Nyhetsbrev 02/2024 Newsletter |
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Pharmaceutical Sciences Laboratory, Åbo Akademi |
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Året är i full gång och vi är entusiastiska över att dela med oss de senaste nyheterna och framsteg i vårt första nyhetsbrev för 2024. Vi ser fram emot ett spännande år tillsammans! The year is in full swing, and we are thrilled to share the latest news and progress in our first newsletter of 2024. We look forward to an exciting year ahead! Trevlig läsning! | Happy reading! |
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Innehåll | Table of Contents |
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Studentnytt Nyheter Kommande evenemang Hälsningar från möten Nya PSL-medlemmar Projekt/finansiering Nya publikationer
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Student news News Upcoming events Greetings from meetings New PSL members Projects/financing New publications
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Studentnytt | Student news |
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BioMed Networking Event for Young Researchers 18.1.2024On January 18th, the Biomaterials and Medical Devices Research Program (BioMed) at Åbo Akademi University and the University of Turku has been buzzing with were highly buzzed at the BioMed Networking Event organized by our PhD student Oliver Koivisto held at the Arje Scheinin Auditorium, Dentalia. The afternoon brought together researchers, postdocs, and PhD students with enlightening talks, discussions, and the chance for networking afterward. The event started with welcome remarks from Directors Chunlin Xu and Sufyan Garoushi, followed by an enlightening overview of Turku Bioscience Centre Technologies and a short introduction to Zebrafish Core by Ilkka Paatero. A key highlight was the Group Presentations segment, where research groups showcased their current projects and research focuses, offering a glimpse into the diverse and dynamic research activities within the BioMed community. We are also glad to announce that Professor Hongbo Zhang has been chosen as the new director of the BioMed program! Appointing him as a new director for the program is one of the many milestones, and we trust in him and that BioMed will soon come out strong in heading for another academic and research achievement. We extend our warmest congratulations to Hongbo Zhang on his new role and express our deepest gratitude to all participants for making the BioMed Networking Event a resounding success. Keep supporting one another and pressing on with the innovative research we are characterized by as a community.". |
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Opopäivät Rovaniemi 8.-10.2.2024 De nationella studiehandledardagarna ”Opopäivät” ordnades i Rovaniemi 8.-10.2.2024. ÅA Farmaci deltog (virtuellt) tillsammans med Apotekarförbundet (Apteekkariliitto), Farmaceutiska fakulteten vid Helsingfors universitet samt Farmacin vid Itä-Suomen yliopisto i Kuopio. I samband med detta, tog Apotekarförbundet tillsammans med Finlands Farmaciförbund (Farmasialiitto) snabbt fram en broschyr och en hemsida med syfte att ge information till både lärare och elever/studenter. På hemsidan finns också en broschyr som kan laddas ner om man vill. Denna broschyr delades ut på infodagarna. Vi ämnar även se till att samma information som finns på webbplatsen även kommer att finnas tillgänglig på svenska så fort som möjligt. Du kan besöka den här: https://www.farmasialiitto.fi/farmasia-ammatiksi/ The national study guidance days, "Opopäivät," were organized in Rovaniemi from February 8th to 10th, 2024. ÅA Pharmacy participated (virtually) together with the Association of Finnish Pharmacies (Apteekkariliitto), the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Helsinki, and the School of Pharmacy at the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio. In conjunction to this, the Association of Finnish Pharmacies and the Finnish Pharmacists' Association (Farmasialiitto) quickly produced a brochure and a website to provide information to teachers and students about Pharmacy as a profession. The website also includes a brochure that can be downloaded if desired. This brochure was distributed during the “Opopäivät” days. We also intend to ensure that the same information on the website will be available in Swedish as soon as possible. You can visit it here: https://www.farmasialiitto.fi/farmasia-ammatiksi/ |
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Chinese New Year celebration 10.2. We celebrated Chinese new years day by seriously overdosing on food, whereby Hongbo had arranged that the new restaurant in Hansa Food Court Buru Teppanyaki and the adjoining Itsudemo Sushi both were available for the 26 hungry PSL researchers (along with Melissa, Eva, and Sten) that joined in. We enjoyed everything from hotpot and noodles to regular and sushi buffets along with a wide selection of desserts. Happy year of the dragon! |
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Kommande evenemang | Upcoming events |
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Professor Inauguration Ceremony at Åbo Akademi University |
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We are excited to share the news of Professor Hongbo Zhang from the Faculty of Science and Engineering as one of three professors being inaugurated on Friday, 22 March 2024, at 2:15 PM in the Ceremonial Hall of the Old Academic Building (Rothoviusgatan 1). Professor Hongbo Zhang's pioneering work has significantly advanced his field, and his inauguration represents our commitment to fostering groundbreaking research and scholarly excellence. We are also honored to welcome Professors Taru Leppänen and Cecilia Nahnfeldt from the Faculty of Arts, Psychology, and Theology, whose scholarly pursuits enrich our academic community in diverse and meaningful ways. The event is a significant celebration of the innovative contributions and academic achievements at Åbo Akademi University, marking the arrival of distinguished scholars in the faculties of Arts, Psychology and Theology, as well as Science and Engineering. The doors will open at 1:30 PM, and guests are kindly asked to take their seats by 2:00 PM. The inaugural speeches will be presented in Swedish, and the event is open to the public. Those interested in being part of this significant event are encouraged to register here. Please note that registration closes on Monday, 18 March 2024, at 11:59 PM. It's important to note that registrations will close on Monday, 18 March 2024, at 11:59 PM. Additional information regarding the program and the subjects of the initial lectures will be available on our website before the ceremony. |
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Jiaqi Yan disputerar / thesis defense Den 15.3. disputerar M.Sc. Jiaqi Yan sin doktorsavhandling i läkemedelsutveckling med titeln "Preicision Therapeutics: Harnessing Receptor-targeted and Dynamic DNA Nanotechnology." Professor Mauri Kostiainen från Aalto Universitet, Finland, är opponent, och Professor Hongbo Zhang från Åbo Akademi, är kustos. Ni är välkomna att delta i den offentliga disputationen på nätet, länken publiceras här en vecka före disputationen. VÄLKOMNA!!! On 15.3. M.Sc. Jiaqi Yan will publicly defend his doctoral thesis in Drug Development with a thesis entitled "Precision Therapeutics: Harnessing Receptor-targeted and Dynamic DNA Nanotechnology." Professor Mauri Kostiainen, Aalto University, Finland, will serve as opponent, and Professor Hongbo Zhang, Åbo Akademi University, as custos. You are welcome to attend the public defence of this doctoral thesis online, the link will be published here one week before the defence. WELCOME!!! |
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5th Nordic Conference on Paediatric and Orphan Medicines The 5th Nordic Conference on Paediatric and Orphan Medicines will be organized 14-15.5.2024 in Helsinki, co-organized by FinPedMed, Nordic POP, Åbo Akademi University, and University of Helsinki with our docent Mia Bengtström as head organizer. EU Paediatric Regulation (EC 1901/2006) came into force in 2007 to improve children's health in Europe by increasing the research and authorization of medicines for children and improving the information on medicines designed for children. We also have the new EU Clinical Trial Regulation and the centralized Clinical Trial Information System, CTIS, accelerating clinical trial application submissions in Europe. The Pediatric conferences have been organized since 2017, and the goal has been to increase the attractiveness of Finland and the Nordic Region for conducting Pediatric clinical trials and contribute to an increasing number of medicines for Children. These conferences have facilitated Academic and Pharma Industry collaboration for pediatric medicine development and clinical trials in the Nordic area. Joint congresses and sharing of best practices can easily support research collaboration. The Networking between the Stakeholders and Country representatives from Nordic and other European countries is also playing a vital role, and therefore, the conference is designed to be a two-day conference free of charge for all stakeholders. The City of Helsinki has also invited us for a networking event. More information to come shortly! You can follow the updates here. |
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Save the date!!! NordicPOP 3D Printing Workshop, 16.-17.5.2024, Turku, Finland Content One to one-and-a-half day workshop on 3D printing focusing on Advancing 3D printability through modeling and quality control, as well as sustainable biomaterials for 3D printing. Platform Physical meeting on site. Location: Turku, Finland; Meeting venue TBC. Participation It is free of charge to participate and submit the title for a poster presentation, but participants are required to arrange their travel and accommodation to Turku by themselves. Program Thursday 16.5.2024 Session I – Modeling for advancing 3D printing, 12:00 – 14:00 Session II – Sustainable biomaterials for 3D printing, 14:30 – 16:30 Session III – Poster session & Get together, 16:30 – 18:00 Dinner, 18:30 - Friday 17.5.2024 Session IV – Quality control for 3D printing and personalized medicines, 9:00 – 10:45 a.m. Session V – Panel discussions: Future of 3D printing of pharmaceuticals and integrating 3D printing in teaching, 11:00 – 12:00 a.m./p.m. Printer demonstration @ Brinter, 13:00 – (voluntary) If you want to present a poster at the event, please send the poster title by Monday, April 15, 2024 (no abstracts needed!) to barbora.hrebikova@sund.ku.dk. Please register for the event by April 30, 2024; you can register here. |
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The 5th Virtual European Polymer Conference, 4.-5.6.2024 Following the success of the previous meetings, we are delighted to invite all enthusiasts and professionals in the field of polymer science to join us at the 5th Virtual European Polymer Conference on 4.-5.6.2024. We are honored to announce that Professors Samir Mitragotri (Harvard University), Ijeoma F. Uchegbu (UCL School of Pharmacy), and Andreas Herrmann (DWI Leibniz-Institute for Interactive Materials, Germany) have confirmed their participation as plenary speakers. Their expertise and insights will enrich our discussions and understanding of the latest advancements in polymer science. We also hope the Nobel Prize Winner, Prof. Jean-Marie Lehn (Nobel Prize 1987), University of Strasbourg, France, will join the conference as a plenary speaker. As with our previous meetings, the 5th Virtual European Polymer Conference will be conducted online via Zoom. The conference is free of charge for both speakers and attendees. Register for the conference (https://www.polymerconf.eu/) and mark your calendars for an enriching experience that will broaden your perspectives and connect you with the forefront of polymer research. Best wishes, The Organizing Committee Sergey Filippov, Vitaliy Khutoryanskiy, and Maria Vamvakaki |
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18th FinPharmaNet annual meeting & Chemical Solutions for Biological Challenges in Turku 10.-12.6.2024. |
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It is our pleasure to announce Chemical Solutions for Biological Challenges - a joint meeting of pharmaceutical sciences, NMR spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry with synthetic and medicinal chemistry to take place in Turku 10.-12.6.2024! The meeting will also host the two-day event of the 18th Annual FinPharmaNet meeting from Monday to Tuesday 10-11.6. The scientific program includes keynote speeches from both leading academic and industrial researchers covering topics of drug development, artificial intelligence, synthetic medicinal chemistry, NMR and mass spectrometric techniques utilized within the pharmaceutical sciences. In the CSBC 2024, there will be 7 scientific sessions each having a keynote speech, after which the program splits into three parallel program lines. These three lines will include talks from short student presentations to invited national and international top-level scientists’ talks with topics ranging from career stories to physical NMR and utilization of mass spectrometry in pharmaceutical studies to phosphorus chemistry. You can follow the updates here and on the event website: https://csbc2024.fi/ Be there or be a tetrahedron! #getinspriredbyscience #csbc2024Turku Organized by University of Turku together with Åbo Akademi University, in collaboration with the Finnish NMR Society, Finnish Mass Spectrometry Society, Finnish Society for Synthetic Chemistry, FinPharmaNet and Nordic POP. |
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Hälsningar från möten | Greetings from meetings |
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Due to a quieter week owing to the skiing holidays we seized the moment to visit our former visiting professor Sergej Filippov at DWI – Leibniz-Institut für Interaktive Materialien in Aachen (Germany) on February 20th. Hongbo and Jessica gave presentations on PSL activities and we had an impressive lab tour and were introduced to e.g. a very recent microfluidic robot setup with in-built cell culturing and confocal microscope for HT-production of microtissues. |
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Nya PSL-medlemmar | New PSL members |
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We're thrilled to announce an exciting development within our team this February. Below, you'll find a brief self-introduction from our new members, highlighting the unique contributions they're bringing to our team. We're delighted to have them with us and look forward to the innovation and creativity they bring. Let's give a warm welcome to our newest colleagues! Denna februari är vi glada att meddela om spännande utvecklingar inom vårt team. Nedan hittar ni en kort självintroduktion om våra nya medlemmar, där de presenterar sina unika egenskaper som de förser vårt team med. Vi är jätteglada attheir unique contributions att ha dem i vårt team och ser fram emot all innovation och kreativitet de kommer att förse oss med. Låt oss välkomna våra nyaste kolleger! |
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I am Anna Hämäläinen, and I hold a Master of Science degree in Cell Biology and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from the University of Turku. I am doing my PhD in the Drug Development line at PSL with Dr. Anne Filppula as my supervisor and Docent Peter Mattjus as a co-supervisor. I have also worked at Bayer alongside my Bachelor’s and Master’s studies. My PhD focuses on finding harmful teratogens e.g. drugs that inhibits cholesterol forming enzyme with an outcome harmful for fetuses (cholesterol deficiency disorder). |
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Projekt/finansiering | Projects/financing |
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PSL is part of two new national infrastructures funded by the Research Council of Finland. The funding supports the development of high-quality research infrastructures that lay the foundation for impactful research, development and innovation. A total of 11 infrastructures were granted funding in the last call for 2023. The two infrastructures where PSL is included are EU-OPENSCREEN Finland (ÅAU PI: Outi Salo-Ahen) and Printable Intelligence Infrastructure (ÅAU PIs: everybody involved in the ÅAU Functional Printing Center with Prof. Martti Toivakka as the ÅAU director). The objective of EU-OPENSCREEN is to develop the services offered by the research infrastructure in different technological fields that may provide new opportunities for breakthroughs of scientific and societal importance. The infrastructure includes besides ÅAU also the University of Turku and the University of Helsinki. Printed Intelligence is a rapidly growing technology area that is key to the next generation of flexible, thin, lightweight, low-cost and resource-efficient electronics and photonics products. The project offers a world-class R & D environment for both academic researchers and industrial technology developers. The infrastructure includes besides ÅAU also University of Tampere, University of Oulu and VTT. Read more about the approved FIRI projects here: Research infrastructures - Research Council of Finland (aka.fi) |
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Nya publikationer | New publications |
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Vi är glada att meddela att vårt team har publicerat ett flertal nya publikationer i år. Du kan hitta en omfattande lista över alla PSL-publikationer på vår webbplats som vi uppmuntrar alla att utforska och ta del av här! We're excited to share that our team has hit the ground running this year with many new publications. You can find a comprehensive list of all PSL publications on our website, which we encourage everyone to check out and explore here! |
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Ovarian cancer remains a significant health issue worldwide, often facing limitations in treatment due to side effects and drug resistance. Tumor cells typically undergo the “Warburg effect,” preferring glycolysis, which leads to their rapid growth and survival. Metformin, a widely used diabetes medication, targets 5' adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), reducing glycolysis and thereby slowing tumor growth. Additionally, forkhead box protein K2 (FOXK2), a transcription factor often found in excess in many tumors, promotes glycolysis and tumor development. Delivering metformin and FOXK2 siRNA directly to the tumor site in the body is challenging due to the metformin's poor water solubility and the fragile nature of siRNA. To address this, zirconium and 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-pyridyl)porphyrin nanoparticles loaded with FOXK2 siRNA, enveloped in cell membrane, co-encapsulated with metformin in gelatin methacrylate microspheres (ZrTCP@siFOXK2@CM/Met@GelMA) hydrogel microspheres are developed for effective dual delivery. These microspheres facilitate targeted drug delivery, photothermal therapy with near-infrared light, and interference with glucose metabolism. These results show that infrared light combined with metformin and FOXK2 siRNA successfully activates the AMPK pathway, reducing ovarian cancer growth. This method offers a promising new direction in treatment, utilizing the complex metabolic characteristics of ovarian cancer to achieve better results. https://doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202300192 |
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Solanidine is a sensitive and specific dietary biomarker for CYP2D6 activity JI Kiiski, M Neuvonen, M Kurkela, P Hirvensalo, K Hämäläinen, EK Tarkiainen, J Sistonen, M Korhonen, S Khan, A Orpana, AM Filppula, M Lehtonen, M Niemi. Human Genomics. 2024. |
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The green substance in potatoes serves as a biomarker for cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2D6 activity. The toxic compound solanidine in potatoes (which gives it its green color) can act as a biomarker for the crucial drug-metabolizing enzyme CYP2D6. Solanidine is present in the blood circulation of individuals who include potatoes in their diet. In our study, we observed that slow CYP2D6 metabolizers had nearly 20 times higher solanidine levels than normal metabolizers. By measuring solanidine levels in people's blood, we can estimate their CYP2D6 activity. Of interest, solanidine is the glycoalkaloid that recently caused poisonings in dogs. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40246-024-00579-8 |
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There has been an emergence of smart multimodal theranostic nanoformulation for triple combination cancer therapy in the last few years, which dramatically enhances the overall safety of the nanoformulation for in vivo and potential clinical applications with minimal toxicity. However, it is imperative to gain insight into the limitations of this system in terms of clinical translation, cost-effectiveness, accessibility, and multidisciplinary collaboration. This review paper aims to highlight and compare the impact of the recent theranostic nanoformulations of triple therapeutics in a single nanocarrier for effective management of cancer and provide a new dimension for diagnostic and treatment simultaneously. https://doi.org/10.1002/SMMD.20230035 |
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In this study, we present a novel core-shell nanoparticle comprised of iron-based metal–organic frameworks (FeMOFs), as illustrated in Scheme 1, which are hybrid solids with a periodic network structure composed of iron ions with tetrakis (4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin (TCPP). The specific textural features of FeMOFs, like the wide distribution of single iron sites, porous structures, and large surface areas, confer them with abundant exposed active sites and favorable access of reactants to active sites, turning them into a promising heterogeneous Fenton-like nanozyme. https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202307794 |
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In this study, we found that Neu-Exo miRNAs may act as accurate biomarkers in gastric cancer diagnosis. We proposed a strategy to separate and analyze Neu-Exo by using CD66b antibody-coupled Dynabeads. Dual antibody-assisted fluorescent Dynabeads was established to detect the abundance of CD66b+ Neu-Exo in human serum.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cca.2024.117773 |
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Diabetic wound healing is a serious, complex, and chronic process; one current promising and focusing technology in this area is stem cell treatment. Here, novel porous microneedle (MN) arrays is fabricated, which can highly mimetic stem cell niches, through template filling, and particle etching method. The human adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are encapsulated in Matrigel then loaded into the porous MN arrays by post-perfusion. Because of the extracellular matrix-mimicking, the biocompatible Matrigel offers a bionic microenvironment of stem cell nest suitable for growth. Benefiting from the numerous pore structures of MNs, the loaded ADSCs have enough space to fully absorb nutrients, proliferate greatly and exhibit prompted function. In addition, the cell-loaded MN arrays have enough mechanical strength to penetrate the skin, allowing the ADSCs to get into the deep wound areas. Based on these features, the performance of the resultant MN arrays in promoting tissue regeneration is demonstrated, collagen deposition and angiogenesis in diabetes wounds of rat models. Thus, it is believe that the bioinspired porous MNs can act as excellent stem cell scaffolds and will find many practical values in clinic wound healing. https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202316742 |
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Neutrophils are the most abundant white blood cells in the circulation and act as the first line of defense against infections. Increasing evidence suggests that neutrophils possess heterogeneous phenotypes and functional plasticity in human health and diseases, including cancer. Neutrophils play multifaceted roles in cancer development and progression, and an N1/N2 paradigm of neutrophils in cancer has been proposed, where N1 neutrophils exert anti-tumor properties while N2 neutrophils display tumor-supportive and immune-suppressive functions. Selective activation of beneficial neutrophil population and targeted inhibition or re-polarization of tumor-promoting neutrophils has shown an important potential in tumor therapy. In addition, due to the natural inflammation-responsive and physical barrier-crossing abilities, neutrophils and their derivatives (membranes and extracellular vesicles) are regarded as advanced drug delivery carriers for enhanced tumor targeting and improved therapeutic efficacy. In this review, we comprehensively presented the recent advances in engineering neutrophils for drug delivery and targeting neutrophils for remodeling tumor microenvironment. This review will provide a broad understanding of the potential of neutrophils in cancer therapy. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202310318 |
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