SEMINAR Department of Biomedical Engineering Bio-inspired and Bio-mimetic Systems for Targeted Drug Delivery Monday, April 13 1034 Emerging Technologies Building 9:10 a.m. Polymeric particle drug delivery systems are widely explored to improve the biological outcome of encapsulated drugs for therapeutic effects. However, nearly all synthetic materials, polymeric particles included, suffer from limited abilities in vivo. Poor vascular circulation, limited targeting and the inability to negotiate many biological barriers have prevented the overwhelming majority of particulate drug delivery systems from entering the clinic. To further complicate the matter, the above requisites must be performed simultaneously while also limiting toxic effects to the patient. Mother Nature has provided us with many examples of successful carriers of her own in the form of circulatory cells. To improve the delivery abilities of synthetic carriers we have developed blood-cell inspired systems that aim to mimic certain abilities of erythrocytes (red blood cells), leukocytes (including monocytes) and thrombocytes (platelets). I will provide an overview of these strategies with respect to their capabilities and advantages. Samir Mitragotri, Ph.D. Professor Department of Chemical Engineering University of California, Santa Barbara Samir Mitragotri Dr. Mitragotri is professor of chemical engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). He also serves as founding director of UCSB’s Center for Bioengineering. He received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1996 and B.S. from the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai in 1992. Dr. Mitragotri’s research interests are in the field of drug delivery and biomaterials. His research has advanced fundamental understanding of transport processes in biological systems and led to the development of new materials and technologies for diagnosis and treatment of various ailments including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and infectious diseases. Dr. Mitragotri has published ~ 200 publications in scientific journals and given more than 250 invited lectures in various conferences around the world. He is an inventor on ~100 pending or issued patents, and his work is highly cited (~15,000 citations). Dr. Mitragotri has received a number of awards including the American Institute of Chemical Engineering’s Allan P. Colburn award, Controlled Release Society’s Young Investigator award and the Technology Review Young Inventor award for technological innovation. Dr. Mitragotri is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, an elected fellow of the American Association of Advancement of Science, the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, the National Academy of Inventors, and the Controlled Release Society.