Ufuk Gündüz

Invited Talk Title: Targeted Drug Delivery via Polymer Coated Magnetic Nanoparticles

Targetable magnetic nanoparticles coated with polymers, characterized by high surface-to-volume ratios, are excellent scaffolds for loading targeting moieties, permeation enhancers, imaging tags, and drugs, providing diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities.

Magnetic nanoparticles coated with Chitosan, PHB, PEG, Dextran, or PAMAM may be used in cancer drug targeting.  Surface modifications of nanoparticles with organic polymers enable stabilization of nanoparticles, reduce agglomeration, provide functional groups, furnish internal cavities for loading of therapeutics and prevent immediate uptake of drug loaded nanoparticles by the reticuloendothelial system.

Biography

I am a professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics in Middle East Technical University, Biological Sciences Department, Ankara. My research interests are defining molecular and biochemical mechanisms of drug resistance during chemotherapy and to overcome the drug resistance. I have started to work on cancer in University of Tennessee, Microbiology and Immunology Department, Memphis, TN as Research Associate in 1982. I work on cancer, and drug resistance in chemotherapy over 25 years. I am particularly intersted in breast cancer, and hematologic malignancies, such as leukemia, and myeloma. My recent research is mainly focused on overcoming the resistance problem utilizing new strategies such as targeting by nanoparticles. One effective way of anti-cancer drug targeting is utilizing nanoparticles. The polymeric nanoparticles are synthesized with magnetic property, so that they can be targeted to the tumor site in a magnetic field. This may prevent many side effects of chemotherapy, and may also overcome the resistance. Our group has synthesized and characterized many different types of nanoparticles which may be potentially used for anti-cancer drug targeting and drug release. Another line of research that I am involved is related to Biotechnology, namely biohydrogen production by photofermentation using photosynthetic bacteria. This is a collaborative work carried on by a team of biologists, chemical engineers and chemists in METU. We have also participated in a European Project by the involvement of many scientists from several European countries.

During my academic years I have supervised about 100 graduate students in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, and Biotechnology disciplines, and authored nearly 200 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, and multiple book chapters.