Students learn how nanoparticles can be creatively used for medical diagnostic purposes. They learn about buckminsterfullerenes, more commonly known as buckyballs, and about the potential for these complex carbon molecules to deliver drugs and other treatments into the human body. They brainstorm methods to track buckyballs in the body, then build a buckyball from pipe cleaners with a fluorescent tag to model how nanoparticles might be labeled and detected for use in a living organism. As an extension, students research and select appropriate radioisotopes for different medical applications.

This course focuses on computational and experimental analysis of biological systems across a hierarchy of scales, including genetic, molecular, cellular, and cell population levels. The two central themes of the course are modeling of complex dynamic systems and protein design and engineering. Topics include gene sequence analysis, molecular modeling, metabolic and gene regulation networks, signal transduction pathways and cell populations in tissues. Emphasis is placed on experimental methods, quantitative analysis, and computational modeling.

In this capstone course, students will use new and previous knowledge about drug delivery and biopharmaceutics, to design an innovation. Throughout the course students will engage in learning opportunities related to real-world scenarios in drug delivery, gain a better understanding of the anatomy and physiology related to drug delivery, and participate in a self-directed project to solve a fictitious problem. This learning tool will guide students through the process of understanding real-world applications of drug delivery and how drug delivery is applied to treating infectious diseases. DDF’s innovation project is aligned with NGSS and Common Core standards in math and ELA core curriculum subject areas. The learning activities, final project, and mid-unit assessments are provided to the teacher and students in the form of eLearning readings, quizzes, interactive tools, student response sheets, and presentation outlines. Students using this module should find success in self-directed learning, though they may use additional resources in the community, the guidance of teachers, the advice of scientists or biomedical professionals at DDF, or the knowledge presented in scientific literature to help them achieve their goal; though this module should provide most of the tools they will need for guidance. For more information on in-person learning experiences, please contact our DDF eLearning Project Manager, Lindsay Malcolm: lmalcolm@tsrlinc.com

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide and has high rates of recurrence and death. In patients with advanced HCC and poor liver function, surgery and ablation aren’t very effective, so pharmacotherapy is typically used. However, traditional antitumor drugs don’t have ideal properties or efficacy, and they’re highly toxic to normal cells. Recently developed nanotechnologies have shown promise for improving drug kinetics and efficacy against HCC. For example, nanoparticles can deliver drugs to tumor tissues and affect specific cells and molecules in the tumor microenvironment. These nanocarriers can reach their targets passively (due to intrinsic tumor characteristics) or actively (via molecules engineered onto their surfaces). Drug release from the nanoparticles can be induced by conditions common in tumors, such as hypoxia and acidification or by externally applied stimuli, such as light, heat, ultrasound, and magnetic fields..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Exosomes are small membrane-bound vesicles that facilitate cell-to-cell communication by transporting biomolecules like proteins, RNA, and lipids. Due to their ubiquity and cargo-carrying abilities, exosomes have many potential uses in clinical medicine. First, they can be found in many biofluids like blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, saliva, and milk. This means they’re easy to collect and could be used in diagnostic testing as biomarkers. Beyond that, exosomes can be used to deliver cargo to key cells, either using naturally occurring exosomes or fashioning them into drug delivery vehicles. There are even promising results for exosome-based vaccines, not only for infectious diseases but anti-tumor vaccines as well. While the field has developed rapidly in recent decades, there is much more work to do. Specifically, researchers still need to elucidate the mechanisms of exosome transfer within the body..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multifunctional cells with the ability to reduce inflammation and repair tissue when injected directly. But MSC use is controversial, especially in patients with cancer or in cancer remission, as MSCs can release growth factors that can promote tumor growth. Fortunately, new research is showing that certain MSC contents can exert targeted beneficial effects without these drawbacks, most notably, microRNAs packaged inside exosomes. These loaded exosomes can accumulate at sites of tissue damage, and many studies suggest that MSC exosomes can be applied to cancer therapy, gene therapy, drug delivery, regenerative medicine, and other biomedical applications. Further research could reveal new and more effective ways of packaging and transferring exosomes from MSCs to recipient cells, and thereby lead to new methods of treating and monitoring various diseases..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

The course covers basic concepts of biomedical engineering and their connection with the spectrum of human activity. It serves as an introduction to the fundamental science and engineering on which biomedical engineering is based. Case studies of drugs and medical products illustrate the product development-product testing cycle, patent protection, and FDA approval. It is designed for science and non-science majors.

Students are challenged to think as biomedical engineers and brainstorm ways to administer medication to a patient who is unable to swallow. They learn about the advantages and disadvantages of current drug delivery methods—oral, injection, topical, inhalation and suppository—and pharmaceutical design considerations, including toxicity, efficacy, size, solubility/bioavailability and drug release duration. They apply their prior knowledge about human anatomy, the circulatory system, polymers, crystals and stoichiometry to real-world biomedical applications. A Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation and worksheets are provided. This lesson prepares students for the associated activity in which they create and test large-size drug encapsulation prototypes to provide the desired delayed release and duration timing.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"A new study shows that abnormal production of nitric oxide in the body leads to the progression of breast cancer in mice. This finding could open the door to new treatments for early-stage breast cancer that stabilize the production of this pivotal molecule. Nearly one-third of newly diagnosed breast cancers in the US are early-stage lesions. Though technically pre-cancerous, about 40% of these lesions could progress to invasive cancers. Researchers don’t yet fully understand what drives these insidious formations. But various studies have reported a common link between cancer risk factors related to lifestyle—such as a high-fat diet, high alcohol consumption, and low physical activity—and abnormal production of nitric oxide. Normally, physiological stress triggers the production of large amounts of nitric oxide. This activates tissue-specific functions of neurons, muscles, immune cells, blood vessels and other specialized cells..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

The MIT Little Devices Lab collaborates with healthcare professionals in developing countries to create affordable health and medical technologies. A large number of these healthcare professionals are nurses, and have been described as “stealth innovators,” “NurseMakers,” and “MacGyver Nurses.” (Rice, S. "Nurses Devise Their Own Innovations." Modern Healthcare, 17 Oct., 2015).
The Little Devices Lab helps support these inventors by sending them kits with the modular parts and materials to invent and build their own customized, cost-effective medical devices. They can then solve challenges specific to their patients and work environments, for a range of applications from diagnostics to microfluidics to drug delivery.
Similar to how breadboards enabled people to more easily build their own electronics, one of the lab’s projects involved creating a biochemical breadboard with plug-and-play sets of blocks for building paper analytical devices, which healthcare workers can use to make diagnostic tests that meet their needs.
On the Little Devices Lab’s site, users will find more details about the lab's ongoing projects and research, video presentations about its work, and several of its members' publications.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Many eukaryotic cells make and release small pockets of membrane called extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs facilitate communication between cells in an organism and can transport many molecules like proteins, RNA, and lipids. Plants are no exception, and many types of EVs can be isolated from their juice, flesh, and roots. In the plants themselves, these EVs facilitate a range of critical functions like immunity, development, and plant–fungi communication. But EVs derived from plants could even have a place in human medicine. In particular, these EVS could be used to transport medications. Plant-derived EVs are more biodegradable and typically less expensive to generate than conventional synthetic carriers, as they can be extracted in bulk. This field is in its early stages, but studies have suggested that plant-derived EVs may also be less toxic and allergenic than conventional carriers..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small membrane-bound structures released by cells into the surrounding environment. EVs carry various biomolecules including proteins, DNA, RNA, and lipids and play critical roles in intercellular communication, including influencing the behavior and function of recipient cells. EVs have great potential in the clinical environment as diagnostic markers, treatment delivery vehicles, or therapeutic targets. However, to best utilize them researchers need to understand the mechanisms influencing EVs. Significant progress has been made in understanding the factors that regulate communication between cells via EVs, but there is still much to learn about what regulates EV targeting and uptake by recipient cells. Also, little is currently known about cargo release and relocation within the recipient cell. This is due to the extremely small size of EVs and a lack of imaging technology to visualize them..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"In cancer cell communication, some messengers are tiny. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small, cell-derived membranous structures released by almost all cell types. EVs transport lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids from cell to cell, and they can play a critical role in tumor development and progression. A new review discusses the role of EVs in the tumor microenvironment. Although tumor-derived EVs are known to regulate signaling pathways to orchestrate tumor progression, EVs from non-malignant cells also contribute to communication in the microenvironment. EVs can regulate angiogenesis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, extracellular matrix remodeling, and immune escape. Their central role in cancer progression makes them ideal targets for clinical applications, including diagnostic and therapeutic measures. Disrupting EV biogenesis and function may allow clinicians to repurpose these tiny messengers. turning them into a tool for immunotherapy and drug delivery..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This learning tool will guide students through the process of understanding real-world applications of drug delivery and how drug delivery is applied to treating infectious diseases. Students using this module should find success in self-directed learning, though they may use additional resources in the community, the guidance of teachers, the advice of scientists or biomedical professionals at DDF, or the knowledge presented in scientific literature to help them achieve their goal; though this module should provide most of the tools they will need for guidance.

Students experience the engineering design process as they design, fabricate, test and redesign their own methods for encapsulation of a (hypothetical) new miracle drug. As if they are engineers, teams make large-size prototypes to test proof of concept. They use household materials (tape, paper towels, plastic wrap, weed-barrier fabric, glues, etc.) to attach a coating to a porous "shell" (a perforated plastic Wiffle® ball) containing the medicine (colored drink mix powder). The objective is to delay the drug release by a certain time and have a long release duration—patterned after the timed release requirements of many real-world pharmaceuticals that are released from a polymer shell via diffusion in the body. Guided by a worksheet, teams go through at least three design/test iterations, aiming to achieve a solution close to the target time release constraints.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"As the opioid epidemic wages on, few solutions to the global problem have proven effective. Efforts to more heavily control how opioids are prescribed have not only created illicit markets for the drugs, but they’ve also made it difficult for the millions living with chronic pain. So if targeting access is problematic, where could the focus lie? According to a new study, one option is evaluating the method of delivery. Data showed that switching patients from systemic opioids, including opioids delivered orally or transdermally, to medications administered by an intrathecal drug delivery system reduced overall systemic opioid dosing levels. This was also correlated with a percentage of patients discontinuing systemic opioids altogether and thousands of dollars of savings in medical costs. The authors of the study reviewed healthcare claims data for 631 patients with an intrathecal drug delivery system for chronic non-cancer pain..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Tumor pathophysiology plays a central role in the growth, invasion, metastasis and treatment of solid tumors. This class applies principles of transport phenomena to develop a systems-level, quantitative understanding of angiogenesis, blood flow and microcirculation, metabolism and microenvironment, transport and binding of small and large molecules, movement of cancer and immune cells, metastatic process, and treatment response. 
Additional Faculty 
Dr. Pat D'Amore
Dr. Dan Duda
Dr. Robert Langer
Prof. Robert Weinberg
Dr. Marsha Moses
Dr. Raghu Kalluri
Dr. Lance Munn

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Colorectal cancer is an aggressive disease that kills almost 900,000 people each year, but chemotherapy, a common treatment, has toxic side effects and can induce resistance, resulting in treatment failure and relapse. One alternative is to use bacteria to fight cancer directly or to deliver drugs to target tissues. However, many of the bacteria tested so far are pathogenic and therefore carry risks of infection. In a recent study, researchers created an engineered probiotic to treat colorectal cancer orally. They isolated the nontoxic lactic acid bacterium Pediococcus pentosaceus from the Korean food, kimchi, and programmed it to carry P8, a previously identified candidate protein for colorectal cancer treatment. In a mouse colorectal cancer model established with human cancer cells, the engineered probiotic, PP\\*-P8, limited tumor sizes and growth rates. Furthermore, in mice with chemical-induced colitis-associated cancer, the probiotic caused polyp regression and ameliorated gut microbiota disruption..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.