Integration of Nanodiagnostics and Nanotherapeutics: Prospects and Challenges

Date: 09/14/2012
Time: 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Location: 333 Curry Student Center
Speaker: Dr. Ratnesh Lal, Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Bioengineering, UC San Diego

Integration of nanodiagnostics and nanotherapeutics: prospects and challenges

Prof Ratnesh Lal, University of California, San Diego

Nanomaterial-based imaging for diagnosis and delivery of drugs and small molecule for therapy would be integrated (theranostics) if only the toxicity, clearance and biocompatibility are addressed satisfactorily. Controlled drug release by external stimuli (e.g., temperature, electric/magnetic fields, light radiation, and changes in pH) has attracted much attention. Existing techniques however are inefficient in deep tissue drug delivery and lack of on-demand drug release. I will discuss prospects and challenges using example of our new nanocapsules for imaging and therapy. These nanocapsules contain defined anticancer drugs and magnetic nanoparticles to provide a powerful magnetic vector under moderate gradient magnetic fields. These nanocapsules penetrate into the interior of tumors and allow a controlled on-off switchable release of the drug cargo via remote RF field. We have also defined their transport across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a major obstacle to delivering imaging/therapeutic agents. Fluorescently labeled, magnetic nanocapsules (MNCs) were engineered for direct tracking and cellular-level high-resolution analysis as they cross the BBB. These studies establish a novel strategy for controlling the pharmacodistribution of therapeutics and imaging contrast molecules in the brain as well as other organs.