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UID:12043345-8119-4f6b-a2e7-06ad63fe8b3e
DTSTAMP:20261028T122427Z
SUMMARY:Engineering of graphene oxide-based hybrids as platforms for gliobl
 astoma therapy
DESCRIPTION:<p style="text-align: left\;">IN-PERSON DEFENCE: Register<stron
 g>&nbsp\;<a href="https://forms.office.com/e/sxVH10F3sj">HERE</a></strong>
 <a href="https://forms.office.com/e/sxVH10F3sj"><strong>&nbsp\;</strong></
 a>to attend!</p>\n<p>PhD Student<strong>: <span data-olk-copy-source="Mess
 ageBody">Despoina Despotopoulou</span></strong></p>\n<p>Directors:<strong>
 &nbsp\;Prof. Kostas Kostarelos</strong><span data-teams="true">\, Group Le
 ader and <strong>Dr. Neus Lozano</strong>\, Senior Researcher</span>&nbsp\
 ;at the&nbsp\;<a href="/en/nanomedicine-lab">Nanomedicine</a>&nbsp\;Lab at
  ICN2</p>\n<p style="text-align: justify\;"><strong>Short Abstract:&nbsp\;
 </strong>Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most lethal cancers\, with high 
 recurrence rates after surgery. There is an urgent need for new approaches
  that can effectively target residual tumor cells and modulate the immune 
 environment at the tumor site. This thesis investigates the use of medical
 -grade graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets as a platform for localized immunoth
 erapy. Owing to their high surface area\, and biocompatibility\, GO nanosh
 eets present a promising vehicle for medical use.</p>\n<div style="text-al
 ign: justify\;">\n<div>The first part of the thesis focuses on combining G
 O nanosheets with resiquimod (R848)\, a TLR7/8 agonist known to stimulate 
 immune responses. These GO:R848 complexes remained stable and retained the
  bioactivity of R848\, leading to tumor growth inhibition in preclinical G
 BM models by modulating the tumor’s microenvironment. Building on this\,
  a nanovaccine was developed by loading tumor cell lysates onto GO:R848 co
 nstructs\, enabling the co-delivery of tumor antigens and immune-stimulati
 ng molecules. These systems demonstrated strong physicochemical stability 
 and showed promise for anti-tumor immune response.</div>\n</div>\n<div sty
 le="text-align: justify\;">\n<div>The thesis also investigates localized d
 elivery strategies to maintain presence of GO nanosheets at the resection 
 site after surgery. FDA-approved fibrin gels were tested as sealants to re
 tain GO within the surgical cavity\, and effectively prevented washout\, o
 ffering a simple method for localized retention.</div>\n</div>\n<div style
 ="text-align: justify\;">\n<div>Finally\, to improve tissue interaction\, 
 GO nanosheets were modified with surface coatings to improve their ability
  to diffuse and adhere within brain tissue. These engineered constructs\, 
 tested in brain-mimicking models\, achieved improved distribution and rete
 ntion\, particularly when applied using sprayable techniques.</div>\n</div
 >\n<div>\n<div style="text-align: justify\;">Overall\, this thesis present
 s versatile strategies to improve localized immunotherapy for GBM using en
 gineered GO nanosheet platforms\, with the goal of enhancing post-surgical
  treatment outcomes.</div>\n</div>
DTSTART:20250904T080000
DTEND:20250904T215959
LOCATION:ICN2 Seminar Hall\, ICN2 Building\, Campus UAB
CATEGORIES:ICN2 Theses Defence
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