Search Results - sankaran+thayumanavan

This invention provides a new strategy for nucleic acid delivery by using novel cross-linkable and surface-charge modifiable synthetic polymers. The use of the novel polymer system allows for robust nuclecid-polymer complexation, easy removal of cationic moieties of the polymer and self-crosslinking of the polymer in a single step, and stimuli-responsive release of the nucleic acid molecules in the cell.

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A team of accomplished researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has discovered a novel pathway for enhancing anhydrous proton transport in polymeric materials. This pathway entails generating supramolecular nanoscale confinement in polymers containing anhydrous proton transport functionalities. By carefully designing the polymer structures, the proton transport moieties of the polymers can be confined and organized within the nanoscale domains of the polymers via self-assembly, resulting in enhanced proton transport capabilities. This enhancement improves the conductivity of the polymers by 2-3 orders of magnitude. The high conductivities observed for the polymers with nanoconfinements are correlated with their ability to form locally high concentrations of proton transport moieties. These polymers allow high conductivities at high temperatures, which can increase fuel cell efficiency, lower cost, simplify heat management, and provide better tolerance of the fuel cell catalysts against poisoning.

Selective and enhanced detection of peptides from complex mixtures. A special class of polymers is used to selectively extract and concentrate peptides of interest from complex mixtures, while simultaneously enhancing their detection using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry.

This technology provides a new class of structurally robust smart organic nanoparticles that are formed from covalently linked organic molecules. These organic nanoparticles can be produced in one step from two readily synthesized organic starting materials in the presence of a surfactant. Unlike inorganic nanomaterials such as quantum dots and gold nanoparticles, the smart nanoparticles provided by this technology not only can be produced with excellent control over their size and conveniently functionalized surfaces, but also can act as hosts for hydrophobic guest molecules and can subsequently self-disassemble and release the guests in response to specific environmental stimuli.

One of the major limitations of opioids, a class of analgesics used for pain management, is their narrow therapeutic range lacking a substantial difference between lethal and therapeutic doses. Opioid-induced toxicity leads to hypoventilation (respiratory depression), resulting in an increased concentration of CO₂ and a decreased concentration of O₂ in blood plasma. When administered, an overdose of opioid can cause an individual to cease breathing entirely, which is rapidly fatal without treatment. Opioid antagonists, such as naloxone and naltrexone, are effective in blocking the toxic effects of opioids; however, it is difficult to determine when such administration should be made. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop drug delivery systems that provide controlled release of opioids and opioid antagonists in response to a toxicity biomarker to prevent the lethal consequences of opioid overdose.

 

Dr. Thayumanavan has developed novel hydrogel-based drug delivery systems for biomarker-responsive, controlled release of opioids and opioid antagonists. Biomarker CO₂ associated with opioid-induced toxicity is used as an external trigger to both release an opioid antidote and stop the release of an opioid from their respective nanogel or macrogel delivery vehicles. While nanogels enable intravenous, intramuscular administration, macrogels can be used for oral delivery. The novel hydrogel compositions developed by Dr. Thayumanavan enable the delivery vehicles to expand and contract in response to changes in the CO₂ concentration, resulting in timely and controlled dosing of the opioid and opioid antidote drugs.