Joint Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering Seminar: Dr. Yaling Liu

Nanoparticle Targeted Drug Delivery under Vascular Environment: Theory, Design, Simulation, and Applications

Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Arlington

Abstract

Nanoparticulate systems have been widely used in diagnostic imaging and targeted therapeutic applications in recent years. One of the major challenges in nanomedicine is to improve particle selectivity and adhesion efficiency under complex vascular flow conditions. To deliver nanomedicine directly to the desired diseased tissue while minimizing deposition/uptake by healthy tissues along the pathway, the design of nanoparticle need to be considered together with the diseased region’s physical parameters (e.g. vascular diameter, blood flow rate, surface area, etc). We are developing a multiscale model of nanoparticle transport, dispersion, and adhesion dynamics under vascular flow. The continuum convection-diffusion-reaction model, the particle-cell interaction, the Brownian adhesion dynamics, and the molecular ligand-receptor binding kinetics are coupled together. Such model has been applied to study the influence of nanoparticle shape and size on its adhesion property. The modeled nanoparticle binding results are being validated through designed experiments in flow chambers and microfluidic devices. The developed model is also being used to predict the nanoparticle drug delivery efficiency in real vasculature reconstructed from CT/MRI scanned images. A fully integrated multiscale model, linking different functional biological scales, imaging and physical system, will provide a systematic design and evaluation tool to enhance targeted delivery efficacy based on specific vascular geometry and hemodynamic conditions, thus pave the way toward a virtual human vascular platform for nanomedicine testing.

Yaling Liu, Ph.D, is an assistant professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at University of Texas at Arlington. Dr. Liu receives his B.S. degree from Tsinghua University, and M.S and Ph.D. degrees from Northwestern University. After graduation, Dr. Liu worked as a senior engineer for a year in the Mechanical Research and Development Center at Seagate Technology. Dr. Liu has received several awards including: National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award, Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award, NSF Summer Institute on Nanoscale Mechanics, Bio-inspired Hierarchical Structures Fellowship, and Royal E. Cabell Fellowship. His research interests include: fluid-structure interaction at the micro/nano scale and in biological systems, parallel computing, cardiovascular fluid dynamics, bionano interfacial phenomena, nanomedicine, and biosensing.