Customized Polymeric Nanocontainers: Tailoring Membrane Properties for Targeted Biological Functions
CIC nanoGUNE Seminars
- Speaker
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Silvia Moreno
Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, Madrid - When
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2024/09/09
11:00 - Place
- CIC nanoGUNE Seminar room, Tolosa Hiribidea 76, Donostia-San Sebastian
- Host
- Mariana Medina
- Add to calendar
-
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In the field of next-generation therapeutics and synthetic biology, the development of nanoreservoirs that can replace biological functions, implement new cellular functions or even control therapeutic actions by nanocompartments communication has become of great interest. The goal is to implement a new type of modern therapy, nanoreservoirs that remain stable for a longer period, so that the therapeutic/diagnostic action can be carried out over a long-term by a pumping-like mechanism. This approach is the hope to treat cellular organelle failure, molecular communication, enzymatic lack in many current metabolic or genetic diseases with no cure and even to monitor cellular microenvironments in vivo.
For instance, smart polymeric vesicles (polymersomes) have extensively used in this field due to their high stability, their adaptive physicochemical properties, their easy surface modification, their asymmetric functionalization and their tuneable membrane permeability under different stimuli. In our research group, we have extensively used pH responsive and crosslinked polymeric vesicles involved in enzyme reactions. This contribution aims to show my vision and my previous most relevant studies to developing the challenging objective proposed above focused on the design of therapeutic nanoreactors as potential reservoirs capable of being activated by spatiotemporal control. Major issues will be addressed such as: (i) different possibilities of enzyme loading (post or in situ) into the nanocontainer depending on its application and substrate size-dependent; (ii) how small variations in the block polymer composition modulate its therapeutic function and membrane properties (adjusting therapeutic windows and communication features); (iii) a deep validation of the structural parameters and cellular-like functions using a combination of sophisticated characterization tools; (iv) enhancing the intrinsic properties and promoting synergistic effects of complex (micro)structures, such as medical microrobots, electrodes, and protocells, through advanced functionalization techniques.
References
1. Moreno, S*; Boye, S; Lederer, A; Falanga, A; Galdiero, S; Lecommandoux, S; Voit, B; Appelhans*, “Avidin Localizations in pH-Responsive Polymersomes for Probing the Docking of Biotinylated (Macro)molecules in the Membrane and Lumen” Biomacromolecules 2020, 21 (12), 5162-5172.
2. Moreno, S; Hübner, H; Effenberg, C; Boye, S; Ramuglia, A; Schmitt, D; Voit, B, Weidinger, I; Gallei, M*, Appelhans, D*, “Redox- and pH-Responsive Polymersomes with Ferrocene Moieties Exhibiting Peroxidase-Like, Chemo-Enzymatic Activity and H2O2-Responsive Release Behavior” Biomacromolecules 2022, 23, 11, 4655-4667.
3. Xu, X; Moreno, S*; Boye, S; Wang, P; Voit, B; Appelhans, D*, “Artificial organelles with digesting characteristics: Imitating simplified lysosome- and macrophage-like functions by trypsin-loaded polymersomes” Adv. Sci 2023, 10, 2207214.
4. Zhang, K; Moreno, S*; Wang, X; Zhou, Y; Boye, S, Voigt, D, Voit, B, Appelhans, D* “Biomimetic cell structures: Probing Induced pH-Feedback Loops and pH Self-Monitoring in Cytosol Using Binary Enzyme-loaded Polymersomes in Proteinosome” Biomacromolecules 2023, 24, 6, 2489–2500.
5. Wang, D; Moreno, S*; Gao, M; Guo, J; Xu, B; Voigt, D; Voit, B; Appelhans D* “Protocells Capable of Generating a Cytoskeleton-like Structure from Intracellular Membrane-active Artificial Organelles” Adv. Funct. Mater 2023, 33, 2306904.
About the speaker
Silvia Moreno is a young scientist passionately exploring the frontiers of macromolecular chemistry, nanotechnology, inorganic chemistry and material science. Her academic journey started with obtaining her PhD in Chemistry at University of Alcalá (UAH) in 2016, earned through a competitive pre-doctoral contract, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Rafael Gómez (UAH) and Dr. Mª Ángeles Muñoz-Fernández (Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, HGUGM). Her dissertation was an interdisciplinary collaboration between UAH and HGUGM, focusing on the innovative design of various dendritic systems for biomedical applications.
Following her PhD, Silvia undertook a post-doctoral fellowship at the Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research in Dresden (IPF) in the group of Dr. Appelhans, made possible by a grant from the Alfonso Martín Escudero Foundation. She then advanced to an independent young scientist position at the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry under the mentorship of Prof. Brigitte Voit, a role she held until October 2023. During this period, she developed a keen interest in (multi)compartmentalization concept, biomimetics and synthetic biology. She made significant contributions by developing new cell-like functions, constructing complex cell-like structures, and conducting intricate characterizations.
In November 2023, Silvia joined UAH as a Beatriz Galindo Distinguished Researcher. Recently, she secured a talent attraction contract from the Comunidad de Madrid "Cesar Nombela" (tenure track position), which allows her to develop new research lines independently and apply for competitive funding.
Her current research focuses on developing multifunctional polymeric vesicles to regulate and monitor biological processes in various dysfunctional intracellular microenvironments, aiming to prevent cellular damage. Silvia's academic career is marked by high mobility (Spain, Germany, Russia, France) and participation in highly competitive national and international projects, which have enabled her to build a robust network of international collaborations. She has published several papers in reputed journals and presented her findings at international conferences, earning recognition for her innovative approach to solving complex problems. Her goal is to lead a research team dedicated to harnessing the power of nanotechnology in modern medicine by combining the inorganic chemistry with polymer science and to address global challenges.