Robert Russum

Robert Russum

Biography

Robert Russum Jr. is a rising senior Chemical Engineering major and German minor from San Antonio, Texas, attending Howard University. As a military brat, Robert has had the opportunity to immerse himself in a variety of cultures, and has first hand exposure to the value of diversity and novel perspectives. At Howard, Robert is a member of the highly selective Karsh STEM Scholars Program, and has not only excelled in the classroom by maintaining a 4.0 GPA , he has also invested in his professional development by securing three summer research internships at UT Austin, Caltech, and MIT. Robert is passionate about uplifting people; at his campus he has served as a Teaching Assistant and as Treasurer of his StudentCouncil to mentor and provide community to students. He aspires to attain a PhD to pursue a career dedicated to improving diversity in STEM and advancing society.

Abstract

Production of Layered Nanoparticles via a Microfluidics-Based Approach

Lipid-based nanoparticles have proven to be a versatile platform for the delivery of various therapeutics into patients. Surface modification of these particles through the layer-by-layer technique (LbL) has enhanced their capabilities as targeted drug delivery vehicles. By coating the outer layer of LNPs with certain polyanions, they can be tuned to preferentially target specific cells in vivo by exploiting particle-cell surface interactions. Effective targeting for drug delivery is especially useful for cancer therapy applications because the therapeutics involved are often highly toxic and/or inflammatory, making it desirable for the effects to be localized to the tumor microenvironment. Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are one class of nanocarrier have already been successfully used in preclinical models for tumor and immune cell targeting, improved pharmacokinetics, and controlling cellular trafficking and uptake mechanisms. One current limitation of the translation of LNP therapies from the lab to the clinic is scaling up the production of particles. Microfluidic mixing, a preexisting method of
LNP production, has greatly contributed to the acceleration of their synthesis. However, in the case of a layered system, the overall process is slowed because the layering must happen subsequently. Combining the layering and initial into a one-step synthesis would serve to greatly streamline and potential cheapen the LNP production process. Recent work has shown that microfluidics has been successfully used to create layered liposomal nanoparticles in a single step while maintaining their efficacy both in vitro and in vivo. LNPs, a similar family of particles, should be able to follow this precedent. My project works toward streamlining the translation of more advanced LNPs from the laboratory to the clinical setting by improving the logistics of their synthesis process.