Seminário: Smart Materials in drug delivery and regenerative medicine dia 7 de Junho Edif VII Sala 3.2

Seminário DF

Departamento de Física, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universida NOVA de Lisboa, Campus da Caparica, Portugal

Sala 2.3 - Edifício VII e Online em https://videoconf-colibri.zoom.us/j/344521416?pwd=WVdzSFQ4cXdJT2oyMzdITjlLaDN6Zz09

7 de Junho de 2023 - 14h

Smart Materials in drug delivery and regenerative medicine

Drª Filipa Pires

IT, Portugal

 Resumo:

The creation of smart materials has drawn a lot of attention recently due to the rising desire for developing targeted and personalized cell therapies. Smart materials respond to stimuli like temperature, pH, electrical or magnetic fields, and are commonly employed in biomedical applications as platforms for drug delivery and stem cell behavior control. For instance, magnetic smart materials containing magnetic nanoparticles guide the stem cells to the injured area, where they differentiate into specific cells and aid in repairing the damaged tissue. Additionally, magnetic hydrogels have beenfunctionalized with growth factors or extracellular matrix components that enhance the angiogenic potential of certain cells to improve healing rate. Furthermore, magnetic hydrogels have been utilized in drug delivery to control the release of drugs in response to an external magnetic field, thereby lessen the systemic adverse effects of drugs. Overall, the variety of smart materials and stimuli that have been developed to control stem cell behaviour provides a promising avenue for advancing tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. These approaches can be tailored to specific tissues and cell types, ultimately leading to the development of more effective therapies.

 Filipa Pires Bio:

Filipa Pires (FP) obtained her MSc in Bioengineering and Nanosystems from IST in 2013 and her PhD in Biophysics at FCT-UNL in 2019. In 2020, as Junior Researcher she had the opportunity to specialize on developing magnetic scaffolds to stimulate angiogenesis for heart applications. More recently, as a Junior Researcher (RESORB - an EIC PathFinder), she embarked on a new international team challenge by creating the first bioresorbable chemical sensor for in vivo real-time monitoring of the chemotherapy agent doxorubicin. Her research focuses on developing functional materials that can control drug delivery and stimulate cell behaviour to significantly improve patient outcomes by enhancing the effectiveness of drug therapies and accelerating tissue regeneration. She has published multiple articles in Q1 journals (with a total of 376 citations and an h-index of 7) and has authored and co-authored numerous posters and oral communications at several national and international congresses.