Ultrasound-Enhanced Therapies: Design, Application, and Beyond Seminar
- Time:
- 12:00
- Date:
- 17 March 2017
- Venue:
- Building 07, Room 3027, University of Southampton
For more information regarding this seminar, please email Dario Carugo at D.Carugo@soton.ac.uk .
Event details
Bioengineering Seminar
Abstract: Many therapeutics are currently incapable of homogenous distribution throughout the targeted tissue. As a result, there has been a surge in ultrasound-responsive strategies that enhance the transport of therapeutics. For example, the potential of acoustic inertial cavitation, i.e., the radial collapse of a bubble due to ultrasound exposure, has been widely recognised for enhancing both transport and uptake of drugs in cancer treatment. In the past decade, much research has been devoted to initiating and controlling inertial cavitation using ultrasound contrast agents (i.e., microbubbles) and other cavitation agents. However many applications impose constraints onto the design of such cavitation agents. Here, I will discuss the different designs and properties of both microbubbles and novel submicron particles that trap bubbles within nano-crevices. In addition, I will present the recent application of submicron cavitation agents towards enhancing the drug distribution within tumours. Inspired by the lessons learned from this research, I will put forward potential future designs of cavitation agents, possible applications, and foreseen challenges.
Speaker information
Dr James Kwan, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. In 2007 I completed a BSc in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. After, I moved to Columbia University where I completed an MSc, MPhil, and PhD all in Chemical Engineering. After completion of my degrees in 2012, I started a brief postdoctoral position at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Later that year, I took a position as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford. I also became the W.W. Spooner Junior Research Fellow at New College from 2013 – 2015, where I conducted undergraduate tutorials in engineering. During this time, I have published in scientific journals, filed 2 patents (both licensed by spinout companies), and have been part of 2 spinout companies. I joined NTU in 2016 and have since begun starting my own research lab tooking to bring forward non-invasive end-to-end solutions to healthcare challenges.