There has been phenomenal growth in next-generation medicine spurred in part by nanotechnology, according to Dr. M.N.V. Ravi Kumar, The University of Alabama Distinguished University Research Professor for Bioscience and Medicine in the College of Community Health Sciences.
Nanotechnology is appealing because it allows researchers to “develop the next generation of oral delivery technologies,” Kumar said during a Mini Medical School presentation in January. Mini Medical School is a series of lectures provided each semester through a collaboration of UA’s OLLI program and CCHS.
Combining nanotechnology with drugs or diagnostic molecules can improve the ability to target specific cells or tissues. These materials are produced on a nanoscale level and are safe to introduce into the body. In medicine, nanotechnology can be applied to imaging, diagnosis or the delivery of drugs that will help medical professionals treat various diseases.
Kumar said a rational drug-delivery system design uses what he referred to as a 4D approach: drug, destination, delivery and disease.
Kumar was the first to propose and demonstrate non-competitive active targeting nanosystems and their application to human health and diseases, including lupus and intraocular inflammation. His work on next generation nanosystems had advanced fundamental understanding of blood-GUT and other biological barriers.
He said the body can have barriers to receiving drugs, including neurological, pulmonary, immunological, placental, lymphatic, renal, gastrointestinal and cellular. “Depending on how this enters your body, it will take different time.”
Kumar is also the founding director of UA’s Center for Convergent Bioscience and Medicine. The center and its researchers work to develop novel therapies for immune-inflammatory diseases by adopting an integrated approach to combining innovative drug delivery strategies with new drug-discovery and drug-repurposing.
The Mini Medical School program has been presented by CCHS faculty since 2016. It provides an opportunity for community learners to explore trends in medicine and health, and the lectures offer important information about issues and advances in medicine and research.