User:Prof. Dr.

I am a new member of OpenWetWare!

Contact Info

Prof. Dr. (an artistic interpretation)

• Prof. Dr. Abdel Omri
• Laurentian University

Director of Drug and Vaccine Delivery Systems Facility Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Laurentian University 935 Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, P3E 2C6

Education

• Year, PhD, Institute
• Year, MS, Institute
• Year, BS, Institute

Research interests

Lipid-Based Drug & Vaccine Delivery Systems Liposomes are one of the most versatile biochemical tools. They are microscopic, spherical closed vesicles composed of one or more lipid bilayer that form when phospholipids are hydrated. Hydrophilic molecules can be incorporated into the aqueous compartment and lipophilic molecules can be encapsulated in the lipid bilayers. Liposomes by themselves are considered nonimmunogenic, biodegradable and nontoxic. They have been utilized in numerous biomedical applications including gene therapy, for delivery of drugs and vaccines, cancer imaging agents and cosmetics. Liposomes have the capability to incorporate selected bioactive biologicals and adjuvant molecules and potentiate their efficacy and minimize their toxicity. They do this by beneficially altering the biodistribution and pharmacokinetics of the molecule in the body following its administra-tion through various routes of delivery.

My research program is centered on the design, formulation, development and characterization of drug and vaccine delivery systems; particularly those based on liposomes. A special focus on the site-specific targeting controlled release, drug resistance, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, metabolism and toxicity of free and liposome-encapsulated biological active agents.

Liposomal Delivery of Antisense Oligonucleotides Effect on P-glycoprotein function in multidrug resistant cells in vitro and in vivo studies. Cationic liposome formulations are used to promote the penetration of antisense oligonucleotides into the cell membrane and protect them from enzymatic degradation (nucleases).

Liposomal Formulations of Drugs and Vaccines for Oral Administration Liposomes are used to protect the encapsulated agents from the harsh gastrointestinal milieu (low pH, phospholipases, and bile salts) and to enhance their absorption to the systemic circulation and to increase the efficacy of these agents while minimizing their frequency of administration. Special liposomal formulation will be prepared, characterized and assayed for their efficacy in vitro and in animal models.

Liposomal Delivery of Antimicrobial Agents toward Resistant Bacteria Pulmonary and systemic infections. Construction of liposomes with high encapsulation efficiency, favorable antimicrobial release profile and enhanced bactericidal activity, to overcome the problem of bacterial resistance caused by low permeability of the bacterial cell envelope and by production of antimicrobial-inactivating enzymes.

Liposomal Delivery of Antioxidants and Oxidative Stress The production of novel antioxidant carriers with increased retention profile and enhanced cellular uptake. The formulations examined in vitro protect hepatocytes from reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced injury and have increased biodistribution and pharmacokinetics in healthy rodent models.

Publications

<biblio> PMID: 23147741 PMID: 22661572 PMID: 21815782 PMID: 21718282 PMID: 21615215 PMID: 21164564 PMID: 20633629 PMID: 20159770 PMID: 19863166 PMID: 19831502 PMID: 19685105 PMID: 19684886 PMID: 19621992 PMID: 19479000 PMID: 19465435 PMID: 19429299 PMID: 18931388

Useful links

• Introductory tutorial
• OpenWetWare help pages