ORCID Identifier(s)

https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6509-972X

Graduation Semester and Year

Fall 2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering

Department

Bioengineering

First Advisor

Dr Kytai Nguyen

Second Advisor

Dr Juhyun Lee

Third Advisor

Dr Maham Rahimi

Fourth Advisor

Dr Liping Tang

Fifth Advisor

Dr Hao Xu

Abstract

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) poses significant challenges due to arterial occlusions in the lower extremities, leading to acute ischemia and high morbidity and mortality rates. Current treatments such as stem cell therapy and surgical revascularization have limitations, including poor cell protection under hypoxia and long-time recovery in elderly patients. Advancing alternative therapies such as cell membrane-coated nanoparticles holds promise for targeted drug delivery by mimicking native environments to enhance treatment efficacy while minimizing systemic clearance and foreign reactions. These innovative strategies aim to optimize outcomes by prioritizing patient-centered approaches tailored to individual needs and preferences.

Towards that end, our long-term goal was to develop novel engineered pericyte membrane-coated nanoparticles (NPs) for targeted drug delivery to treat PAD. These nanoparticles, named TPM-DNPs, have a core made of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and are loaded with Erythropoietin (Epo) protein. The core was further coated with membranes of cells engineered to express molecules binding with Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 alpha receptor (anti-ICAM1) to specifically achieve targeting and local delivery of payloads (therapeutic agents) and to establish Endothelial Cell (EC)-Pericyte interactions at the diseased sites, thereby promoting stemness, cell protection, proliferation, and angiogenesis for PAD treatment.

Keywords

ICAM1, Epo, membrane, Engineered membrane, targeted

Disciplines

Biological Engineering | Biomaterials | Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering | Engineering | Other Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering

License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Available for download on Saturday, December 12, 2026

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