I will describe the invention and development of new applications in bio-imaging and drug delivery based upon novel polymeric nanoparticle constructs. I will talk about PLGA-PEG based polymeric nanoparticles as drug delivery carriers for the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular disease and obesity. In particular, a siRNA and anticancer drug co-delivery approach has been developed for the treatment of multiple drug resistance (MDR) tumor. The combination of chemotherapy with RNAi approaches to suppress the expression of proteins involved in the emergence of drug-resistance represents a promising synergistic strategy to circumvent or reverse acquired chemoresistance. This combination therapeutic approach can sensitize cancer cell to chemotherapeutics and shows superior tumor inhibition compared to the chemotherapeutics administered as a monotherapy. Additionally, a nanoparticle-mediated anti-cancer drug delivery and pain management approach will be presented, which can not only suppress tumor growth, but also prevent or reduce opioid-induced tolerance and hyperalgesia for optimized cancer pain management.

Biography

Dr. Xiaoyang Xu is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Material Engineering at New Jersey Institute of Technology. Before that, he was a joint NIH postdoctoral fellow in the laboratories of Professors Robert Langer at MIT and Omid Farokhzad at Harvard Medical School. He completed his Ph.D. in Material Chemistry at Northwestern University under the supervision of Prof. Chad Mirkin. He received his B.E. in Chemical Engineering from East China University of Science and Technology in China. Dr. Xu’s research focus is the development of novel biomaterials and nanotechnologies for a variety of medical applications including diagnosis, bioimaging, drug delivery, and regenerative medicine. He is also interested in developing synthetic biomaterials and processing techniques to fabricate hydrogels and scaffolds for use in drug delivery and tissue engineering. Dr. Xu has over 12 years of experience in the synthesis, characterization and testing of a range of biomaterials and nanoparticles for medical applications, leading to over 30 peer-reviewed research articles and 10 issued/pending patents. His publications has been cited over 4,400 times. Dr. Xu has received multiple awards including Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award,AACR Scholar-in-Training Award, Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Chinese Students Study Abroad, and 1000 Plan Professorship for Young Talent.