Scientific Context of the Project

Polymeric and inorganic nanomaterials are at the forefront of advances in targeted drug delivery, and can address many of the health issues facing mankind. Nanosized delivery agents composed of judiciously chosen polymers either alone or in combination with an inorganic nanoparticle core can be engineered to selectively target the disease sites and deliver the cytotoxic agents selectively. Carbohydrates and lipids are basic building blocks of many of the functional biomolecules in our body. Their innate non-toxicity and selective interaction with cells inspire the design of drug delivery vehicles in this project. In particular, the project will involve design and synthesis of polymers containing sugar and lipid group to fabricate a variety of delivery platforms such as polymeric nanoparticles and nanogels. Polymers containing sugar and lipid building blocks will also be combined with magnetic nanoparticles to design theranostic agents.

Innovative Aspects of the Project

Novel sugar and lipid containing polymeric materials will be developed to find the best carrier for targeted delivery of therapeutic agents to cancer cells. A modular synthetic approach to enable a plug-and-play drug delivery vehicles tailored for targeting different types of cancer will be established. Underlying aim is utilization of natural building blocks like sugars and lipids would afford a highly biocompatible carrier.  

Research Environment and Infrastructure

Boğaziçi University one of the top public universities in Turkey. It has excellent research facilities to conduct cutting-edge projects. The department has access to two 400 MHz NMR Spectrometer, FTIR Spectrometer, UV-Vis Spectrometer, Medium Pressure Flash Chromatography, Size Exclusion Chromatography (GPC), Fluorescence/Confocal Microscope, Transmission Electron Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy. Easy, walk-in access to all these instruments to the researcher will make smooth execution of project and enable training (https://sanyalgroup.boun.edu.tr/).

Preferred Academic Background

Chemistry, Pharmacy, Polymer Science

Required GRE Score

GRE Quantitative 156.00