Functional biomaterials & nanomedicine

Our team has long experience in the design of biocompatible and biodegradable polymer self-assemblies as theranostic nanocarriers and drug delivery systems (DDS), especially polymersomes, for chemotherapeutic drugs (e.g. doxorubicin, paclitaxel…) or biomolecules (e.g.  siRNAs, peptides, enzymes…).

Our main original contributions concern:
-    biomimetic nanocarriers with high and specific targeting due to multivalency
-    smart nanocarriers with controlled release ability (e.g. light, temperature, magnetic field, pH, redox, metalloprotease,…)
-    nanocarriers including bioimaging modalities (visible or near-infrared fluorescence, MRI contrast agents…)

Through collaborations with biologists, pharmacists and physicians, we develop multidisciplinary approaches to tackle key challenges and fulfill clinical needs.

Moreover, recent developments of cellular therapies request new 3D scaffolds that are biocompatible, biodegradable, and that can direct cell differentiation into specific lineages. We are exploring the capability of our specifically designed and orthogonally functionalized elastin-like polypeptides (ELP) as bioactive and versatile platform to tackle challenges in biomaterials design for tissue engineering and bioprinting.