Designer Biomaterial Surfaces for Drug Delivery and Regenerative Medicine

Research in biomaterials is continuing to lead advances in treatments for a variety of critical medical conditions. In this seminar, I will discuss my research on developing biomaterials that are aimed at treating various aspects of traumatic injury including infection, inflammation, and bleeding. Current treatments for these conditions often result in significant systemic toxicity and exacerbate problems such as antibiotic-resistance. I will describe work on controlled release drug delivery coatings that can avoid many of these complications. The layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly technique was used to develop multilayer films that exhibit a range of favorable drug release profiles of a variety of therapeutics including potent antibiotics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and hemostatic agents. These drugs cover a wide range of chemical and structural properties including hydrophilic and hydrophobic small molecules and proteins. Several of these LbL film architectures have successfully been applied to a range of medical device surfaces including bandages, sutures, and intraocular lenses and have demonstrated in vitro and in vivo efficacy. Our current work is focused on improving drug loading in these multilayer films. I will also discuss my work on designing biomimetic micropatterned surfaces to direct mesenchymal stem cell behavior. This research has tremendous potential to impact the design of biomaterials and tissue engineering scaffolds for regenerative medicine while advancing the fundamental understanding of stem cell mechanobiology

Intensity of cosmic rays in relation to geomagnetic activity parameter Ap and Kp Index

Abstract: We studied the relation between monthly average count rate of cosmic ray intensity (CRI) 1986 -199

A study to evaluate compliance in patients of diabetes mellitus in a North-Indian tertiary care hospital

Background: The objective of the study was to determine level of adherence and recognize various causative factors which can affect the compliance in the diabetic patients.Methods: This was an observational study. The study was conducted by enrolling patients of the outpatient department of Medicine of Rajindra Hospital, Government Medical College, Patiala, Punjab. To assess adherence, a questionnaire was administered to the patients - Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS) -8 item questionnaire. The various factors affecting compliance was determined by a researcher made questionnaire.Results: Out of a total of 100 subjects, age range extended from 18 years to 80 years. The mean age was 57.52±12.33years. 51% of patients were females and 49% was males. Analysis of MMAS- 8 item scores of patients showed that 52% of patients had low adherence, 29% had medium while 19% had high adherence to the treatment. Only 30% patients were compliant i.e. with HbA1C value of 7 or less while 70% patients were non-compliant i.e. with HbA1C value of more than 7.Conclusions: Compliance to medical treatment is influenced by a myriad of factors. In order to promote compliance, it is necessary to increase awareness about the disease, possible complications and treatment guidelines among patients as well as their family members.

Analysis of cost of medical therapy in patients of metabolic syndrome: an observational study

Background: The objective of the study was to analyze cost of medical therapy in patients of Metabolic syndrome.Methods: This was an observational study. The study was conducted by enrolling patients of the outpatient department of Medicine of Rajindra Hospital, Government Medical College, Patiala, Punjab. A total of 100 patients diagnosed with Metabolic syndrome were enrolled in the study. The total daily cost of the therapy was calculated by adding the direct cost of individual drugs taking in consideration the frequency of the drug. The daily cost of therapy was then extrapolated to calculate the monthly as well as annual cost of therapy.Results: The mean age of patients was 58.27±10.32 years. Out of a total of 100 patients, there were 57 female and 43 male patients, indicating a female preponderance of the disease. The average individual daily cost of medical therapy is INR 44.56 which upon extrapolation gives monthly and annual cost of INR 1336.90 and INR 16264.40 respectively. The cost of treatment in males is costlier than females (INR 50.09 in males versus INR 40.22 in females). The cost of treatment of age 31-40 years is INR 27.90 while it INR 36.97, 48.16 and 50.75 for age groups 41-50, 51-60 and 61-70 years. The various components of metabolic syndrome viz. diabetes mellitus, hypertension and dyslipidemia contribute differently to the cost of therapy. Daily cost of medical therapy for diabetes mellitus is INR 18.57 while for hypertension and dyslipidemia are INR 10.25 and INR 6.13 respectively.Conclusions: Chronic diseases like metabolic syndrome have a huge share of the healthcare budget. Given the fact that it is a lifestyle disease, its prevalence is likely to swell in the coming decades. Hence, formulation of preventive and innovative treatment guidelines is of utmost importance

Communicable behavior of non-communicable diseases

Communicability of non- communicable diseases can be explained using the prototype of non- communicable diseases. The concept can be further extended to other non- communicable diseases. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is regarded as the prototype of non-communicable diseases. Its subtype, type 2 DM is usually associated with obesity. Obesity, in turn, can be attributed to deranged eating habits and lack of physical activity. Eating habits of a person bears a close resemblance to the parental eating habits. Other factors contributing to obesity like alcoholism can also be transmitted from parents to child. Smoking, another factor implicated in DM, can be picked as a habit from peer group as well as family. All these factors implicated directly or indirectly in the pathogenesis of DM are actually components of lifestyle. These lifestyle components can be transmitted both in an inter-generation and intra-generation fashion. And so the chances of transmission of DM (a lifestyle disease) in the same fashion cannot be ruled out

Downmodulation of lysophosphatidic acid by Berberine loaded folate-conjugated glycol chitosan nanoparticles (BFGCN) to mitigate Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) & Cardio-vascular disease(CVD): Current knowledge and future perspectives

440-449The perils of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are enhanced by systemic chronic inflammation in autoimmune disorders like Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), in which the patients generally exhibit a high inflammatory burden, dyslipidemia causing 50-60% of RA patients susceptible to CVD dependent mortality. Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a polar, pleiotropic lipid molecule that is water soluble and present in the synovial fluid that can be exploited as an effective biomarker for lipid-signalling. Current research on alternative medicine has recognized various new molecular targets of Berberine (BBR) and established novel signals in support of the efficacy and therapeutic potential of BBR to fight CVD. Therefore, BBR, an alkaloid with poor aqueous solubility could be foreseen as a therapeutic strategy for the reduction of inflammation induced lipidemia by targeting the macrophages and modulating their functions. Hence, a novel BBR loaded folate-conjugated glycol chitosan nanoparticles (BFGCN) could be hypothesized as a three-pronged approach to target activated macrophages, fibroblasts of synovial fluid for downmodulation of LPA. The greatest challenge is the heterogeneity, complexity and interdependence of RA and CVD. Investigation of prognostic and predictive biomarkers is urgently required. Therefore, an improved understanding of the pathogenesis of RA would facilitate identifying an improved targeted treatment and management of RA patients

Low-Cost and Readily Available Tissue Carriers for the Boston Keratoprosthesis: A Review of Possibilities

The Boston keratoprosthesis (B-KPro), currently the most commonly used artificial cornea worldwide, can provide rapid visual rehabilitation for eyes with severe corneal opacities not suitable for standard corneal transplantation. However, the B-KPro presently needs a corneal graft as a tissue carrier. Although corneal allograft tissue is readily available in the United States and other developed countries with established eye banks, the worldwide need vastly exceeds supply. Therefore, a simple, safe, and inexpensive alternative to corneal allografts is desirable for the developing world. We are currently exploring reasonable alternative options such as corneal autografts, xenografts, noncorneal autologous tissues, and laboratory-made tissue constructs, as well as modifications to corneal allografts, such as deep-freezing, glycerol-dehydration, gamma irradiation, and cross-linking. These alternative tissue carriers for the B-KPro are discussed with special regard to safety, practicality, and cost for the developing world

Controlled release films and functional surfaces targeting infection, inflammation, and bleeding

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 153-166).Uncontrolled bleeding and infection are leading causes of patient morbidity and mortality following traumatic injury. Traditional pressure based methods of hemorrhage management are not suitable for incompressible or complex wounds. There is increasing interest in non-pressure based hemostatic dressings; however, many of these existing dressings are not amenable for use in complex sites and are often accompanied by adverse side effects. Additionally, patients are typically administered broad-spectrum antibiotics to prevent and eliminate existing infection. The systemic overuse of antibiotics has led to a worldwide increase in drug-resistant bacteria. As an alternative to these conventional treatments, local therapeutic delivery has the potential to effectively treat cellular dysfunction while avoiding drug toxicity. This thesis focuses on developing degradable layer-by-layer (LbL) assembled multilayer films as local delivery coatings to address infection, inflammation, and bleeding. These films were engineered to deliver potent antibiotics such as vancomycin and exploratory drugs such as antimicrobial peptides, which prevent the development of drug resistant bacteria. Active films with large drug loadings and a range of drug release profiles were developed by taking advantage of film architectures, assembly techniques (spray versus dip LbL), and film component interactions. Due to the prevalence of infection and inflammation, degradable coatings for the concurrent release of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory therapeutics were also designed. These films have the potential to address a wide range of infection and inflammation requirements, from short term infection and inflammation eradication for trauma relief to infection prevention and long term inflammation mitigation from biomedical implants. All films were successfully applied to medically relevant substrates, including bandages and sutures, and were shown to be active in vitro against Staphylococcus aureus and cyclooxygenase. To address current complications with bleeding control, multilayer films were developed based on hydrogen bonding interactions found to occur between a polyphenol, tannic acid, and an essential clotting factor, thrombin. These thin films were used to coat a common clinically applied absorbent and porous gelatin sponge without reducing its liquid absorption capabilities. Coated sponges were shown to be highly effective in promoting hemostasis in a porcine spleen injury model. The therapeutic films developed in this thesis have the potential to be applied to any clinical substrate. Additionally, drug loading and release can be tuned based on the desired application.by Anita Shukla.Ph.D