TOPIC： Understanding and Overcoming Biological Barriers: from Cell Membrane to Mucosal Layer
SPEAKER： Dr. Jiaqi Lin, Departments of Chemical, Biological and Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
TIME：APRIL 21 (Thursday) AM10:00 
LOCATION： Room 528, Chemistry Building A (化学A楼528演讲厅)
INVITER： Prof.Xinyun Zhu (朱新远教授)
 

Abstract: Biological barriers protect life from hostile environments, while they also present challenges for oral and intravenous drug delivery. Understanding the behavior of biological barriers is key to develop drug carriers that can safely and efficiently bypass cellular and tissue barriers to reach designated targets. First I will talk about a ubiquitous cellular barrier: Cell membranes. I will give an in-depth look at membrane barrier functions in biological environments and how nanoparticles and peptides can overcome cell membranes for intracellular delivery. In the second part I will talk about the mucosal barriers that protect our gastrointestinal tract from the hostile digesting fluid. I will focus on a natural polymer, mucin, that forms the viscous mucosal layer, and explain how mucin molecular structure affect the integrity and supramolecular dynamics of the mucosal layer.

Biography: Dr. Lin is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Langer lab in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Lin did his undergrad at Beihang University, he then joined a graduate program at Dalian University of Technology and earned his PhD in biomedical engineering. After graduation, Dr. Lin went to MIT to continue his research on nano-bio interface in a theoretical group at the Department of Material Science and Engineering. After two years, Dr. Lin then joined the Langer lab to conduct new research on natural polymers.