as reported by the
Science Direct TM revealed that
six articles co-authored by present or past
laboratory researchers and based on their
work here at UT, are in the list of "Hottest
Papers"
After almost three years in the list,
Jay Blanchette's paper on
"Nanoparticle and Targeted Systems
for Cancer Therapy" published in
Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, Volume
56, Issue 11, 1 September 2004, Pages 1649-1659
with Professor Lisa Brannon-Peppas is still
No 13 in the list! Jay (a 2005 PhD
of the lab) is now an Assistant Professor
in the Biomedical Program of the Chemical
Engineering Department of the University
of South Carolina.
Nikhil Kavimandan's article
on "Nanoscale Analysis of Protein
and Peptide Absorption: Insulin Absorption
Using Complexation and pH-Sensitive Hydrogels
as Delivery Vehicles" published
with Prof. Peppas in the European
Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Volume
29, Issue 3-4, 1 November 2006, Pages 183-197
is No 10 in the list. Nikhil (a 2005
PhD of the lab) is now with Novartis in
New Jersey.
Don Owens' article on
"Opsonization, Biodistribution and Pharmacokinetics
of Polymeric Nanoparticles" published
with Prof. Peppas in the International
Journal of Pharmaceutics, Volume 307, Issue
1, 1 January 2006, Pages 93-102
is ranked No 10. Don (a 2007 PhD of
the lab) is now with ExxonMobil
Mamuru Fukuda's article on
"Floating Hot-melt Extruded Tablets
for Gastroretentive Controlled Drug Release
Systems" published with Professors
J. McGinity and Peppas in the Journal of
Controlled Release, Volume 115, Issue 2,
1 October 2006, Pages 121-129 is ranked
No 13. Mamuru-san is now back in Kyorin
Pharmaceutical Co.
Two review articles are also ranked in
the first ten hottest articles. The recent
review of professor Peppas on "Is
the Oral Route Possible for Peptide and
Protein Drug Delivery?" published
with professor M. Morishita of Hoshi University
(Tokyo) in Drug Discovery Today, Volume
11, Issue 19-20, 1 October 2006, Pages 905-910
was ranked No 8. And the review on
"Structure and Interactions in Covalently
and Ionically Crosslinked Chitosan Hydrogels
for Biomedical Applications"
published with Prof. R. Gurny of the University
of Geneva in the European Journal of
Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, Volume
57, Issue 1, 1 January 2004, Pages 19-34
is still No 6 after 3 1/2 years in the
list.
Most Cited Article in the History of Prestigious
European Journal is Based on Lab Research
It was announced recently that the most
cited publication in the 50-year history
of the Swiss Journal Pharmaceutica
Acta Helvetiae is the paper "Analysis
of Fickian and non-Fickian Drug Release
from Polymers" authored by Professor
Nicholas Peppas. Published in 1985 in Volume
60, this article was one of the earliest
references on the use of the exponential
release expression for the analysis of drug
release behavior and introduced the idea
of relaxation-controlled transport during
drug release from swellable systems. The
main idea of the paper was conceived when
Peppas was a Visiting Professor and Zyma
Foundation Fellow for the Advancement of
Medical and Biological Sciences at the University
of Geneva, Switzerland, in 1982-83.
This paper has received 365 citations.
Most Cited Article in the History of the
"European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics"
is Based on Lab Research
It was also announced recently that
the most cited publication in the 52-year
history of the European Journal
European Journal of Pharmaceutics and
Biopharmaceutics (previously known
also as Acta Pharmaceutica Technologica)
is the paper "Hydrogels
in Pharmaceutical and Medical Applications"
authored by Drs Petr Bures (now with Bayer
in Pittsburgh, PA), Bill Leobandung (now
in Jakarta, Indonesia), Dr Hideki Ichikawa
(now a professor at Kobe-Gakuin University
in Kobe, Japan) and Professor Nicholas Peppas.
Published in July 2000, this paper has become
the most cited publication of this premier
European pharmaceutical journal. Published
in Volume 50, pages 27-46, this paper was
commissioned by the Chief editor of the
journal to commemorate the journal's fiftieth
issue. This paper has received 343
citations.
Two More PhD Students
Graduated in the Spring 2007 Semester
Two PhD students of our program graduated
in June 2007. Don Owens
defended his PhD thesis in Chemical
engineering in February 2007. Originally
from Bloomington, Indiana, Don met Prof.
Peppas while at Purdue University where
he received his B.S. in 2003 with an Honor’s
thesis in the are of “Nanoscale Molding
of Nanostructured Carbon Powders and Thin
Films” advised by Prof. Hugh Hillhouse.
During this time he also had the opportunity
to spend a semester of study at the University
of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.
During his PhD he presented in about 12
national and international conferences,
published 6 papers, was the co-inventor
of one patent and worked for a while in
Dr Teruo Okano's laboratories in Japan.
Don is now employed at ExxonMobil in Houston.
Don's PhD thesis was on “Thermally-responsive
Polymer Nanoparticles and Nanoshells as
Intelligent Therapeutic Systems” and was
co-supervised by Prof. R. Richards-Kortum.
Don was a NSF/IGERT Fellow (class of 2003).
He is the second recent PhD graduate of
the lab to work for this company, the previous
one having been Jenny Harting-Ward.
Terry Farmer defended
his PhD thesis in ChE in May 2007. The subject
of his thesis was “Intravenous Closed-Loop
Glucose Control in Type I Diabetic Patients”
and was co-supervised by Prof. Thomas Edgar.
Terry is from Lampasas, TX, about 70 miles
from the University of Texas and received
his PhD in Chemical Engineering from UT
in 2003. During his stay here, Terry participated
in 6 conferences and has submitted 7 papers
for publication. Terry was a National Science
Foundation Fellow (class of 2003)
Don and Terry are PhD graduates Nos 72 and
73. With their departure, all new graduate
students arriving in the Fall 2003 have
graduated. Additionally, Michael Marks
graduated in December with his M.S. in Chemical
Engineering and is now pursuing his Ph.D.
in Tony Lowman's lab at Drexel University.
Now the senior graduate student is Omar
Fisher who started with the group in October
2004.
Congratulations!
Carolyn Bayer US Delegate to the Nobel
Laureates Meeting in Lindau, Bodensee, Germany
Our own Carolyn Bayer, a PhD candidate
in BME, has been selected by the National
Science Foundation (NSF) as one of 20 outstanding
research participants to attend the 57th
Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates and Students
in Lindau, Germany, from July 1-6, 2007.
Since 1951, Nobel Laureates in chemistry,
physics and physiology/medicine have annually
convened in Lindau to conduct open and informal
meetings with students and young researchers
from around the world. This year's event,
which traditionally rotates by discipline
each year, will focus on physiology and
medicine. Carolyn Bayer will be one of 30
representatives of the United States to
the meeting that will be attended by 500
other international students. During the
meeting, the Laureates will lecture in the
mornings on the topic of their choice related
to physiology and medicine and participate
in less formal small group discussions with
the students in the afternoons and some
evenings. The primary purpose of the meeting
is to allow the graduate students to benefit
from informal interaction with the Nobel
Prize winners. During lunches and dinners,
Laureates will join participants at local
restaurants for informal discussions. Various
social events are also on the agenda to
allow participants to meet other attendees
from around the world.
Carolyn Bayer is a 1998 graduate of ECE
at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland,
Ohio. After a number of years in industry,
she joined Prof Peppas' group in August
2005 and is working on novel molecularly
recognitive biosensors
Graduating Seniors Going to Prestigious
Graduate or Professional Schools
Once more this has been a great year
for our graduating seniors who worked in
our laboratory the past two years.
Gail Su
has accepted an offer from Harvard University
and will pursue a Law degree. She is the
second student to go to Harvard Law School
in the past two years. Last year Marshall
Silver did the same. We thank Michelle
LeCointe of Baker & Botts for being
such an inspiring mentor to these students.
Adrianne Rosales
will be joining the Chemical Engineering
Department at the University of California
at Berkeley as a PhD student and NSF Fellow
Joe Tingsanchali
will also be joining the Chemical Engineering
Department at the University of California
at Berkeley as a PhD student
Sheena Black
has been admitted to Medical School at the
University of Texas, Southwestern in Dallas
David Beavers
has been admitted to Medical School at Baylor
College of Medicine in Houston
Peter Jian
has been admitted to Medical School at Baylor
College of Medicine in Houston
Congratulations to all!
Daniel Carr and Amber Doiron win Two
of the Six GAIN Awards
The Graduate Engineering Council presented
the third annual Graduate and Industry Networking
(GAIN) conference at the Etter-Harbin Alumni
Center. There were six winners of poster
and presentation awards from the UT College
of Engineering.
Daniel Carr, who is doing his
PhD in Chemical Engineering was honored
with the Best Paper Award in the
Materials Science/Nano, Micro, Bio and MEMS
Division. His presentation was on "Molecular
Analysis of Interpolymer Complexing Hydrogels
Based on Poly (Methacrylic Acid) and N-Vinyl
Pyrrolidone as Carriers for Protein Delivery.”
Amber Doiron who is doingher PhD
in BME with professors Brannon-Peppas and
Peppas presented a poster entitled "Polymeric
Microparticles for the Imaging of Atherosclerotic
Plaques" that won two awards - the GAIN
Marathon Oil Company Poster Award for
Outstanding Poster in the category of
Materials Science/Nano, Micro, Bio & MEMS
Engineering and also the Cisco Systems,
Inc. and the Poster Award for an Outstanding
Poster, an overall poster award.
GAIN is a conference hosted by students
to promote graduate research and to offer
networking opportunities. One hundred graduate
students participated in this year’s conference
from all engineering departments.
Carolyn Bayer named a Bruton Fellow
Carolyn Bayer has been awarded
the David Bruton, Jr. Graduate Fellowship
for 2007. The Bruton Student Endowment Fellowships
were established by The University of Texas
System Board of Regents in September 1991.
Two Students form the University of
Lille Working in Our Labs
Our laboratory is welcoming two new students
from France who will be working on nanotechnoloy
and drug delivery. Florence Desthieux
and Maxime Teisseire are visiting
as exchange students from the University
of Lille, where Professor Peppas spent some
time in the early 1980s, and where his former
PhD student Jürgen Siepmann is now
a professor.
PhD Student from Spain Works on Novel
Oral Delivery Systems
Our laboratory is hosting Marta Gomez,
a PhD student from the Pharmacy Department
of the University of Complutense in Madrid,
Spain, who is working with Daniel Carr
on the development of novel oral delivery
systems for therapeutic proteins exhibiting
high isoelectric points. Such systems are
extremely difficult to prepare but Marta's
expertise has been helping in their development.
Marta is a PhD student in Complutense, working
with Professor Santiago Torrado. professor
Peppas was a Visiting Professor at Complutense
on a sabbatical leave in the Spring 2001.
Ming Lin Wins Best BS Thesis Award
Among all Plan II (Honors) Students
Ming Lin, a BME senior and research
assistant in our laboratories received the
first prize for best BS thesis in the University
among Plan II (honors) students. Her thesis
was entitled "Intracellular Drug Delivery
Using Intelligent Polymers", was conducted
under the direction of Professor Peppas
and was presented at the Undergraduate Research
Forum. The selection was made from a field
of 123 others.
Ruben Morones, Team Win I2P Competition
Ruben Morones participated in the Idea
to Product Competition (I2P) this past weekend
and his team took first place. They will
most likely be invited to participate in
the Global Idea to Product Competition representing
The University of Texas at Austin! The winning
project involved the development of a commercialization
plan for an Antibacterial Polymer (Haloamine
based) for application in coatings on hospital
textiles.
Diana Snelling and Adrianne Rosales
Receive NSF Fellowships
We are delighted to announce that
Diana Snelling, a ChE PhD student
in our group with a BS degree from The Ohio
State University is the recipient of a 2007
NSF fellowship. Also Adrianne Rosales,
a senior in ChE working in our laboratory
is another recipient of a NSF Fellowship.
Finally, Marty Gran, a ChE
PhD student in our group with a BS degree
from the Iowa State University is the recipient
of an honorable mention in the same competition.
Congratulations Diana, Adrianne and Marty!
Two Former Graduate
Students Elected AIMBE Fellows
Two former associates of this laboratory
have been elected Fellows of the American
Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers
(AIMBE), the biological sciences academy.
The new Fellows are Anthony Lowman (PhD
1997, Professor of Chemical Engineering
and Associate Dean at Drexel University)
and David Meadows (MS 1981, Director of
Research of Alcon Laboratories in Ft Worth,
TX). Election to this Institute is done
by nomination, selection by a primary committee
and final vote by 85% of the present AIMBE
membership. Election to Fellow of AIMBE
is one of the highest scientific recognitions
in the biological and biomedical sciences.
This election brings the total number of
former lab associates who have been AIMBE
Fellows to eight (including Robert Gurny,
Tony Mikos, Surya Mallapragada, Lisa Brannon-Peppas,
Chris Bowman, and Kristi Anseth).
Five new PhD students
join the laboratory
Last week we welcomed five new PhD students
in the laboratory. Marty Gran,
originally from Omaha, Nebraska, received
his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Iowa
State University in the spring of 2006.
At Iowa State, he researched the use of
novel polyanhydrides for the release of
therapeutic proteins under Professor Balaji
Narasimhan (a 1996 graduate of the group).
As an undergraduate he also worked as a
process engineer intern for Cedar River
Paper in Cedar Rapids, IA and studied abroad
in Oviedo, Spain. Marty is a NSF/IGERT Fellow
and a Thrust Fellow.
Shahana Khurshid grew up in
Karachi, Pakistan where she completed her
A-Levels in 2000. She graduated with a B.S.
in Environmental Engineering from MIT in
2003. She then spent a few years working
for engineering consulting firms in Boston,
Karachi, and Austin. In 2006 she joined
the BME Department to pursue a Ph.D. under
the joint supervision of Professors Christine
Schmidt and Nicholas Peppas. Shahana is
a NSF/IGERT Fellow and a Thrust Fellow.
Maggie Phillips joined the
BME Department after a BS at the St Louis
University where she did research under
the direction of Professor Rebecca Willits.
She is a NSF/IGERT Fellow.
Brandon Slaughter joined the
BME Department after a BS in Mechanical
Engineering at the University of Texas at
Austin. Brandon, who worked in the group
also as an undergraduate, is a NSF Fellow,
a NSF/IGERT Fellow and a Thrust Fellow.
Diana Snelling is originally
from Middletown, OH. She received a B.S.
in Chemical Engineering from Ohio State
University in 2006. As an undergraduate,
she researched the use of cationic surfactants
to reduce turbulent drag for Dr. Jacques
Zakin at OSU. She also co-oped four quarters
at DuPont Teflon in Parkersburg, WV. She
is a NIH Fellow and a Thrust Fellow.
An unprecedented
number of fourteen BME, ChE, Biology and
Plan II undergraduate students receive URF
fellowships in the Fall of 2006!
Fourteen undergraduate students from Chemical
Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Biology
and Plan II (Honors) have received prestigious
URF Fellowships to work in our laboratories
this Fall. They are Hannah Chen (BME), James
Dempsey (BME and Plan II), Dhruv Desai (BME),
Tommy Haynes (Biology), Wesley Hunt (BME),
Benafsha Irani (BME), Timothy Kim (BME),
Ming Lin (BME and Plan II), Michael Nelson
(ChE), Kelly Osman (BME), Susannah Payne
(BME), Aimee Peterson (BME), Alaknanda Renukuntia
(ChE), and Diane Wang (BME Honors).
The University Cooperative Society provided
generous funding for the Undergraduate Research
Fellowship (URF) Program. The Co-op gift,
with additional funds from the Student Government
and University colleges and schools, provides
university-wide funding for undergraduate
student research. The Undergraduate Research
Fellowship program provides support for
specific scholarly research projects conducted
by full-time UT undergraduate students.
Don Owens recognized
for imaginative nanomicrographs
The new UT Nanotechnology Center has announced
its winners of the Grand Opening nano-micrograph
competition. PhD candidate Don Owens is
the grand prize winner of this competition.
His award winning nano-micrograph will be
displayed at the NST Grand Opening Art Exhibition
on November 3, 2006. Don will also receive
a travel award and a certificate at the
Nanomaterials Conference on November 3,
2006.
New Nanotechnology
Book Edited by Three Chemical Engineers
Published
A new book on nanotechnology is in
press by Horizon Press of UK. Entitled
"Nanotechnology in Therapeutics: Current
Technology and Applications" this book has
been edited by Professors Nicholas A Peppas
of the University of Texas at Austin and
J Zachary Hilt of the University of Kentucky,
and Dr J. Brock Thomas of Eastman Chemical
Co. and will be published in the next five
months.
Nanotechnology is a multidisciplinary field
covering a large and diverse array of devices
and materials in nanometer scale, derived
from engineering, physics, chemistry and
biology. The field of applied nanotechnology
in medicine is growing fast and the application
of nanotechnology to therapeutics has led
to advances in drug delivery, biomaterials,
biomedical devices, intelligent processes
and in many other areas of medicine and
applied biomedical sciences.
The authors of this volume describe and
discuss current technology and the applications
of nanoparticles and nanostructures in various
aspects of therapeutics and drug delivery.
The chapters are completely up-to-date and
are written by some of the leading scientists
in the field. Topics covered include chronobiology,
chronopharmacology and chronotherapeutics,
polymeric gene delivery vectors, biohybrid
materials, biomimetic systems, hydrogel
nanocomposites, star polymers and dendrimers,
ionic nanoparticulate systems, nanospheres
and nanoparticles. Entire chapters are devoted
to specific applications of nanotechnology
such as cancer therapy, bone disorders,
and diabetes.
A table of contents of the new book can
be found in
http://www.horizonpress.com/hsp/books/nanot.html
Three PhD Students
are Graduating in June
Three PhD students of our program will
be graduating in June 2006. On
June 14, 2006 Kristy Wood
will be defending her PhD thesis in BME
in the general area of mechanistic analysis
of insulin transport in CaCo-2 cell and
other cell lines. Kristy graduated from
the BME Department of the University of
Wisconsin in June 2002 and was a member
of the inaugural class of UT graduate students
that started when Professor Peppas moved
to UT in January 2003. In fact, Kristy was
the last Purdue University student to come
to UT during the move of the laboratory
in December 2002, as she had done one semester
of her graduate BME coursework in the Fall
2002 at Purdue. Kristy has published several
papers and reviews and has presented in
a decade of conferences around the world.
In 2004 she spent several months at Hoshi
University in Japan working with Professor
Mariko Morishita. Kristy has accepted
a position with a major pharmaceutical/medical
company in Boston, MA and will start there
in July 2006..
On June 22, 2006 Hunter Lauten
will be defending her PhD thesis in
BME in the general area of molecularly imprinted
methods for proteins and peptides. While
at UT, Hunter was a National Science Foundation/IGERT
Fellow and was co-supervised by Prof
Peppas and Prof. Lisa Brannon-Peppas
of the BME Department. Hunter graduated
in BME from Vanderbilt University in June
2002. She joined the group in June 2003,
but had arrived at UT and had taken BME
coursework since September 2002. Hunter
spent an international internship at the
University of Parma in 2005. She is the
recipient of several national and international
best paper awards and has presented papers
in numerous conferences including the IUPAC
meeting in Prague, the Czech Republic, the
International Microencapsulation Conference
in Parma, Italy and the European Controlled
Release meeting in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
Hunter will be a postdoctoral fellow in
Professor David Edwards's (NAE member) laboratory
at Harvard University.
On June 30, 2006 J. Brock Thomas
will be defending his PhD thesis in ChE
in the general area of mucoadhesive polymers,
their synthesis, characterization and molecular
structure. Brock graduated from the University
of Tennessee with the highest Engineering
Award in June 2003. He joined our group
in September 2003. While at UT he was the
recipient of the prestigious Homeland Security
Fellowship (only 50 of these fellowships
are awarded nationally every year). Brock
did his PhD in ChE under the co-supervision
of Prof. Peppas and Professor
Jim McGinity of the College of Pharmacy.
Brock has received numerous recognitions
and has presented papers in numerous meetings
including the International Gels Symposium
in Sapporo, Japan, in 2005. Upon graduation,
Brock will join a major chemical company
in eastern Tennessee.
Kristy, Hunter and Brock will be PhD graduates
Nos 68, 69 and 70.
Congratulations!
Brandon Slaughter Featured in Special
Graduation Issue of the University
Our graduating senior and laboratory
assistant Brandon Slaughter
is featured in a wonderful article published
by the University of Texas (See
http://www.utexas.edu/features/2006/commencement/
Written by Pam Losefsky, the article is
reprinted below
Using science at its smallest scale,
May graduate seeks solutions to some
of society’s biggest challenges
For Brandon Slaughter, his
undergraduate course of study wasn’t so
much about mechanical engineering as it
was about problem solving.
An older student who first served in the
U.S. Navy before getting serious about college,
he came to The University of Texas at Austin
with perhaps a stronger sense of purpose
than the average 18-year-old and quickly
settled on the direction he wanted his education
to take.
“I wanted variety, I wanted to tie a lot
of fields together,” says Slaughter, who
displays a potent combination of technical
proficiency and creative energy. An engineering
degree, he reasoned, offers a method for
solving problems, and it can be applied
to almost any other field to arrive at new
solutions to puzzles that have stymied practitioners
for years.
For instance, Slaughter’s research with
Professor Nicholas Peppas
in the use of nanotechnology to deliver
medication directly to patients is a combination
of engineering and therapeutics, ideally
applied in the treatment of cancer.
“This research team and I are designing
and modeling a novel drug release system
using nano-scale polymer chemistry,” he
says. “Problems like this have been addressed
by biochemists and doctors for a long time,
but breakthroughs often don’t occur until
you’re able to look at the problem in a
different way.”
Variety also evolved from his final course
in mechanical engineering—the senior design
class. Working with his assigned design
team, Slaughter further explored applications
of mechanical engineering in space.
“I don’t think I could have asked for a
more interesting project or a better team,”
he says of the computer simulation work
he conducted to design a heat pump for use
in vehicles that operate in microgravity
environments.
Awarded a prestigious $30,000 (per year)
National Science Foundation Fellowship
that will fund his continued education,
Slaughter enters graduate school in the
fall.
“I want to continue to conduct early stage
research that will eventually provide the
solutions to some of our most pressing concerns,
like the environment and health care,” he
says.
Although he operated and maintained nuclear
reactor plants in the Navy and worked as
a technician in the semiconductor industry
before entering college, it was his experience
at the university that really gave him confidence
in his ability to analyze and solve problems.
“I remember absolutely dreading calculus,
which I had to pass before I could be admitted
into the engineering college.” Slaughter
says. “UT’s been a great challenge, but
I discovered that nothing here has been
beyond my ability to grasp, and that’s been
empowering. I feel like I can change the
world.”
David Beavers and Sheena Black win Presidential
Endowed Fellowships
David Beavers and Sheena Black
received the 2006 Presidential Endowed Scholarship.
Both BME juniors working in our laboratory
are just two of three students in the College
of Engineering who were recognized with
this prestigious fellowship. The University
of Texas Development Board established the
prestigious Endowed Presidential Scholarship
program in 1973 to provide merit-based scholarship
support to its most talented and deserving
students.
Don Owens wins prestigious SFB Award
Last week Don Owens
a senior PhD student in Chemical Engineering
received one of the STAR awards of the Society
for Biomaterials. These awards are bestowed
upon the students whose papers received
the highest score during the blind evaluation
of all papers. Don's work was the only one
selected by two Special Interest Groups
(SIGs), the Drug Delivery and the Ophthalmic
Biomaterials SIGs.
Peter Jian Receives University-wide University
Coop/George H. Mitchell Award for Academic
Excellence
Our laboratory assistant and BME junior
Peter (Yicun) Jian has been
selected as one of the finalists of the
University-wide University Coop/George H.
Mitchell Awards for Academic Excellence.
The nine recipients of this award, widely
considered as the award for the best undergraduate(s)
of the University, will receive $2,000 (five
students), $5,000 (three students) or $20,000
(one student). These winners will
be announced at a dinner on April 28. Peter
has been working in our laboratory for a
year under the supervision of ChE PhD student
Don Owens on the development of externally
triggered nanodevices for release and targeted
treatment of diseases. He has published
two proceedings papers and has received
several regional awards for his research.
This summer he will be an intern in the
prestigious MD Anderson clinical internship
program. He is a premed student and will
be applying to various medical schools next
Fall.
Participation and Best Paper Award at
Ninth European Symposium on Controlled Drug
Delivery
On April 5-7, 2006, Hunter Lauten
and Kristy Wood, both BME
PhD students in their last year of studies,
attended the Ninth European Symposium on
Controlled Release in Noordwijk aan Zee
in the Netherlands. Both presented posters
of their most recent research. Kristy
Wood's paper on "Lectin Functionalized
Complexation Hydrogels for Oral Protein
Delivery", co-authored with Greg Stone,
was awarded the Best Paper Award
of the meeting.
Laura Serra Receives PhD Degree
On May 31, 2006, Laura Serra
defended her PhD thesis in the School
of Pharmacy of the University of Barcelona.
Professors Peppas (UT) and Josep Domenech
of the University of Barcelona were her
two advisors. Laura conducted most of her
PhD thesis in our laboratories. She was
with our group from 2002 to 2005. While
at UT, she was appointed as a Visiting Scientist
in the Division of Pharmaceutics.
Her PhD thesis involved the dynamic analysis
of tethered structures used in molecular
mucoadhesion. In addition, Laura developed
novel mucoadhesive systems for oral protein
delivery and studied their cellular response.
Her publications include L. Serra,
J. Doménech and N. A. Peppas, “Design of
Poly(ethylene glycol)-tethered Copolymers
as Novel Mucoadhesive Drug Delivery Systems”,
Europ. J. Pharm. Bioph.,
63, 11-18 (2006);
L. Serra, J. Doménech and N. A. Peppas,
“Drug Transport Mechanisms in and Release
Kinetics from Molecularly Designed Poly(Acrylic
Acid-g-Ethylene Glycol) Hydrogels”,
Biomaterials, (in press); and
a review article in the Expert Opinion
on Drug Delivery. In addition
she presented papers at AIChE, HSEMB, and
AAPS meetings and the World Congress of
Drug Absorption. Laura Serra
is the 67th PhD to graduate from this laboratory.
Laura has accepted a position a a research
scientist with Kimberly-Clark in Neenah,
Wisconsin.
Tom Dziubla Accepts a Faculty Position
We are glad to inform you that Tom
Dziubla (BS 1998) has accepted
an offer and will join the ChE Department
of the University of Kentucky as an Assistant
Professor in August 2006. Tom did his BS
thesis in our laboratory in 1997-98 and
followed Tony Lowman (PhD
1997) to Drexel University where he did
his PhD thesis (PhD 2003) under his direction.
Upon graduation, he spent three years as
a postdoc at the University of Pennsylvania
Medical School.
Tom's research interests are in biomaterials,
biopolymers, poly(ethylene glycol). With
this group he co-authored several papers
including A.M. Lowman, T.D. Dziubla and
N.A. Peppas, "Novel Networks and Gels Containing
Increased Amounts of Grafted and Crosslinked
Poly(ethylene glycol)," Polym. Prepr.,
38 (1), 622-623 (1997); T.D. Dziubla,
N.A. Peppas and A.M. Lowman, “Tailor-made
Networks of Poly(ethylene glycol) for Controlled
Drug Delivery,” Proceed. Int.
Symp. Control. Rel. Bioact. Mater.,
26, 539-540 (1999); T.D. Dziubla,
A.M. Lowman and N.A. Peppas, “Evaluation
of Poly(ethylene glycol)-Based Copolymers
for Contact Lenses,” Trans. Soc. Biomater.,
27, 232 (2001); and A.M. Lowman, T.D. Dziubla,
P. Bures and N.A. Peppas, “Structural and
Dynamic Response of Neutral and intelligent
Networks in Biomedical Environments”, in
N.A. Peppas and M.V. Sefton, eds., “Molecular
and Cellular Foundations of Biomaterials”,
75-130, Academic Press, New York, 2004
Ruben Morones wins prestigious Fellowship
Ruben Morones, a third year
ChE PhD student working under the direction
of Professor Wolfgang Frey (BME) and Nicholas
Peppas has been awarded
the E.D. Farmer Fellowship for 2006-2007.
This is a prestigious fellowship that recognizes
his important contributions to the field
of nanotechnology. Ruben has published several
papers on nanomaterials.
Peter Jian Receives
University-wide University Coop/George
H. Mitchell Award for Academic Excellence
Our laboratory assistant and BME junior
Peter (Yicun) Jian has been
selected as one of the finalists of the
University-wide University Coop/George H.
Mitchell Awards for Academic Excellence.
The nine recipients of this award, widely
considered as the award for the best undergraduate(s)
of the University, will receive $2,000 (five
students), $5,000 (three students) or $20,000
(one student). These winners will
be announced at a dinner on April 28. Peter
has been working in our laboratory for a
year under the supervision of ChE PhD student
Don Owens on the development of externally
triggered nanodevices for release and targeted
treatment of diseases. He has published
two proceedings papers and has received
several regional awards for his research.
This summer he will be an intern in the
prestigious MD Anderson clinical internship
program. He is a premed student and will
be applying to various medical schools next
Fall.
Brandon Slaughter Receives NSF Fellowship
Our laboratory assistant and Mechanical
Engineering senior Brandon Slaughter
has been selected as a recipient of a prestigious
National Science Foundation Fellowship.
Elena Losi defends PhD Thesis
On March 13, 2006, Elena Losi
successfully defended her PhD thesis
in the Department of Pharmacy of the University
of Parma, Italy. Elena worked in our laboratory
from June 2003 to May 2005. Her PhD thesis
addressed the development and mechanistic
analysis of novel drug delivery systems
with concave and convex surfaces, called
Dome Matrix® systems. These are modified
tablets with improved release characteristics,
ease of administration, high patient compliance/comfort,
low cost and flexibility in dosing schedule.
They have been developed at the University
of Parma by her other major professor, Prof.
Paolo Colombo, and have been discussed in
several early publications including E.
Losi, R. Bettini, P. Santi, F. Sonvico,
G. Colombo, K. Lofthus, P. Colombo and N.A.
Peppas, “Assemblage of Novel Release
Modules for the Development of Adaptable
Drug Delivery Systems”, J. Controlled
Release, 111, 212-218 (2006).
At UT, Elena developed an advanced experimental
technique that can be applied on dry and
slowly swelling tablets in situ (without
moving them out of the dissolution vessel
during swelling and release) and can be
used to identify the swelling and dissolution
process. High Resolution X-Ray Computed
Tomography is a technique for digitally
tomographing a swelling sample in real time
using X-rays. This way, one can achieve
acquisitions of multiple data on “slices”
of a sample over a range of angular orientations.
The technique provides rapid acquisition,
is a nondestructive technique, provides
cross-sectional images in different planes
through a sample, allows visualization of
features in the interior of opaque and solid
sample, allows continuous collection of
digital information on 3-D geometries and
properties of a wide range of materials
and was applied to the pharmaceutical field
for the first time.
Elena is also a co-author of two other publications
from her work at UT: N. J. Kavimandan,
E. Losi, J. J. Wilson, J. S. Brodbelt and
N. A. Peppas, “Synthesis and Characterization
of Insulin-Transferrin Conjugates”, Bioconjugate
Chem., (submitted) and
N. J. Kavimandan, E. Losi, and N. A. Peppas,
“Novel Delivery System Based on Complexation
Hydrogels as Delivery Vehicles for Insulin-Transferrin
Conjugates”, Biomaterials, (in
press).
Elena Losi has accepted a position as a
research scientist with a major pharmaceutical
company in Italy.
High Resolution X-Ray Computed Tomography
images of a Dome Matrix ® at t=0 and after
15 and 55 min of exposure to a PBS solution
Eight BME and ChE undergraduate students
receive URF fellowships in 2005-2006
Eight undergraduate students from Chemical
Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and
Biomedical Engineering have received prestigious
URF Fellowships to work in our laboratories
this year. They are Greg Stone (ChE), Gail
Su (ChE), Peter Jian (BME), Brandon Slaughter
(ME), Jack Eby (ChE), Adrienne Rosales (ChE),
David Beavers (BME) and Joseph Tsingsanchali
(ChE).
The University Cooperative Society
provided generous funding for the Undergraduate
Research Fellowship (URF) Program. The Co-op
gift, with additional funds from the Student
Government and University colleges and schools,
provides university-wide funding for undergraduate
student research. The Undergraduate
Research Fellowship program provides support
for specific scholarly research projects
conducted by full-time UT undergraduate
students.
Biomedical engineering doctoral candidate
receives research paper grand prize at Italian
meeting (UT COE News)
IGERT Fellow Presents Research in Prague
(UT BME News)
Three students receive Whitaker Foundation
awards (UT COE News)
Three graduate students selected to present
research at world conference (UT COE
News)
Three Graduate Students Recognized with
Whitaker Awards from the Society for Biomaterials
(UT COE News)
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