Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Uniform, Shape-Specific Carriers for Vaccines, Biologics and Small Molecule Drugs

Collage of Vaccine-Related images
Credit: Graphics provided by Joseph DeSimone, University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill)

Joseph DeSimone, Director
Institutes of Nanomedicine and Advanced Materials, Nanoscience, and Technology
University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill)

To translate promising molecular discoveries into benefits for patients, we are taking a pharmaco-engineering systems approach to develop the next generation of delivery systems with programmable multi-functional capability.  Our laboratory has pioneered the development of a technique called PRINT (Particle Replication in Non-wetting Templates).  PRINT is a top-down particle synthesis method that extends the nano-fabrication techniques from the semiconductor industry to a high throughput, continuous roll-to-roll process.  PRINT enables the fabrication of precisely defined micro- and nano-particles with control over particle size (20 nm to >20 micron), shape, chemical composition, cargo (proteins, adjuvants, therapeutics, oligonucleotides, siRNA, imaging agents), modulus (stiff, deformable - RBC mimics) and surface chemistries (antibodies, PEG chains, metal chelators), including the spatial distribution of proteins on the particle.  In the history of delivery, particles have never had the uniformity, precision and chemical and shape control afforded by PRINT.

Anyone outside NIST wishing to attend must be sponsored by a NIST employee and receive a visitor badge. For more information, call Kum J. Ham at 301-975-4203.

Colloquia are videotaped and available in the NIST Research Library.

 

 

Created January 14, 2010, Updated January 3, 2017