Tailored drug release surfaces for regenerative medicine and targeted nanotherapies
Paula T. Hammond, Ph.D.
David H. Koch Professor in Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Summary
Alternating electrostatic assembly is a tool that makes it possible to create ultrathin film coatings that contain highly controlled quantities of one or more therapeutic molecules within a singular construct. These release systems greatly exceed the usual ranges of traditional degradable polymers. The nature of the layering process enables the incorporation of different drugs within different regions of the thin-film architecture; the result is an ability to uniquely tailor both the independent-release profiles and order-of-release of each therapeutic to the targeted region of the body. The Hammond lab has demonstrated the use of this approach to release or present signaling molecules such as growth factors and small-interfering RNA (siRNA) and DNA to regulate genes to facilitate tissue regeneration in situ for orthopedic implants, address soft-tissue wound healing, deliver vaccines from microneedle surfaces, or administer targeted nanotherapies that are highly synergistic for cancer treatments.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, August 11, 2021