www.worldofchemicals.com diagnostic tools, biomarkers, devices, and related areas of bio-imaging, affinity agents, smart health care monitoring. assaying, disease monitoring, and WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES management systems to develop OF NANOMEDICINES AND ITS accessible cost-effective diagnoUSAGE IN YOUR RESEARCH? sis and treatment for HIV patients. Advancements in analysis have At the Center of Personalized proven a significant role in HIV NanoMedicine, Dept of Immunoldiagnostics and diseases progress ogy, Herbert Wertheim College of monitoring. Food and drug adminMedicine, Florida International Uniistration (FDA) approved various versity, Miami US, we developed anti-HIV drugs. The therapeutic “electro-active magnetic nano-careffects of those drugs have studies riers for site-specific on-demand using advanced analytical tools controlled delivery of Anti-HIV drug and methods. Guided genes i.e., to prevent neuroAIDS� CRISPER-Cas9/gRNA system is recently investigated to eradicate WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS HIV in latently infected HIV reserAND USES OF NANOMEDIvoirs. Unfortunately, these studies CINES? were performed either in-vitro or in periphery. HIV infected and latently Nanomedicine with the ability of infected HIV brain reservoirs could higher efficacy, no side-effect, not targeted due to negligible trans- site-specific, and therapeutic effect migration of therapeutics against in sustained or on-demand manner HIV across BBB. Therefore, efforts to cure targeted diseases are beneare being made to explore novel ficial over conventional medicine. analytical science and nanotechNanomedicine with the nology for developing strategies to delivery therapeutics across BBB to ability of higher efficacy, prevent NeuroAIDS no side-effect, site-specific, In the course of my research, I exand therapeutic effect in plored various analytical tools and sustained or on-demand smart nanomaterials for application manner to cure targeted of developing new biosensing sysdiseases are beneficial over tems and nanomedicines for CNS diseases. Presently my main focus conventional medicine. is developing electro-active nanoWHAT ARE THE VARIOUS MAstructures to develop electrochemTERIALS YOU USED TO DEical biosensor and nano-medicine VELOP NANOMEDICINES? for personalized health care. My research interests are related to designing smart nano-carries for drug delivery, nano-therapeutics for CNS diseases, on-demand site-specific release of Anti-HIV drug to cure neuroAIDS, exploring personalized nano-medicines, developing novel tools to recognize & eradicate HIV latent brain reservoirs, novel tool for HIV incidence using guided RNA (gRNA) nanotechnology, bio-nanotechnology, biosensors, point-of-care sensing
Chemical Today Magazine | February 2016
Based on chemical, functional, physical, and structural properties, nanocarriers (NCs) of metal, metal oxides, gels, biopolymer, composites, and core-shell nanostructures are being designed and explored to bind with drugs. The successful release of bind drugs were demonstrated in sustained and externally stimulated on-demand controlled manner. At present, developed nanoformulations (NFs) i.e., optimized com-
bination of NCs and specific drug, tested using in-vitro model and exhibited high therapeutic effect and less adverse effect. Numerous reports confirms that navigation across BBB depends on the properties of NCs and NFs. Thus exploring properties of NCs and NFs independently is crucial to design an effective therapeutic cargo to cure HIV completely at brain, though, BBB always prevents the migration of NCs to brain. Surface science has explored to make NCs surface hydrophobic and to generate functionality on NCs to bind with BBB related specific biomolecules such as antibody, protein, and enzyme to achieve CNS delivery. Externally controlled navigation strategy based on magnetic field and ultrasound strategy has recently been demonstrated for transmigration of NCs across BBB.
WHAT ARE THE NOVEL ANALYTICAL TOOLS USED FOR YOUR RESEARCH? Nano-engineered NCs, highly sensitive technologies, and smart assays are being explored to develop an ideal nanomedicine via improving NCs properties, pharmacokinetics, and acceptable neurobehavioral alteration. During virus progression, the dysfunction of related biomarkers and genes have been quantified using sensitive analytical assaying namely PCR, and ELISA. Ultrasensitive histopathology, immonohistipathology, optical florescence imaging have adopted recently to explore the bio-distribution, pathogenesis, and toxicity of both NCs and NFs. Recently transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with illuminating feature introduced recently to study the distribution on NCs in various organs to explain particle-to-particle interaction and elemental composition of NCs on aging. Bio-distribution and therapeutic effects of 41