Dr. Rachit Agarwal, Georgia Institute of Technology

"Engineering Micro- and Nano-carriers for Treatment of Inflammatory Diseases and Antibiotic Resistant Infections"

With advancements in the field of drug discovery, biologists and chemists are rapidly creating a large array of drugs such as anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial drugs that can potentially be highly effective for treatment of complex diseases such as osteoarthritis and lung infections. However, these advancements have not translated into clinical success primarily due to our inability to efficiently deliver drugs, contrast agents and biologics to target sites. Polymeric micro- and nano-carriers have emerged as a promising solution for the targeted delivery of active drugs. In this talk, I will describe the use nanocarriers for delivery of specialized pro-resolution mediators (SPMs) such as resolvins, to resolve inflammation in Osteoarthritis and promote homeostasis. I have shown that SPMs nanocarrier delivery to rat medial meniscus transection (MMT) model of post-traumatic arthritis reduce cartilage damage. Another major application that I will discuss is the delivery of antimicrobials via polymeric microcarriers to treat antibiotic resistant lung infections where conventional delivery of antibiotics is proving ineffective. Such infections are on the rise and there is an urgent need to develop alternative antimicrobial treatments. Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that specifically infect and kill certain species of bacteria. The use of phages to reduce infections has significant therapeutic potential however; their delivery to deep lung tissue is limited due to their size. I have engineered size and aerodynamic properties of polymeric particles to deliver phages deep in lungs via dry powder inhalation to treat bacterial infections.

Bio:

Rachit Agarwal completed his schooling in India and pursued engineering at Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India. Rachit graduated with honors with a dual degree, Bachelor and Master of Technology in Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering in 2009. He finished his doctoral studies in 2009 at The University of Texas at Austin and worked on shape-specific particles for drug delivery applications under Dr. Krishnendu Roy. Rachit is currently pursuing his post-doctoral studies under Dr. Andres Garcia at Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. His current work focuses on use of biomaterials based nano and microparticles for tissue engineering applications such as Osteoarthritis and developing innovative solutions to emerging diseases such as antibiotic resistant bacterial infections. The results of his work have been presented in many international conferences and peer reviewed journals.