Interdisciplinary Initiatives Program Round 8 - 2016

Eric S. G. Shaqfeh, Chemical Engineering
Gianluca Iaccarino, Mechanical Engineering
Bryan Smith, Radiology
Nicholas Melosh, Materials Science & Engineering

We propose an interdisciplinary investigation to demonstrate the ability of several clinically important diagnostic and therapeutic agents to target cancer. These agents have the potential to revolutionize cancer imaging and therapy, but they need to effectively target the disease site. The collaborators believe that this is primarily a physical process that can be modeled using computer simulations. Thus, this collaboration includes experts in highly sophisticated computer physics simulations of nanoparticle transport paired with experts in nanotechnology and imaging. Our collaboration will validate that computer simulations can indeed predict the behavior of nanoparticle agents in a model of blood vessels – i.e. a model created using microfluidic technology. The potential impact of this work is the ultimate use of computer simulations to design the appropriate nanoparticles for an individual to best treat or visualize his/her tumor. This would substantially decrease the pain and costs associated with failed treatments for cancer patients.