OXFORD, Mississippi – Professors from the University of Mississippi discuss effective drug delivery at the first Oxford Science Cafe in the fall semester.

The talk is scheduled for Tuesday (September 20) at 6:00 pm at Heartbreak Coffee’s downtown location. The event will also be streamed via Zoom.

Eden Tanner, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, discusses “Hitching Vehicles for Effective Drug Delivery.”

Chemistry professor Eden Tanner, who studies ways to improve the delivery of drugs to where they are needed in the body, will discuss her research at the Oxford Science Cafe early in the fall.Posted photo

“Imagine if only 1% of your text messages were sent to the right person,” says Tanner. “This is the reality of almost all nanoparticles used in drug delivery, especially cancer therapy.

“At this rate, you would have to administer a trillion nanoparticles to someone to see the effect, which is neither practical nor healthy for humans.”

Tanner’s lab uses materials called ionic liquids (salts that are liquid at room temperature) as nanoparticle GPS, allowing them to reach exactly where they need to be in the body.

“Ionic liquids are selectively attracted to different types of blood components, such as red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets,” she said. You can let it go.”

Tanner’s 40-minute talk also explains how about half the particles ride red blood cells to reach the brain.

“This has the potential to revolutionize medicine by enabling the effective and selective delivery of drugs to treat brain tumors, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and many other diseases.

Science Cafe coordinator Lorena Magana Zertuche said Tanner’s presentation was timely.

“I can’t wait to hear more about this new drug delivery method that Dr. Eden Tanner is using in her research,” she said.

To view the Oxford Science Cafe, please visit https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/99989536748. Links to recorded talks and more information about the monthly series are posted at https://www.phy.olemiss.edu/oxfordsciencecafe/.