Day 3 :
Keynote Forum
Hari Shanker Sharma
Uppsala University, Sweden
Keynote: Pathophysiology of the blood-brain barrier in CNS injury & repair including high altitude brain injury. New roles of nanomedicine
Time : 10:00
Biography:
Hari Shanker Sharma is a Swedish Citizen and Director of Int. Expt. CNS Injury & Repair (IECNSIR); Professor of Neurobiology (MRC); Docent in Neuroanatomy (UU), and is currently working in Uppsala University Hospital, Department of Surgical Sciences, Division of Anesthesiology & Intensive Care Medicine, Uppsala University, Sweden. He obtained his PhD in Neuroscience in 1982 from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India and Dr med Sci from Uppsala University in 1999. He has published over 300 peer reviewed research articles (ISI database h-index 36) related to Neuroprotection and Neuroregeneration in relation to the Blood-brain barrier in stress, trauma, and drugs of abuse in health and disease. His research on brain pathology and neuroprotection in different model is supported by Laerdal Foundation of Acute Medicine, Stavanger, Norway; role of nanoparticles in neurodegeneration and Neuroprotection for treatment strategies from European Aerospace Research & Development (EOARD), London, UK and US Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Oh, USA; drug abuse research and neuroprotection from National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA); National Institute of Health (NIH).
Abstract:
Recent advancement in nanomedicine suggests that nano drug delivery using nanoformulation enhances neurotherapeutic values of drugs or neurodiagnostic tools for superior effects than the conventional drugs or the parent compounds. This indicates a bright future for nanomedicine in treating neurological diseases in clinics. However, effects of nanoparticles per se in inducing neurotoxicology, if any is still being largely ignored. The main aim of nanomedicine is to enhance the drug availability within the central nervous system (CNS) for greater therapeutic successes. However, once the drug together with nanoparticles enters into the CNS compartments, the fate of nanomaterial within the brain microenvironment is largely remained unknown. Thus, to achieve greater success in nanomedicine our knowledge in expanding our understanding of nano neurotoxicology in details is the need of the hour. In addition, neurological diseases are often associated with several co-morbidity factors, e.g., stress, trauma, hypertension or diabetes. Recent observations show that brain injury occurring at high altitude (HA) could have adverse effects on the pathophysiological outcome. Thus, new research is needed to reduce HA induced exacerbation of brain pathology following trauma. These co-morbidity factors tremendously influence the neurotherapeutic potentials of conventional drugs. Thus, this is utmost necessary to develop nanomedicine keeping these factors in mind. Recent research in our laboratory demonstrated that engineered nanoparticles from metals used for nanodrug delivery significantly affected the CNS functions in healthy animals. These adverse reactions of nanoparticles are further potentiated in animals associated with heat stress, diabetes, trauma or hypertension at HA. These effects nanomaterials were dependent on their composition and the doses used. Thus, drugs delivered using TiO2 nano wired enhanced the neurotherapeutic potential of the parent compounds following CNS injuries in healthy animals. However, almost double doses of nanodrug delivery are needed to achieve comparable neuroprotection in animals associated with anyone of the above co-morbidity factors. Thus, cerebrolysin delivered either though TiO2-nased nanowires or PLGA-nanoparticles effectively reduced brain pathology in several diverse neurological diseases often complicated with various co-morbidity factors. Our observations showed that TiO2 cerebrolysin is also effective in brain injury performed at HA conditions in both cold & hot environment. These observations are the first to show that cerebrolysin could be useful in HA pathology in military personnel, pilots and injured soldiers airlifted for treatment. Taken together, it appears that while exploring new nanodrug formulations for neurotherapeutic purposes, co-morbidly factors and composition of nanoparticles require great attention. Furthermore, neurotoxicity caused by nanoparticles per se should be examined in greater details at normal altitude vs. HA before using them for nanodrug delivery in patients.
- Track 8: Environment Health and safety issues fo Nanotechnology
Track 9: Recent Trends in Nanotechnology
Track 10: Applications of Nanotechnology
Track 11: Biomedical Engineering and Applications
Chair
Hari S Sharma
Uppasala University, Sweden
Co-Chair
Benezra M
Sloan Kettering Instuite, USA
Session Introduction
Valérie KELLER
University of Strasbourg
France
Title: Synthesis and reactivity of Au/g-C3N4/TiO2 nanocomposites for water-splitting and H2 production under solar light illumination
Biography:
Valérie Keller is a senior scientist at ICPEES (Institute of Chemistry and Processes for Energy, Environment and Health) in Strasbourg. She received her Ph.D. degree in Chemistry and Catalysis from the University Louis Pasteur of Strasbourg in 1993. In 1996 she returned to Strasbourg and was appointed as researcher in CNRS, where she is now responsible of the Team “Photocatalysis and Photoconversion”. In 2012 she was promoted as Director of Research. Her main research activities concern photocatalysis for environmental, energy and health applications, and the synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials for photoconversion purposes. She is the author of over 95 publications in peer-reviewed journals and more than 50 oral communications in international conferences and symposium. She is also the author of 15 patents. In 2013 she was awarded the 1st Price of the Strategic Reflection (awarded by the French Home Secretary).
Abstract:
Nowadays, the major challenge is to find new environmentally friendly ways to produce energy that may cover the global consumption. The direct conversion of solar energy though an energy carrier (fuel), storable and usable upon request, appears as an interesting alternative. Photocatalysis is an innovative and promising way to produce pure hydrogen from renewable energy sources. Indeed, the water dissociation (water-splitting) highlighted by Fujishima and Honda in a photoelectrocatalytic cell opened a promising way to produce hydrogen from light energy. In our study, we will focus on a photocatalytic TiO2-based system associated with graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4). With a band gap of 2.7 eV, g-C3N4 allows the valorization of an important part of the visible light spectra in the context of water splitting. TiO2 powder is obtained via a “sol-gel” process and g-C3N4 was obtained via a thermal polycondensation reaction of specific nitrogen-containing precursors. g-C3N4/TiO2 nanocomposites were obtained either (i) by introducing g-C3N4 (as synthesized) during the sol-gel synthesis of TiO2 or (ii) by introducing TiO2 (as synthetized) during the g-C3N4 synthesis. Gold nanoparticles were synthesized - directly onto the TiO2, the g-C3N4 and the g-C3N4/TiO2 support – by chemical reduction of the HAuCl4 precursor in an excess of NaBH4. The synthesis of new nanostructured composites allowed us to achieve better hydrogen production yield than the reference Au/TiO2 and Au/g-C3N4 samples. Future goals are to find the optimal amount of Au on the Au/g-C3N4/TiO2 composites but also the optimal amount of g-C3N4.
V. Tamara Perchyonok
RMIT University
Australia
Title: Biomaterials for functional applications in the oral cavity via contemporary multidimensional science
Biography:
Dr V. Tamara Perchyonok has completed her PhD at The University of Melbourne, Australia and undertook DFG and Marie Curie postdoctoral studies at LMU, Munich and CNR, Bologna. She is the CSO of VTPCHEM PTY LTD and a research fellow at Health Innovations Research Institute, RMIT University, Melbourne. She has published 3 textbooks, more than 65 papers in peer review journals.
Abstract:
Recently the role of free radicals in health has attracted tremendous interest in the field of medicine, dentistry and molecular biology. There currently exists a wide range of degradable polymers that hold potential as biomaterials. With the advancement in polymer synthesis techniques, the paradigm of utilizing a few well-characterized polymers (e.g. PLGA and collagen) for all biomedical applications has shifted to using polymers, both heavily researched and newly developed, that can fit certain niches (such as DNA and RNA association with phosphoesters and inherent bioactivity of chitosan). In addition the emergence of combination polymers holds promise for the creation of novel material that possesses desired properties for highly specific applications. Hydrogels may be prepared from either natural or synthetic polymers. Generally, natural polymer-based ones present weak mechanical properties, a shortcoming that may be corrected, on the one hand, by their biocompatibility and biodegradability, and on the other, by the fact that they allow the sequence of cellular activity. This chapter summarizes the important and crucial interaction between oral drug delivery and chitosan-based systems, which are easy to assemble, with multi-component design and flexible as well as easy to analyze and modify. The presentation will focus on the advantages of designer biomaterial for functional application in the oral cavity.
Biography:
Aman Ullah received his PhD (with distinction) in Chemical Sciences and Technologies in 2010 at the University of Genova, Italy by working together at Southern Methodist University, USA. He is currently working as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta. He has published more than 20 papers in reputed journals. He was named a Canadian Rising Star in Global Health by Grand Challenges Canada in 2012.
Abstract:
Amphiphilic block copolymers and ABA type PEG-Lipid conjugated macromolecules have been synthesized using microwave-assisted reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization and the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cyclo addition commonly termed as “click chemistry” respectively. Characterization of the block copolymers and conjugates has been carried out with the help of 1H-NMR, FTIR and GPC. These copolymers and conjugates were evaluated for the encapsulation and release of drug. Carbamazepine, an anticonvulsant drug with poor water solubility was selected to be a hydrophobic drug model in the study. The micellization, drug encapsulation and release behavior of macromolecules was investigated by dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and fluorescence spectroscopy. From the results, it has been concluded that the nanoparticles had different average sizes due to different ratio of hydrophilic contents in the block or conjugate backbone. The particle size and structure could be altered by changing the ratio of hydrophilic and hydrophobic contents. The in vitro drug encapsulations highlighted that all the drug-loaded micelles had spherical or near-spherical morphology. In vitro drug release study showed the controlled release of hydrophobic drug over a period of max. 50 hours. The results indicate that there is great potential of renewable lipid-based micelle nanoparticles to be used as hydrophobic drug carriers.
Mitsutake Oshikiri
National Institute for Materials Science, Japan
Title: Theoretical investigation on heterogeneous photocatalytic systems containing metal oxide and aqueous solution
Biography:
Mitsutake Oshikiri received his PhD from Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan) in 1992. He is now working in National Institute for Materials Science in Tsukuba, Japan. His main research activities are focused on the theoretical electronic structure properties on inhomogeneous systems and their applications in the field of photocatalytic reaction systems
Abstract:
To date, in the field of photo-catalysis using metal oxide inorganic materials, the most extensively studied systems have been the TiO2-based materials. However, the efficiency in decomposing water molecule and producing oxygen and hydrogen upon sun light irradiation is still low. In an attempt at overcoming these limitations, photocatalytic properties of quite a few metal oxides different from TiO2 have been explored. Materials based on vanadate such as BiVO4, InVO4 and YVO4 were among them and might represent a promising alternative to TiO2-based systems. Indeed, the BiVO4 can produce oxygen by photo-catalysis up to wavelengths of about 520 nm if the sacrificial reagent AgNO3 is added. However, no hydrogen generation has been reported to date. On the other hand, InVO4 shows hydrogen evolution in the visible wavelength range (from ultra violet (UV) to 600 nm) even from common liquid water, but it seems impossible to get oxygen. In case of the YVO4 system, it has been shown to possess surprisingly high efficiencies in both O2 and H2 productions in conjunction with the co-catalyst NiOx. But the difficulty stems from its activity, which seems to be limited just to the UV region. The reason why these material systems indicate such contrastive photo catalytic properties was not cleared from a point of view of the electronic structure features on the bulk crystals of these materials, however, the electronic structures investigated by using inhomogeneous models including water and solid metal oxide photocatalysts equilibrated at room temperature obtained by applying first principles molecular dynamical simulations are now unraveling the mysteries. In this conference, I would like to introduce my research activities on metel oxide photocatalysts in this decade.
Biography:
Navideh Aghaei Amirkhizi completed her PhD from Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University of Tehran, Iran. She is a Researcher in Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, and researches about radiopharmaceutical. Her PhD thesis was about production of two nanoradiopharmaceutical for solid tumors. She has published more than 25 papers
Abstract:
We have studied synthesis and characterization of poly (amidoamine) PAMAM G5 encapsulated ytterbium nano particles yet. We have developed a method for the synthesis of dendrimer encapsulated175Yb nanoparticles in order to product nano-radiopharmaceutical with irradiation in research reactor. The results of UV-Vis absorption spectra, High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS)and quality control tests of irradiation showed the formation of nano radiopharmaceutical. The bio distribution of ytterbium nanoparticles in mice that had solid tumors, studied. The results show the treatment of solid tumors by it.