Title of Submission
Control of Ionic and Molecular Transport Through Artificial Lipid Membranes Containing Photopolymerizable Lipids with Applicability to Drug Delivery
Degree Program
Biomolecular Sciences, PhD
Major Advisor Name
Daniel Fologea
Type of Submission
Scholarly Poster
Abstract
The ability to precisely control delivery of a drug exclusively to a diseased site is crucial for any chemotherapy for which the therapeutic agent is characterized by a high toxicity to healthy cells and tissues. In this line, current approaches include drug encapsulation into liposomes capable of evading the immune system, protecting their payload, and self-accumulation into tumors. However, this approach suffers from the inability to control the release of the drug, which in turn limits its efficacy. To alleviate this problem, we propose using photopolymerizable lipids to control the permeability of artificial bilayer lipid membranes upon UV-induced activation.
Funding Information
This work was supported by the NSF CAREER Award 1554166, from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Grants #P20GM109095 and P20GM103408.