ThinkQuest Questionnaire

Tell us some general information about yourself/your job.

(Postdoctoral Fellow, Nanotechnology Characterization Lab, U.S.)

I am a postdoctoral fellow at the Nanotechnology Characterization Lab (NCL). I joined NCL after completing my Ph.D in Pharmaceutical Sciences. My research interests are in vitro/in vivo drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic modeling of cancer-related nanoparticles.

How would you define nanotechnology?

Nanotechnology is defined as "a term refers to different technologies that measure, manipulate, or incorporate materials and or features with at least one dimension between approximately 1 and 100 nanometers (nm)."

Nano means 10 -9of the SI unit meter. Nanotechnology related definitions can be found in ASTM (E2456-06) Terminology for Nanotechnology document on line.

Is there anything that you can tell us about your work in the field of nanotechnology?

We are working with nanomaterials for cancer therapy. Our laboratory Nanotechnology Characterization Lab characterizes nanoparticles' physical attributes, their in vitro biological properties, and their in vivo compatibility using animal models.

If you only had a few sentences to explain the usefulness and importance of nanotechnology to the general public, what would you say?

Nanotechnology in medicine will improve therapeutic effectiveness of drugs and and health care will benefit from this technology. Nanotechnology delivers drugs most effectively to the desired sites in the body for example targeting to tumor tissues in cancer applications and consequently decreases systemic exposure of drugs and their unwanted effects. Currently, nanomedicine products has received approval from FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for treatment of cancer and as MRI contrast agents, for example Doxil is a liposomal drug formulation in the size range of 100 nm used in metastatic ovarian cancer.

What reasonable advances do you think we (the world) will make in the field of nanotechnology in the next 10 years? 20 years? 50?

Nanotechnology will develop not only nanomaterials but also develop nano tools and devices to diagnose, treat, monitor and prevent diseases. I believe in 10 years, enough data on physicochemical properties, and their in vivo effectiveness will be available, and this will also help to develop new generation of nanomaterials. In 20 years, I believe these new vaccines, and drug carriers will be readily available for treatment in cancer, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer, and systemic immunological diseases. In 50 years, I believe more personalized therapies will be available based on each individual’s genomic types. It is also plausible to expect programmed drug delivery based on each person’s needs. Gene therapy will be also improved and it will be based on each invidiuals genetic make up and disease state.

What are some of the top challenges in the field of nanotechnology right now?

I believe challenges in the field of nanotechnology are the high cost and difficulty of making grams quantity of the material.

What are some research projects (and applications) that your department is currently working on?

One of the research projects we are currently working on is “Dendrimer Based MRI Contrast Agents”. Dendrimers are synthetic highly branched polymers with a central core with sizes is in the nanometer range. The structure and branched topologies of dendrimers resembles a branched tree. Characterization of the Dendrimer based MRI Contrast Agents are performed in three different categories: 1) Physicochemical characterization (particle size, purity and MRI contrast agents relaxitivity) 2) Immunotoxicology (evaluation of blood contact properties of these materials, coagulation pathway and integrity of blood cellular components) 3) In vitro Toxicology (nanoparticle biocompatibility, cytotoxicity). You can also find more information on this project on our website at http://ncl.cancer.gov/working_technical_reports.asp

What areas of science should people study if they want to go into nanotechnology?

Advancement in nanotechnology requires team members with different science backgrounds, for example in Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Pharmacy, Medicine, Toxicology, Biology, Immunology and Chemistry.

-Back-