Nicholas A. Peppas

Biography

Our research contributions have been in several areas of drug delivery, biomaterials, biomolecular engineering, mass transfer, kinetics and reaction engineering, polymers and biomedical engineering. The multidisciplinary approach of thiis research in biomolecular engineering blends modern molecular and cellular biology with engineering to generate next-generation systems and devices, including bioMEMS with enhanced applicability, reliability, functionality, and longevity. The fundamental studies of his group have provided valuable results on biomaterials design and development. Our group is known for our work on the preparation, characterization and evaluation of the behavior of compatible, cross linked polymers known as hydrogels, which have been used as biocompatible materials and in controlled release devices, especially in controlled delivery of drugs, peptides and proteins, development of novel biomaterials, biomedical transport phenomena, and biointerfacial problems. This work has led to a series of novel controlled release systems known as swelling controlled release systems, a series of pH-sensitive devices for drug delivery and a wide range of bio- and mucoadhesive systems. They include novel systems for insulin delivery to treat Type 1 diabetic patients, calcitonin delivery for osteoporosis treatment, growth hormone delivery, delivery of siRNA for treatment of Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and celiac disease, treatment of hemophilia by oral Factor IX delivery, new systems for interferon beta delivery for multiple sclerosis treatment, etc. Other biomedical work of his group had dealt with understanding of transport of biological compounds in tissues, analysis of polymer/tissue interactions, understanding of the behavior of biomembranes, and intelligent, recognitive systems for protein delivery. Our research contributions have been in several areas of drug delivery, biomaterials, biomolecular engineering, mass transfer, kinetics and reaction engineering, polymers and biomedical engineering. The multidisciplinary approach of thiis research in biomolecular engineering blends modern molecular and cellular biology with engineering to generate next-generation systems and devices, including bioMEMS with enhanced applicability, reliability, functionality, and longevity. The fundamental studies of his group have provided valuable results on biomaterials design and development. Our group is known for our work on the preparation, characterization and evaluation of the behavior of compatible, cross linked polymers known as hydrogels, which have been used as biocompatible materials and in controlled release devices, especially in controlled delivery of drugs, peptides and proteins, development of novel biomaterials, biomedical transport phenomena, and biointerfacial problems. This work has led to a series of novel controlled release systems known as swelling controlled release systems, a series of pH-sensitive devices for drug delivery and a wide range of bio- and mucoadhesive systems. They include novel systems for insulin delivery to treat Type 1 diabetic patients, calcitonin delivery for osteoporosis treatment, growth hormone delivery, delivery of siRNA for treatment of Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and celiac disease, treatment of hemophilia by oral Factor IX delivery, new systems for interferon beta delivery for multiple sclerosis treatment, etc. Other biomedical work of his group had dealt with understanding of transport of biological compounds in tissues, analysis of polymer/tissue interactions, understanding of the behavior of biomembranes, and intelligent, recognitive systems for protein delivery.

Research Interest

Cellular and Biomolecular Engineering, Controlled drug delivery; Biomedical engineering; Biomaterials; Tissue engineering; Molecular modeling of protein structures in contact with biomaterials and tissues; Modeling of biomedical devices; Bionanotechnology; Molecular recognition processes; Polymer physics; Polymerization reaction engineering; Diffusion in polymers.