Local drug delivery in cartilage and disc degeneration
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 ex vivo and in vivo models, the latter ranging from rats 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/Linkedin | Additional info |
Yeter Dilek | PhD student | Small molecule delivery targeting degeneration and pain in IVD | |
Kelly Warmink | Postdoc | Nanogel-mediated miRNA delivery in osteoarthritis | |
Adriano Pontes | PhD student (20Med) | Nanogel-mediated nucleic acid delivery in cartilage and IVD degeneration | |
Liru Wen | PhD student | Ex vivo bioreactor osteoarthritis models | |
Daniele Zuncheddu | PhD student | Ex vivo bioreactor intervertebral disc degeneration models |