Date : 18/11/2011

Internship proposal for : Master 1 or Master 2

Laboratory
Physico-chimie, Pharmacotechnie et Biopharmacie
UMR 8612 CNRS
CNRS Université de Paris-Sud 11
Tour B, Equipe "Physico-Chimie des Systèmes Polyphasés"
5, rue Jean-Baptiste Clément, 92296 Chatenay-Malabry
Website: http://h0.web.u-psud.fr/umr-cnrs8612/
Main discipline : Biophysics
Lab director : Elias FATTAL

Mentor
Angelina ANGELOVA
email : This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
phone : +33 1 46 83 55 96

Subjects
1.: self-assembled nanosystems for drug delivery in brain
2.: cell membrane receptor targeting
3.: nanoparticles for neuronal protection

Tools and methodologies
1.: structural nanotechnology and drug targeting
2.: physico-chemical, biophysical and molecular biology approaches
3.: cell culture models of disease states

Summary of lab's interests
The research team Physical Chemistry of Polyphased Systems focuses its research activity on self-assembled structures formed by lipids and amphiphiles, fundamental and applied studies of the relationship between biomolecular supramolecular organisations and properties as well as of the understanding of membrane type nanostructure interactions with guest molecules. Recent advances have been achieved in: (i) hybrid nanosystems for in vivo diagnostic and drug delivery with superparamagnetic liposomes loaded with iron oxide nanocrystals, (ii) innovative liquid crystalline lipid nanocarriers for protein and peptide delivery, (iii) prilling-produced solid lipid microparticles for sustained release of drugs; (iv) design of liquid or semi-solid lipid nanodispersions for the delivery of fragile molecules; (v) characterization of mixed nanocarriers based on cyclodextrins and lipids; (vi) design of model membranes and investigation of drug-membrane interactions. Ref. ANGELOVA A., ANGELOV B., MUTAFCHIEVA R., LESIEUR S., COUVREUR P. Self-Assembled Multicompartment Liquid Crystalline Lipid Carriers for Protein, Peptide, and Nucleic Acid Drug Delivery. Acc. Chem. Res. 44, 147-156, 2011.

Summary of project
Original biomimetic nanosystems will be created for targeting of the brain receptor TrkB in a cellular model of neurodegeneration. The experimental methods will include Quasi-elastic light scattering (QELS), UV-Vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopies, Size-exclusion chromatography, Confocal fluorescence microscopy, and Cell culture essay. The candidate is expected to have interests in molecular biology, biophysics, physical chemistry, and nanomedicine.