Maleimide is a chemical compound with the formula H2C2(CO)2NH (see diagram). This unsaturated imide is an important building block in organic synthesis. The name is a contraction of maleic acid and imide, the -C(O)NHC(O)- functional group. Maleimides also describes a class of derivatives of the parent maleimide where the NH group is replaced with alkyl or aryl groups such as a methyl or phenyl, respectively. The substituent can also be a small molecule (such as biotin, a fluorescent dye, an oligosaccharide, or a nucleic acid), a reactive group, or a synthetic polymer such as polyethylene glycol. Human hemoglobin chemically modified with maleimide-polyethylene glycol is a blood substitute called MP4.
PEGylation is the process of both covalent and non-covalent attachment or amalgamation of polyethylene glycol polymer chains to molecules and macrostructures, such as a drug, therapeutic protein or vesicle, which is then described as PEGylated. PEGylation affects the resulting derivatives or aggregates interactions, which typically slows down their coalescence and degradation as well as elimination in vivo.
Chad Alexander Mirkin is an American chemist. He is the George B. Rathmann professor of chemistry, professor of medicine, professor of materials science and engineering, professor of biomedical engineering, and professor of chemical and biological engineering, and director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology and Center for Nanofabrication and Molecular Self-Assembly at Northwestern University.
Smart polymers, stimuli-responsive polymers or functional polymers are high-performance polymers that change according to the environment they are in. Such materials can be sensitive to a number of factors, such as temperature, humidity, pH, chemical compounds, the wavelength or intensity of light or an electrical or magnetic field and can respond in various ways, like altering color or transparency, becoming conductive or permeable to water or changing shape. Usually, slight changes in the environment are sufficient to induce large changes in the polymer's properties.
Jindřich Henry Kopeček was born in Strakonice, Czech Republic, as the son of Jan and Herta Zita (Krombholz) Kopeček. He is distinguished professor of pharmaceutical chemistry and distinguished professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. Kopeček is also an honorary professor at Sichuan University in Chengdu, China. His research focuses on biorecognition of macromolecules, bioconjugate chemistry, drug delivery systems, self-assembled biomaterials, and drug-free macromolecular therapeutics.
Richard B. Kaner is an American synthetic inorganic chemist. He is a distinguished professor and the Dr. Myung Ki Hong Endowed Chair in Materials Innovation at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he holds a joint appointment in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Department of Material Science and Engineering. Kaner conducts research on conductive polymers (polyaniline), superhard materials and carbon compounds, such as fullerenes and graphene.
Polymer-drug conjugates are nano-medicine products under development for cancer diagnosis and treatment. There are more than 10 anticancer conjugates in clinical development. Polymer-drug conjugates are drug molecules held in polymer molecules, which act as the delivery system for the drug. Polymer drugs have passed multidrug resistance (MDR) testing and hence may become a viable treatment for endocrine-related cancers. A cocktail of pendant drugs could be delivered by water-soluble polymer platforms. The physical and chemical properties of the polymers used in polymer-drug conjugates are specially synthesized to flow through the kidneys and liver without being filtered out, allowing the drugs to be used more effectively. Traditional polymers used in polymer-drug conjugates can be degraded through enzymatic activity and acidity. Polymers are now being synthesized to be sensitive to specific enzymes that are apparent in diseased tissue. The drugs remain attached to the polymer and are not activated until the enzymes associated with the diseased tissue are present. This process significantly minimizes damage to healthy tissue.
Irshad Hussain is a Pakistani Scientist in the field of chemistry and among the few pioneers to initiate nanomaterials research in Pakistan.
Vincent Rotello is an American materials scientist and engineer currently the Charles A. Goessmann Professor of Chemistry and a University Distinguished Professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the current Editor-in-Chief of American Chemical Society's Bioconjugate Chemistry. He joined the faculty at the University of Massachusetts in 1993, and has been the recipient of the NSF CAREER and Cottrell Scholar awards, as well as the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar, the Sloan Fellowships. More recently, he has received the Langmuir Lectureship (2010), and in 2016 he received the Transformational Research and Excellence in Education Award presented by Research Corporation, the Bioorganic Lectureship of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK), the Australian Nanotechnology Network Traveling Fellowship, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, President's International Fellowship for Distinguished Researchers. He is a Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and of the Royal Society of Chemistry (U.K.). He is also recognized in 2014, 2015 and 2018 by Thomson Reuters/Clarivate as “Highly Cited Researcher”. He is currently the Editor in Chief of Bioconjugate Chemistry, and is on the Editorial Board of 14 other journals. His research program focuses on using synthetic organic chemistry to engineer the interface between the synthetic and biological worlds, and spans the areas of devices, polymers, and nanotechnology/bionanotechnology, with over 550 peer-reviewed papers published to date. He is actively involved in the area of bionanotechnology, and his research includes programs in delivery, imaging, diagnostics and nanotoxicology.
Shlomo Margel is a Professor of Chemistry at Bar Ilan University specializing in polymers, biopolymers, functional thin films, encapsulation, surface chemistry, nanotechnology, nanobiotechnology and agro-nanotechnology.
Eilaf Egap is an assistant professor of Materials Science at Rice University. She works on imaging techniques and biomaterials for early diagnostics and drug delivery. She was a Massachusetts Institute of Technology MLK Visiting Scholar in 2011.
Nanoparticle drug delivery systems are engineered technologies that use nanoparticles for the targeted delivery and controlled release of therapeutic agents. The modern form of a drug delivery system should minimize side-effects and reduce both dosage and dosage frequency. Recently, nanoparticles have aroused attention due to their potential application for effective drug delivery.
Erin Baker Lavik is a professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Lavik develops polymers and nanoparticles that can protect the nervous system. She is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.
So-Jung Park 박소정(朴昭靜) is a professor of chemistry at Ewha Womans University, Republic of Korea. Her research considers the self-assembly of nanoparticles and functional molecules for biomedical and optoelectronic devices. She serves as Associate Editor of ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces and Nanoscale.
Kristi Lynn Kiick is the Blue and Gold Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Delaware. She studies polymers, biomaterials and hydrogels for drug delivery and regenerative medicine. She is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and of the National Academy of Inventors. She served for nearly eight years as the deputy dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Delaware.
Polymer-protein hybrids are a class of nanostructure composed of protein-polymer conjugates. The protein component generally gives the advantages of biocompatibility and biodegradability, as many proteins are produced naturally by the body and are therefore well tolerated and metabolized. Although proteins are used as targeted therapy drugs, the main limitations—the lack of stability and insufficient circulation times still remain. Therefore, protein-polymer conjugates have been investigated to further enhance pharmacologic behavior and stability. By adjusting the chemical structure of the protein-polymer conjugates, polymer-protein particles with unique structures and functions, such as stimulus responsiveness, enrichment in specific tissue types, and enzyme activity, can be synthesized. Polymer-protein particles have been the focus of much research recently because they possess potential uses including bioseparations, imaging, biosensing, gene and drug delivery.
Hedi Mattoussi is a Tunisian-American materials scientist and Professor at Florida State University. His research considers colloidal inorganic nanocrystals for biological imaging and sensing. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, American Chemical Society and Materials Research Society.
Katharina Landfester is a German chemist who is a professor at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research. Her research considers the physical properties of droplets, polymerisation in emulsion and the synthesis of nanoparticles.
Christine Luscombe is a Japanese-British chemist who is a professor at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology. Her research investigates polymer chemistry, organic electronics, organic photovoltaics and the synthesis of novel materials for processable electronics. She serves on the editorial boards of Macromolecules, Advanced Functional Materials, the Annual Review of Materials Research and ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
Dextran drug delivery systems involve the use of the natural glucose polymer dextran in applications as a prodrug, nanoparticle, microsphere, micelle, and hydrogel drug carrier in the field of targeted and controlled drug delivery. According to several in vitro and animal research studies, dextran carriers reduce off-site toxicity and improve local drug concentration at the target tissue site. This technology has significant implications as a potential strategy for delivering therapeutics to treat cancer, cardiovascular diseases, pulmonary diseases, bone diseases, liver diseases, colonic diseases, infections, and HIV.
