RESEARCH AREA - HEALTH CARE
Porous and solid nanoparticle based delivery of drug/biocides/vaccines/si-RNA
Key life-threatening diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular and central nervous system disease, are among the major challenges for the development of future medicines. However, new drugs need to be delivered to their site of action in a safe and timely fashion.
Effective controlled delivery and release of biocides, vaccines, etc. are also required for termite control and the infectious disease treatment of animals. This nanomaterial technology serves as a non-invasive and biocompatible platform for the delivery of a broad range of therapeutics.
With a fundamental understanding of biological barriers, novel nanomaterial synthesis and an effective bio-loading/release technique will be developed as carriers and devices for the delivery of drug/biocides/vaccines/si-RNA. The creation of smart, stimuli-sensitive systems that respond to subtle changes in the local cellular environment is likely to yield long-term solutions to many of the current delivery problems. (read more)
Fabrication of functionalised silica nanospheres and nanocapsules for bioseperation
Fabrication of nanomaterials using ‘bottom-up’ approaches is key to developing structured and efficient materials at nanometer scales. Such novel nanomaterial synthesis and effective bio-separation are highly desirable in the areas of life sciences, food industry, biosciences and biotechnology. Separation and purification of various types of proteins, peptides and DNA are important for further developments in bio-oriented research and technology. Magnetic carrier technology (MCT) has become a popular tool for bioseparations and molecular diagnostics, especially immunoassays. Studies on the fabrication of magnetic porous nanoparticles and the interaction between different biomolecules and functional surface of nanoparticles are greatly beneficial to the design and synthesis of functional nanomaterials and the fundamental understanding of bio-adsorption and bio-separation science. (read more)