In the area of drug delivery, we focus on design of polymers for controlled delivery of therapeutic agents. One interest of ours is in designing pH-sensitive delivery systems whereby delivery of a therapeutic is facilitated by reduction in pH such as is observed in the tumor interstitium or in the endosome. Recently, we developed catechol-containing polymers for pH dependent delivery of the approved anticancer drug bortezomib (Velcade®). Velcade is a small molecule proteasome inhibitor that contains a boronic acid functional group. We formed polymer complexes between catechol polymers and Velcade, which exhibited pH dependent release of Velcade due to the pH sensitivity of the complex between catechol and boronic acid (Figure). This approach has the potential to aid in more effective delivery of the drug to tumor tissue and to reduce side effects associated with systemic exposure.
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Drug Delivery
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Lab News
- Congratulations to Arianna Avellan for winning the best poster award at the 46th Annual Adhesion Society Meeting!
- Congratulations to Katerina Malollari on her exit seminar!
- Paper on Structure-Property Relationships of a Supramolecular Polymer Prodrug Published in PNAS!
- Congratulations to Kelsey DeFrates on being named a Siebel Scholar!
- Congratulations to Sally, Peyman and Katerina on Their Graduation!
- New York Times article about the Glycera jaw paper published this week in Matter
- Congratulations to Katerina and Peyman on the publication of their coauthored paper in Matter
- Congratulations to Arianna Avellan for being awarded a GEM Fellowship!
- Congratulations to Cynthia Perez for passing her PhD qualifying exam!
- Congratulations to postdoc Subhajit Pal for being selected to attend the 71st Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting!
Upcoming Presentations by Group Members
“Water-Triggered Polymerization of a-Lipoic Acid for Surgical, Consumer and Industrial Adhesion”, to be presented at the International Symposium Stimuli Responsive Materials, Windsor, CA, October 20-22, 2024.
“Water-Triggered Polymerization of a-Lipoic Acid for Surgical Adhesion”, to be presented by Prof. Messersmith at the Biomedical Engineering Department, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, October 30, 2024.
“Supramolecular Polymer Prodrugs For Drug-Induced Tissue Regeneration”, to be presented by Prof. Messersmith at the American Chemical Society Spring Meeting, Colloids Division, San Diego, CA, March 23-27, 2025.
“Surgical Repair of Elastic Fetal Membrane Tissues”, to be presented by Prof. Messersmith at the American Chemical Society Spring Meeting, Polymer Materials Science & Engineering Division, San Diego, CA, March 23-27, 2025.
“Bioinspired Polymer Sealants for Fetal Surgery”, to be presented by Prof. Messersmith at the Materials Research Society Spring Meeting, Seattle, WA, April 6-10, 2025.
Recent Presentations by Group Members
“Repair and Regeneration of Fetal Membrane Defects Using Bioinspired and Sustainable Polymers”, presented by Prof. Messersmith at the Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science at UT Health and the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio, September 13, 2024.
“Versatile and Sustainable Adhesives Derived from a-Lipoic Acid”, presented by Prof. Messersmith at the Golden Gate Polymer Forum, October 9, 2024.
“Surgical Superglues Derived from -Lipoic Acid”, presented by Prof. Messersmith at the Biomedical Engineering Department, Duke University, Durham, NC, September 5, 2024.
“Mussel Adhesive Protein Inspired Polymers for Tissue Repair”, presented by Prof. Messersmith at the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) World Congress, Seattle, Washington, June 25, 2024.
“Supramolecular Polymers For Drug-Induced Tissue Regeneration”, presented by Prof. Messersmith at the American Chemical Society Meeting, Denver, CO, August 2024.
“Novel biodegradable and biocompatible surgical superglue adhesives derived from sustainable monomers”, presented by Prof. Messersmith at the Advanced Functional Polymers in Medicine (AFPM) 2024 Conference, Utrecht, Netherlands, June 5-7, 2024.
“Versatile and Sustainable Adhesives Derived from a-Lipoic Acid”, presented by Messersmith at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology, May 29, 2024.
“Novel Biodegradable and Biocompatible Surgical Superglue Adhesives Derived from Sustainable Monomers”, presented by Prof. Messersmith at the Spring 2024 Special Lecture Series by Distinguished International Scholars, Kyungpook National University, May 23, 2024.