Séminaire

Mardi 29 Mai 2018 à 11h00.

Biomaterials in cancer therapeutics: nano and micro systems for pre-clinical studies

''In vitro models are useful tools for understanding many pathophysiological states, and are considered a gold standard for testing drug delivery strategies at the pre-clinical stage. Traditionally depicted as a monolayer of a single cell type, in vitro models should instead mimic the complex biological scenario: which is not flat (2D), but intricate and dynamic (3D, different cell types, dynamic). To better predict the efficacy of therapies it is necessary to re-think drug testing towards more relevant models: this could be achieved with the combination of 3D structures, (bio)materials and perfused cell culture systems. Tissue Engineering approaches can be applied to model tumours and their microenvironment in vitro, hence provide more precision to unravel molecular mechanisms, basic biological findings and drug delivery mechanism. The use of more relevant systems will help to bridge the gap between in vitro/in vivo models, and better predict the effective delivery of (chemo)therapies. During the seminar, a discussion on modelling systems at different length scales and on the use of imaging methods as predictive and non-invasive tool will be also discussed.''