Harnessing Mechanics at Nano-bio Interface for Enhanced Delivery of Nanomedicine
Changjin Huang
School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
cjhuang@ntu.edu.sg
Abstract
Nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems have emerged as next-generation medicines in the last two decades due to their great potential to achieve superior specificity and high delivery efficiency. While the specificity is achieved via the lock-and-key molecular recognition by decorating nanoparticles with the ligands that can specifically bind to the surface receptors overexpressed on target cells, the delivery efficiency is largely mediated by the complex interactions between nanoparticles and cell membrane at the nano-bio interface. Through combined theoretical, computational and experimental approaches, we have established a physical framework that allows us to identify the key biophysical parameters that affect cellular uptake efficiency. In this talk, I will elucidate how mechanics at the nano-bio interface can be harnessed to enhance the delivery efficacy of nanomedicines and to enable biased targeting of nanoparticles towards malignant cells based on their distinctive mechanical states. Our study suggests a new targeting strategy, termed mechanotargeting, which can work in concert with the existing chemotargeting strategy to further enhance the targeting specificity and efficiency of nanomedicines.
Short Bio
Dr. Changjin Huang is currently an Assistant Professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). He is affiliated with both School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE), and School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering (SCBE). He received his B.ENG. degree in Thermal Energy and Power Engineering from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 2008, and then Ph.D. degree in Engineering Science and Mechanics from Pennsylvania State University in 2014. Before joining NTU, he worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University from 2014-2015, and then as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) from 2016-2018. Dr. Huang’s research interests generally lie at the intersection of mechanics, materials, engineering and biology, including mechanics at nano-bio interface, mechanobiology, and mechanics of cells and soft materials. He is devoted to identifying the underlying physical principles that control biological systems and developing innovative biomimetic systems with the improved understanding. Dr. Huang has published >20 peer-reviewed articles in various prestigious journals, including Advanced Materials, Science Advances, Nano Letters, PNAS, etc.