- Aquest esdeveniment ja ha passat.
IBEC Seminar: Kevin Braeckmans
Divendres, abril 12 @ 10:00 am–11:00 am
Delivering effector molecules in cells in vitro and ex vivo by photoporation.
Kevin Braeckmans, Biophotonics Research Group, Lab. General Biochemistry and Physical Pharmacy, Ghent University, Belgium
Delivery of bioactive compounds, such as proteins and nucleic acids, into cells in vitro or ex vivo is a generic requirement for many applications in the life sciences, such as for the engineering of therapeutic cells. Physical delivery methods are attractive in this context as they are well-controlled, and can accommodate a broad variety of effector molecules and cell types. Photoporation is such a recently developed physical delivery technology which combines laser stimulation with photothermal nanoparticles. Localized thermal effects upon laser irradiation can create pores in the cell membrane, allowing the influx of external molecules in cells. Importantly, photoporation is very gentle to cells, resulting in excellent cell viability and preservation of a cell’s phenotype and functionality. In this presentation I will give an overview of the most notable work that we performed on photoporation as a next-generation transfection technology in the past decade.
Kevin Braeckmans first studied physics before doing his doctoral studies in pharmaceutical sciences at Ghent University in Belgium. From early on he was passionate about developing biophotonics technologies for drug delivery and diagnostics. In 2008 he was appointed professor at Ghent University as the group leader of the Bio-Photonics Research Group. In 2015 he received a prestigious ERC Consolidator Grant and became full professor in 2018. His research presently focuses on studying biological barriers to nanomedicines by advanced microscopy techniques, and combining light with nanoparticles to enable light-triggered drug delivery and related therapeutic applications. He is a co-author of >250 publications, Clarivate Highly Cited Author in 2022 and 2023, and co-inventor of 17 patent applications. Presently he is a co-founder and CSO/CTO of the spin-off company Trince.
