演講快訊

2024
12.23

Multivalency Principle in Glycobiology and Its Application in Targeted Drug Delivery

Prof. Hung-Jen Wu

時間:2024年12月23日 (一) 14:30
主持人:詹正雄 教授
講者:Prof. Hung-Jen Wu
服務單位:Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering Texas A&M University
講題:Multivalency Principle in Glycobiology and Its Application in Targeted Drug Delivery
地點:4樓創意講堂

摘要 :

Most proteins bind to glycans on cell surfaces via multivalent interactions. Due to the fluidic nature of cell membranes, glycans attached to lipids (glycolipids) or proteins (glycoproteins) on cell membranes can freely diffuse on the two-dimensional surface, eventually leading to multivalent interactions. Reduced dimensionality of glycan-protein reactions assists weakly binding ligands to participate in protein binding processes, even though the affinities of these minor ligands are almost undetectable in conventional assays. We have discovered that the cells probably use the membrane fluidity and minor ligands to control the protein-glycan binding behaviors and regulate the downstream biochemical reactions. Based on our new discovery of the multivalency principle, we developed a novel strategy of targeted drug delivery for combating drug-resistance pathogens. Our new drug delivery system significantly improved the survival rates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infected mice.

學經歷 :

Dr. Wu received his B.S. (1998) and M.S. (2000) in Chemical Engineering from the National Cheng-Kung University, Taiwan. He received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2006, working on developing advanced microscopy techniques to explore weak molecular interactions. (advisor: Prof. M. A. Bevan) From 2007 to 2011, he worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. (advisor: Prof. J. T. Groves) During the postdoctoral training, he focused on studying the properties of biological membrane. Between 2011 and 2013, Dr. Hung-Jen Wu was appointed as a Research Associate in the Nanomedicine Department at the Houston Methodist Research Institute, and was involved in developing diagnostic tools for infectious diseases. Dr. Wu joined the Chemical Engineering department at Texas A&M University in 2013, and currently serves as the Director of Graduate Studies in the Chemical Engineering department. Dr. Wu’s research primarily focuses on the development of biosensors and their applications in glycobiology, infectious diseases, and forensic science.