CNST POSTER AWARDS 2007

Nanotechnology Workshop

May 3-4, 2007

  University of Illinois 

www.cnst.uiuc.edu/nanoworkshop2007.htm

Award Announcement 

The University of Illinois Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) would like to congratulate the first recipients of the CNST Poster Award 2007, for their poster presentation(s) made at the CNST Nanotechnology Workshop held on May 3-4, 2007 at the NCSA, UIUC.  

The posters presented by graduate students were evaluated by a team of five judges comprising of faculty members from the UI Colleges of Engineering, Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences, Veterinary Medicine; and Max-Planck.

Award plaques will be presented by the Dean, COE/Director CNST on July 30, 2007 at the start of the CNST-CCM Mechanosensitivity and Nanofabrication Training Course at the UIUC.

Award recipients are invited to attend and also invite their academic advisor and significant other to the ceremony to coincide with the opening of the training course.  NCI folks and attendees from other campuses will also be present.  Specific details will be announced later. 

CNST congratulates the recipients for their achievement and wish them success in future endeavors.

POSTER ABSTRACTS 

Polylactide-Drug Nanoconjugates: A New Type of Polymeric Delivery Nanomedicine

 Rong Tong and Jianjun Cheng

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana , IL

  Polymeric nanoparticles are attractive vehicles for the delivery of anticancer drugs to solid tumors because they are able to mediate concentrated delivery of therapeutics to tumor cells by selective extravasation through leaky tumor vessels. Of various forms of nanoparticulate carriers being investigated, nanoencapsulates of chemotherapeutics show particular promise because of their ease of formulation through co-precipitation of polymer and drug molecules, and the capability of modulating drug release by controlling polymer biodegradation. However, current nanoencapsulates also exhibit low drug loading and encapsulation efficiency, bimodal particle distributions, and undesirable drug burst release kinetics. These drawbacks limit their clinical translation. We developed nanoconjugation method to successfully formulate sub-100 nm sized nanoparticles with high drug loading (up to 50 wt%), quantitative drug encapsulation and controlled release profiles. Several selected hydrophobic (e.g., pyrenemethanol, paclitaxel, docetaxel and camptothecin) and hydrophilic small molecules (e.g., doxorubicin) have been readily incorporated into polylactide nanoconjugates with these controlled characteristics. This work will lead to translational technology that has significant impact on systemic delivery of chemotherapeutic agents for cancer therapies with high efficiency and reduced toxicity.

 ABOUT CNST

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) is the premier center for nanotechnology research, education, and outreach activities. CNST draws its strength from working as a collaboratory involving the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Biotechnology Laboratory, Coordinated Science Laboratory, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, Institute for Genomic Biology, Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Center for Nanoscale Chemical, Electrical, Mechanical, Manufacturing Systems, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, and the School of Chemical Sciences. The Center is working towards seamless integration of interdisciplinary research from atoms and materials to devices and systems.

CNST is uniquely located to harness the entrepreneurial and technical spirit in the Midwest, with ongoing industrial linkages as it prepares tomorrow's workforce. The CNST thrives on its cutting-edge research in bionanotechnology, computational nanotechnology, nanocharacterization, nanoelectromechanical systems, nanoelectronics, nanofabrication, nanomaterials, nanomanufacturing, nanomedicine, and nanophotonics.

 www.cnst.uiuc.edu