Advanced Materials and Drug Delivery
The Advanced Materials and Drug Delivery Cluster Area seeks to create and apply cutting-edge biomaterials for high-impact biomedical applications and to create paradigm-changing approaches and systems for advanced drug delivery.
Novel biomaterials are created to solve critical issues of the field: guide tissue regeneration, design highly selective, robust and biocompatible sensors, and alter surface chemistry to improve tissue/device interfaces. Likewise, we thrive to deliver difficult drugs (proteins, peptides, siRNA, insoluble anticancer drugs, vaccine antigens) in a targeted manner and to hard-to- reach places (cancer cells, brain, eye, lymph nodes) for prolonged periods of time (controlled release) in order to maximize therapeutic efficacy.
Our efforts in biomaterials include designing novel polymer-protein and polymer lipid composites for sensing of influenza virus, prostate cancer antigen and antibiotics. Surface engineering of biomaterials can lead to creation of non-wettable surfaces to control protein and cell adhesion, stem cell culture and differentiation. We blend and modify biocompatible polymers to improve mucoadhesion and stability of entrapped drug molecules. We cross-link phospholipid bilayers and develop lipid-peptide complexes to alter cell processing of biomaterials. We collectively contributed to an extensive toolbox of drug delivery platforms such as mucoadhesive gels, biodegradable implants, multicompartmental polymer nanoparticles, cross-linked liposomes for antigen delivery, and lipoprotein nanodisks. These platform technologies deliver a wide range of drug molecules and vaccine antigens with a focus on large molecule stability and delivery.
Multi-phasic particles of different shapes can be manufactured with precise control over particles geometry by the Wettability Engendered Templated Self-assembly (WETS) method.
Related Press Releases & Articles
- April 7 @ 1:00 pm
BI Distinguished Lectureship Series with Dr. David A. Weitz
Join us on April 7 for a Distinguished Lecture by Dr. David A. Weitz.
- April 1, 2021 / Article
Recent BI Publications
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- March 1, 2021 / Article
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- February 23, 2021 / Award
Call for Nominations: 2020-21 BI Innovator Awards
Nomination Deadline: March 31, 2021
The goal of the Innovator Awards is to recognize BI members who are actively participating in the research, innovation and translational ecosystem at BI and making a difference in our community.
This past year has been a strong reminder that the excellence and strength of our institute transcend research and innovation. BI members are continually contributing to their community through exceptional service and commitment to causes and activities that extend beyond science.
As in previous years, three Innovator Awards will be granted, with one awarded at the faculty, graduate student and postdoctoral level, respectively.
This year, we will be adding a fourth Innovator Award to recognize a person (graduate student, undergraduate student, faculty, postdoctoral fellow or staff) who is making a difference in the BI community, in particular, as it relates to contributions that extend beyond the topic of their scientific work. Examples of such exceptional achievement might include creation and launch or leadership in new programs and initiatives related to outreach, mentoring programs, diversity, equity and inclusion, well-being.
- February 1, 2021 / Article
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- December 9, 2020 / Award
Nick Kotov Elected to National Academy of Inventors
Professor Nick Kotov was elected to the 2020 Class of Fellows by the National Academy of Inventors
- December 1, 2020 / Article
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- October 30, 2020 / Article
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- September 30, 2020 / Article
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- September 30, 2020 / Press Release
FDA awards $5M to establish new Center for Research on Complex Generics
Researchers from the University of Michigan and the University of Maryland were awarded a $5 million grant to establish a new Center for Research on Complex Generics. BI Faculty Professor Anna Schwendeman will be the center co-director along with Professor James Polli from the University of Maryland.
The center is funded by the FDA Office of Generic Drugs and aims at bringing complex generic drugs and drug products to market faster.
- July 31, 2020 / Article
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- June 30, 2020 / Article
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- June 18, 2020 / Award
Moon Awarded Michigan Drug Discovery Grant
Congratulations to James Moon who received a pilot grant from Michigan Drug Discovery to continue his ongoing work to develop immunotherapy agents for the treatment of cancer.
- May 29, 2020 / Article
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- March 31, 2020 / Article
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- March 2, 2020 / Award
2020 BI Innovator Awardees
Congratulations to the 2020 BI Innovator Award Recipients. BI Innovator awards recognize members of the BI research community who are active participants in the research, innovation and translational ecosystem at BI.
The 2020 awardees will be featured speakers at the BI Research Day on March 18.
- February 28, 2020 / Article
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- January 2, 2020 / Article
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- December 18, 2019 / Award
BI Teams Receive Biosciences Initiative Awards
Three major research initiatives projects were awarded to BI faculty in the latest round of funding from the Biosciences Initiative
Our Advanced Materials and Drug Delivery Researchers
Nanotechnology
Learn MoreSingle Cell Technologies
Learn MoreNeural Engineering
Learn MoreCell and Tissue Engineering
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Steven Schwendeman
Ara G. Paul Professor and Department Chair of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Professor of Biomedical Engineering Research Focus: Advanced Materials and Drug Delivery Contact Information:schwende@umich.eduThe Schwendeman Group develops advanced polymer-based controlled drug delivery approaches including vaccine delivery from poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA); PLGA nanoparticle formulation; and development of mucoadhesive polymers/formulations for intraoral and intranasal delivery.
Joerg Lahann
Wolfgang Pauli Collegiate Professor of Chemical Engineering; Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Macromolecular Science and Engineering Research Focus: Single Cell Technologies, Advanced Materials and Drug Delivery Contact Information:lahann@umich.eduResearch in the Lahann Lab focuses on surface engineering, advanced polymers, biomimetic materials, engineered stem cell microenvironments, drug delivery, and nano-scale self-assembly.
Anish Tuteja
Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Macromolecular Science and Engineering, and Chemical Engineering Research Focus: Advanced Materials and Drug Delivery Contact Information:atuteja@umich.eduThe Tuteja Group research is in surface science, including developing super-omniphobic surfaces (surfaces on which liquids bead up and roll- off). They have developed a novel technique to fabricate nano- and micro- particles of any size, shape, or chemistry. The developed particles’ shape, size, and composition can be used to engineer bio-distribution, skin or lung uptake, intra-cellular localization, and cell response.
Peter Tessier
Albert M. Mattocks Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Professor of Chemical Engineering Research Focus: Advanced Materials and Drug Delivery, Nanotechnology Contact Information:ptessier@umich.eduThe Tessier lab aims to develop next generation technologies for designing, discovering, engineering, characterizing, formulating and delivering biologics ranging from small affinity peptides to large monoclonal antibodies for molecular imaging, diagnostic and therapeutic applications.
James Moon
John G. Searle Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering Research Focus: Advanced Materials and Drug Delivery Contact Information:moonjj@umich.eduThe Moon Group develops therapeutics and diagnostics at the interface of immunology and engineering. Research addresses drug delivery systems for enhancing delivery of antigen and adjuvant to lymphoid organs and manipulating immune functions in the context of cancer, infectious diseases, and autoimmunity.
Jinsang Kim
Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Macromolecular Science and Engineering and Director of Macromolecular Science and Engineering Program Research Focus: Advanced Materials and Drug Delivery Contact Information:jinsang@umich.eduKim’s Smart Functional Polymer Lab explores functional polymeric materials and their nanostructural assembly to develop advanced polymeric objects. The research focuses on the rational molecular design, chemical and/or biological synthesis, and molecular assembly of functional polymers.