The Department of Chemical Engineering welcomes National University of Singapore’s Professor Jun Li for a seminar about novel, supramolecular, self-assembled biomaterials for various biomedical applications. All are welcome.
Abstract
Dr. Jun Li’s research group has been developing novel supramolecular self-assembled biomaterials for various biomedical applications starting from cyclodextrins, polyhydroxybutyrate, chitosan and alginate, using these naturally occurring bio-based molecules and polymers as important building blocks. For example, supramolecular micelles, hydrogels and nanoparticles were developed from cyclodextrins for drug and gene delivery; novel smart hydrogels and nanovesicles were developed from polyhydroxybutyrate and injectable smart hydrogels releasing drug encapsulated micelles were developed from alginate.
In a recent study, they demonstrated the development of thermogelling copolymers that can be injected into tumor and subsequently solidify as hydrogels within the tumor for local delivery of radiopharmaceuticals. The thermogelling copolymers are composed of poly(3-hydroxylbutyrate), poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(propylene glycol), which were characterized in terms of their molecular structures, compositions, phase diagrams, rheological properties, injectability and body temperature stability in vitro and in vivo.
Their data elucidated the injectability of the copolymer solutions at low temperatures and the stability of the hydrogels at body temperature. This provided the basis on which they could identify the most suitable copolymer with optimized composition as the best candidate for intra-tumoral injection for local delivery of the radiopharmaceuticals.
Biographical Sketch
Dr. Jun Li is a Professor and Deputy Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at National University of Singapore (NUS). Before joining NUS, he was a Senior Scientist at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) in Singapore (1998 – 2002) and a Special Postdoctoral Researcher at the RIKEN Institute in Japan (1995 – 1998).
He received his PhD (1995) and MSc (1992) in macromolecular science from Osaka University, Japan, and his BSc (1985) in chemistry from Sichuan University, China.
Professor Li’s expertise lies across the synthetic and bio-based polymers, and their supramolecular self-assemblies forming nanostructures for various applications, such as drug and gene delivery, tissue engineering, personal care and environmental sustainability. So far, he has published about 170 international journal articles, which have received more than 12,000 citations with an h-index of 63, according to the Web of Science. He filed nine patents, edited one research book and authored a few book chapters. He has served chair/co-chair for six international symposia/conferences on the topics of bio-based polymers, hydrogels and biomaterials, and supramolecular chemistry.