| Assoc Prof Loo Say Chye Joachim
Assistant Chair (Alumni), School of Materials Science & Engineering
Division of Materials Technology
School of Materials Science & Engineering
College of Engineering
Email: JOACHIMLOO@ntu.edu.sg
Phone: (+65)6790 4603
Office: N4.1-01-04a |
| Education |
- PhD Nanyang Technological University 2005
- BASc(Matl.Eng)(Hons) Nanyang Technological University 2001
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| Biography |
| Dr Joachim Loo is currently an Assistant Professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering. He graduated with a Bachelors (Hons) in Applied Science (Materials Engineering) and received his PhD degree from NTU. Upon graduation, he had a stint of post-doctoral experience in Mayo Clinic (USA) before joining NTU first as a Research Fellow (2005), a Teaching Fellow (2006), before becoming a tenured-track faculty member in 2007. His research interests include biomaterials, controlled release, targeted delivery, nanomaterials and nanotoxicology. From his research, he had published more than 30 international peer-reviewed journal papers, and filed one US patent and several other technical disclosures. He had also been awarded several research grants amounting to a total of ~$1.2M. He has often been invited to speak in conferences and to serve as a reviewer for a number of premier conferences and journals, including Biomaterials, Journal of Controlled Release and Polymer. He was the Guest Editor of Biofactors, and currently sits on the International Review Editorial Board for International Journal of Biomaterials Research and Engineering (IJBRE). Dr. Joachim Loo is currently an Executive Committee Member of the Materials Research Society Singapore (MRS-S) of which he was a member since 2002. |
| Research Interests |
I. Particulate Systems as Drug Carriers
A range of biocompatible materials (i.e. PLGA and hydroxyapatite) are synthesized as microparticles and/or nanoparticles for drug delivery. In this work, we have synthesized multi-layered particles with drug localization at different layers. The aim is to control the release of drugs by altering particle size, layer thickness and other particulate parameters. On the same platform, mesoporous bioglass and hydroxyapatite are also synthesized to release therapeutic proteins.
II. Targeted Delivery of Hybrid Particles for Osteomyelitis
Osteomyelitis, or bone infection, is currently treated through systemic delivery of antibiotics over a period of time. Our approach is to utilize nanoparticles as drug carriers to delivery antibiotics to infected bone tissues, thereby increasing efficacy and reducing drug dosage. In this work, we have synthesized hybrid particles, with PLGA as core and hydroxyapatite as coating. These particles will be targeted to infected bone sites through the use of a suitable targeting ligand.
III. Drug-eluting Balloons (DEB)
The aim of Drug-eluting Balloons (DEB) is to deliver drugs on-site during balloon angioplasty. In this work, we have developed strategies to control the release of drugs through biodegradable films, with self-adhesive properties.
IV. Nanotoxicology
A library of nanomaterials are synthesized and tested for their toxicity. In vitro cytotoxicity tests are conducted through a range of assays and in vivo tests are conducted on zebrafish models. Toxicity results will be evaluated in reference to various particulate parameters to ascertain the key properties that influence toxicity and biocompatibility. |
| Research Grant |
- A*STAR - Tekes (Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation) Joint Call (2011-)
- Academic Research Fund Tier 1 (2008-)
- Academic Research Fund Tier 2 (2013-)
- NRF CREATE (2012-)
- NRF Competitive Research Program (2008-)
- NTU Internal Funding – Nanyang Institute of Technology in Health & Medicine (NITHM) (2011-)
- NTU-NHG Innovation Seed Grant (2011-)
- National Medical Research Council (2011-)
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| Current Projects |
- Biodegradable Cardiovascular Implants
- Biodegradable Cardiovascular Implants: Novel Biodegradable Polymers
- Bone-targeting Nanomedicine for Treating Osteomyelitis
- Development of sustained release ganciclovir implant for treatment of CMV retinitis in HIV-AIDS patients (Proj Code: ISG/11013)
- Drug-Eluting Balloons (DEB) Controlled Delivery through Nanoparticulate Coating
- Drug-releasing bioactive materials and adipose stem cells as autologous scaffolds for bone tissue engineering
- Effect of topical application of encapsulated PPARbeta/delta agonist GW501516 microparticles, with two release kinetics, on cutaneous wound healing in diabetic mice – a preclinical animal study
- Highly-conductive n-type organic wires for enhancing bioelectronic programme
- SinBeRISE Subproject 2 - Photoelectrochemical Cell
- Stealth Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticle for Targeted Delivery And Bioimaging
| Selected Publications | - GK Das, PPY Chan, AL Teo, JSC Loo, J Anderson, TTY Tan. (2010). in vitro Cytotoxicity evaluation of biomedical nanoparticles and their extracts. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, 93A(1), 337-346.
- YLJ Han, SCJ Loo, NT Phung, HT Ong, SJ Russell, KW Peng, F Boey, J Ma. (2008). Controlled size and morphology of EDTMP-doped hydroxyapatite nanoparticles as model for 153samarium-edtmp doping. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine, .
- Say Chye Joachim Loo, Yiwei Eva Siew, Shuhui Ho, Freddy Yin Chiang Boey, Jan Ma. (2008). Synthesis and hydrothermal treatment of nanostructured hydroxyapatite of controllable sizes. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine, 19(3), 1389-1397.
- Ong HT, Loo JSC, Boey FYC, Russell SJ, Ma J, Peng KW. (2008). Exploiting the high-affinity phosphonate-hydroxyapatite nanoparticle interaction for delivery of radiation and drugs. Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 10, 141-150.
- S.C. J. Loo, C. P. Ooi, FYC Boey. (2005). Influence of electron beam radiation on the hydrolytic degradation behaviour of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA). Biomaterials, 26(18), 3809-3817.
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