Abstract

In this talk I will discuss highlights of our nanomedicine portfolio including nanosensors for diagnosing and monitoring infectious and non-communicable diseases [1], nanomimicking approaches for virus and parasite host cell entry inhibition recently demonstrated for malaria, HSV-2 and SARS-CoV-2 [2], and high molecular weight polymer carriers for enhanced delivery of saRNA therapeutics [3]. I will present advances in Raman spectroscopy for high-throughput label-free characterization of single nanoparticles (SPARTA™) that allow us to integrally analyse a broad range bio-nanomaterials such as polymer particles, liposomes and extracellular vesicles without any modification [4]. SPARTA™ has become an integral tool for the design of nanotherapeutics, with recent examples including DOPC-containing lipid nanoparticles for nucleic acid delivery and dendrimersome-based systems for controlled delivery of antibacterial drugs, and for profiling extracellular vesicles (EVs) for detection of breast cancer through a minimally invasive liquid biopsy. I will also discuss our cell interfacing nanoneedle platforms for multiplexed intracellular biosensing at sub-cellular resolution and modulation of biological processes [5]. I will explore how these versatile technologies can be applied to transformative biomedical innovations. [1] C. S. Wood, et al. Nature. 2019. 566: 467-474.; C. N. Loynachan, et al. Nature Nanotechnology. 2019. 14: 883–890. [3] A. Najer, et al. ACS Central Science. 2022. DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.1c01368. [4] J. Penders, et al. Nature Communications. 2018, 9: 4256. [5] C. Chiappini, et al. Nature Materials. 2015. 14: 532