Platform for developing and testing nanobiomaterials for drug and gene delivery: novel cell-penetrating agents with unmatched endosomal escape capabilities

The field of drug and gene delivery has seen tremendous advancements in recent years, but there still remains a significant challenge in overcoming the endosomal barrier, which often hinders the effectiveness of therapeutic agents. In this talk, we will introduce a novel platform for developing and testing nanobiomaterials that have been engineered to overcome this barrier and demonstrate superior endosomal escape capabilities. These cell-penetrating agents have the potential to revolutionize drug and gene delivery by significantly improving the efficiency and effectiveness of therapeutic agents. We will present the latest research and results from our platform, which utilizes a well-established pipeline of techniques to design, synthesize, and evaluate these novel nanobiomaterials. Additionally, we will discuss the implications and future directions of this work, and how it has the potential to positively impact the treatment of a wide range of diseases. Join us for an exciting and informative journey into the world of nanobiomaterials for drug and gene delivery.

Speaker: Juan C. Cruz, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering. Universidad de Los Andes. Juan C. Cruz obtained his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the National University of Colombia (2002) and later his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Kansas State University (KSU) (2010) for his work on a new platform for enzyme immobilization to address biocatalysis challenges in non-aqueous media. Cruz has experience as Head of New Product Development in a chemical company, where he developed several nanotechnological applications to improve critical attributes of plastics according to the requirements and standards of new market niches. In 2016, he joined the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Universidad de Los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia). Cruz has more than fifteen years of working in the fields of industrial and medical biotechnology and, in particular, in the development of nanobiocatalysts, the fundamental understanding of protein-protein, protein-surface, and protein-lipid interactions, the development of new nanoparticulate vehicles for the release and guidance of pharmacological molecules and the search for unique peptides with membrane activity.