[bioundgrd] Fall 2015 UROP in Grodzinsky Lab

[Joyce Roberge]

Term: Fall 2015
MIT Faculty Supervisor Name: Dr. Alan Grodzinsky
MIT Faculty Supervisor Email: alg at mit.edu<mailto:alg at mit.edu>

Project Title: Evaluation of nanoparticles for drug delivery to cartilage

Project Description:
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis, affecting millions of people worldwide. The biggest challenge to treating OA is that cartilage (the affected tissue) does not have a blood supply, making it impossible to deliver drugs through intravenous or oral administration. Attempts have been made to administer drugs locally by injecting them into the joint space; but it has been found that these are rapidly cleared by the lymphatic system. Due to this large and frequent doses are required, which in turn can lead to adverse systemic side-effects.

Our lab is working in collaboration with the Hammond lab to develop polymeric nanoparticle carriers for drug delivery to the cartilage. The goal is to develop a system that will make the drug available to the cartilage at low doses for long periods of time without being cleared away by the lymphatics. In this specific project, a UROP will be working with a graduate student to study the uptake and transport properties of different nanoparticles in cartilage. For the nanoparticles that show sufficient uptake, in-vitro toxicity tests will be conducted. The techniques that will be used include harvesting primary cartilage cells, spectrofluorometry, diffusivity measurement, cell culture techniques, fluorescence microscopy, and possibly confocal microscopy. No prior experience in any of these techniques is necessary. This is an interdisciplinary project and we invite undergraduates from a wide variety of disciplines including, but not restricted to, Chemical Engineering, Biological Engineering, Biology, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering.

Contact Name: Yamini Krishnan
Contact Email:yamini_k at mit.edu<mailto:yamini_k at mit.edu>
Joyce Roberge
Undergraduate Program
Biology Education Office 68-120
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
31 Ames Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-253-4718
fax: 617-258-9329
email: roberge at mit.edu<mailto:roberge at mit.edu>



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