Our Research
The BIGMED Lab develops therapeutic and imaging carriers for cancer treatment. Micro- and nanoparticles, along with their hybrid derivatives, serve as vectors for drug delivery and molecular imaging. By collaborating with clinicians, medical scientists, biologists and imaging professionals, we are translating leading-edge therapeutic approaches into clinical applications. Our current projects focus on leveraging multifunctional carriers and sophisticated diagnostic imaging techniques to drive breakthroughs in personalized cancer care.
Multifunctional Carriers for Cancer Therapy
We are developing advanced micro, nano and composite biomaterials for innovative cancer treatments. Our goal is to create well-engineered materials that introduce novel concepts in cancer therapeutics. We seek to combine these innovative biomaterials with image-guided medicine techniques. This research has the potential to significantly enhance cancer treatment and address the limitations of current methods.
Image-Guided Local Therapy — Interventional Radiology
Interventional radiology is responsible for all the image-guided procedures in clinical radiology and imaging sciences, playing a crucial role in patient care and treatment.
Our research in image-guided therapy spans basic bench work, in vivo studies, engineering and clinical applications. We combine multimodality tracking and navigation tools to improve accuracy and outcomes. Other areas of clinical activity include heat-activated targeted drug delivery, image-guided ablation (microwave or HIFU), percutaneous injection gene and bacterial therapy, serial biopsy, thrombolytic therapy and interventional oncology.
A promising emerging interventional technique is Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization (TACE), which can be combined with nanomedicine for clinical applications. TACE is a well-established treatment for HCC patients with intermediate-stage primary liver cancer, achieving high intra-tumoral concentrations of chemotherapy drugs. Traditional TACE methods use lipiodol (oil) mixed with chemotherapy drugs. Recent advancements include drug-eluting microspheres that offer improved imaging visibility, targeted tumor embolization and controlled drug release. Careful selection of drug carrier materials, chemotherapeutic drugs and fabrication methods will be critical for the translational optimization these new techniques. We are developing drug-eluting nanocomposite microspheres for transcatheter targeted HCC treatment. These minimally invasive, image-guided procedures promise fewer complications, faster recovery and reduced costs compared to traditional therapies.
Image-Guided Combinational Immunotherapy — Interventional Oncology & Immuno-Oncology
Our lab is developing multifunctional platforms designed to significantly enhance local therapy delivery and therapeutic efficiency. We are integrating an array of treatments — such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, thermal therapy, immunotherapy,and photodynamic therapy — with multimodal imaging components (MRI, CT, PET) into single, multifunctional carriers. Notably, our focus includes combining immune checkpoint inhibitor-based immunotherapy with these advanced carriers to target the unique immunogenic tumor microenvironment that persists after conventional treatments. We design unique MRI/CT contrast-enhanced carriers for targeted delivery of immune checkpoint inhibitors to affected areas post-treatment.
Multimodal Imaging-Guided Embolization for Regulating Tumor Microenvironment in Immuno-Oncology
Our goal is to develop advanced embolization strategy to achieve exact delivery of therapeutic agents to the target zone by utilizing multimodal imaging. We are leveraging multimodal embolization strategies to improve understanding of therapeutics diffusion and correlated outcomes. Our goal is to design advanced embolization materials that combine cancer-targeting cell-killing effects with tumor microenvironment modulators, achieving a synergistic approach to tumor eradication.
Nanoparticles & Medical Imaging
Multifunctional Imaging & Therapeutic Carriers
A combination of modern multi-functional nanocomposites with high performance in imaging and therapeutics may be critical to improve therapeutic outcomes. High doses of drugs can be loaded onto drug carriers in a reproducible manner for controlled elution over an extended period. Targeted delivery of multifunctional carriers should translate into reduced systemic therapeutic exposures. The development of multifunctional microsphere platforms with superior material properties should significantly improve treatment outcomes. There will be more opportunities for combining therapeutics such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, thermal therapy, immunotherapy and photodynamic therapies with multimodal (MRI/CT/PET) imaging components in a single multifunctional carrier.
Au Nanoparticles for Nanomedicine
Au nanoparticles are great of interests in biomedical applications. We reported a newly developed, simple and efficient synthesis of highly branched gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and their potential application for near infrared photothermal ablation therapy. While considered ideal for selective facilitation of photothermal ablation procedures, multiple-branched GNPs with dendritic morphology and primary and secondary branches are considered very difficult to produce. We have critically overcome these difficulties with a salient application of facially amphiphilic bile acids (steroid acids synthesized in hepatocytes). In our study, highly efficient photothermal properties of the gold nanostructure were demonstrated in both in vitro and in vivo settings. The deoxycholate bile acid directed synthesis of branched GNPs opens new possibilities for the design of novel materials with customized spectral and structural properties for broad application in nanoelectronics, medicine, ultra-sensitive chemical sensing (SERS), life science and optical devices.
Magnetic Nanoparticles Mediated Local Therapy
Magnetic nanoparticles are pivotal in developing multifunctional nanomedicine carriers due to their versatile properties. Our team is advancing the development of novel magnetic nanoparticles specifically for cancer treatment. A classical application of these nanoparticles is magnetic hyperthermia therapy, which utilizes an external AC magnetic field to target and heat specific cancer sites. This method ensures that only the cancer site undergoes a therapeutic temperature increase, minimizing impact on healthy tissue. But delivering hyperthermic thermoseeds to the precise tumor location with optimal heating and minimal side effects has remained a challenge. Our studies have demonstrated synthesizing and characterizing various magnetic nanoparticles for use as targeted hyperthermic thermoseeds.