Local drug delivery in cartilage and disc
The articular joint cartilage and the intervertebral disc (IVD) are only partially accessible to therapeutics administered systemically, leading to an unfavourable trade-off between side effects and clinical effectivity.
In the ongoing projects, biomaterial-based delivery for inhibition of degeneration and stimulation of regeneration of the IVD and articular cartilage includes small molecules, proteins, peptides and nucleic acids. Carriers vary from hydrogels and microparticles to nanoparticles. Research is done both in vitro and in vivo models, the latter ranging from rat to large animals. In addition to studying proof of concept of different targets and materials, also the mechanisms behind the discrepancy between in vitro and in vivo release is investigated to further the field towards the clinic. To this end, various biochemical, molecular and advanced imaging tools are being used.
Contact for internships
Dr. Laura Creemers: L.B.Creemers@umcutrecht.nl
People
| Name | Position | Contact | Additional info |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joao Marques Garcia | Postdoc | J.P.MarquesGarcia@umcutrecht.nl | IVD bioreactor, development of advanced imaging tools |
Jie Du | PhD student | J.Du-2@umcutrecht.nl | IVD regeneration, in vitro and in vivo |
Katrin Münzebrock | PhD student | K.A.Munzebrock@umcutrecht.nl | Nucleic acid delivery for regeneration of cartilage and IVD |
Yeter Dilek | PhD student | Y.Dilek@umcutrecht.nl | Small molecule delivery targeting degeneration and pain in IVD |
Jaqueline Rios | Postdoc | J.L.Rios-2@umcutrecht.nl | Nanogel-mediated mRNA delivery in osteoarthritis |
| Carla Jorqueira | PhD student | C.Jorquera@umcutrecht.nl | Exosome-mediated delivery of miRNA in osteoarthritis |
| Adriano Pontes | PhD student (20Med) | pontes@20medtx.com | Nanogel-mediated nucleic acid delivery in cartilage and IVD degeneration |