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Dr. Eduardo Ruiz-Hernandez

Ussher Associate Professor (Pharmacy)
23 WESTLAND ROW

 ruizhere@tcd.ie

 3531896 2844


Biography

Eduardo Ruiz-Hernandez is the Ussher Assistant Professor in Pharmaceutical Chemistry of Nanocarrier Drug Delivery Systems in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Trinity College Dublin. Over the past 13 years, he has participated in 25 highly multidisciplinary collaborative projects funded by a variety of national and international sources (EU FP6/FP7/H2020, BBSRC, SFI, CTMM The Netherlands, Spanish MICIIN, CIBER-BBN) across 7 countries in diverse scientific fields including nanomedicine, materials chemistry, drug/gene delivery and tissue engineering. His research programme aims to design Responsive nanosystems with disease-specific theranostic potential. These systems will dramatically impact the targeted release of diagnostic agents and drugs with nanomedicines that respond to biological cues or changing pathophysiological conditions, thus enabling ultrasensitive diagnosis and exquisite therapy selectivity. During the last years, he has led a research on stimuli-responsive nanosystems with applications in advanced drug delivery and biosensing (e.g. rapid detection of viral diseases). His research team has identified brain tumors, particularly glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), as an ideal target for controlled release nanosystems. By embedding drug-loaded nanocarriers within polymeric gel depots, it is hypothesized that an improved treatment as compared to the current gold standard can be achieved. As an expert in drug delivery systems, and in collaboration with clinicians and leading international experts, he intends to combine stimuli-responsive nanoparticles modified with tumor-specific molecules and injectable hydrogels that can be locally implanted to provide sustained delivery at the target site. The team is constantly looking for talented and motivated researchers and collaborators to join in this endeavor.

Research Projects

 REACT

LCS Erthal, Y Shi, KJ Sweeney, OL Gobbo, E Ruiz-Hernandez, Nanocomposite formulation for a sustained release of free drug and drug-loaded responsive nanoparticles: an approach for a local therapy of glioblastoma multiforme, Scientific Reports, 13, (1), 2023, p5094-, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Rebecca Maher, Almudena Moreno-Borrallo, Dhruvi Jindal, Binh T Mai, Eduardo Ruiz-Hernandez, Andrew Harkin, Intranasal Polymeric and Lipid-Based Nanocarriers for CNS Drug Delivery, Pharmaceutics, 15, (3), 2023, p746-, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Amelia Ultimo, Mar Orzaez, Maria J Santos-Martinez, Ramón Martínez-Máñez, María D Marcos, Félix Sancenón, Eduardo Ruiz-Hernández, High-capacity mesoporous silica nanocarriers of siRNA for applications in retinal delivery, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24, (3), 2023, p2753-, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  URL
Cristina de la Torre, Carmen Coll, Amelia Ultimo, Félix Sancenón, Ramón Martínez-Máñez, Eduardo Ruiz-Hernández, In Situ-Forming Gels Loaded with Stimuli-Responsive Gated Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Local Sustained Drug Delivery, Pharmaceutics, 15, (4), 2023, p1071-, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Luiza CS Erthal, Oliviero L Gobbo, Eduardo Ruiz-Hernandez, Biocompatible Copolymer Formulations to Treat Glioblastoma Multiforme, Acta Biomaterialia, 121, 2021, p89 - 102, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
K Zivojevic, M Mladenovic, M Djisalov, M Mundzic, E Ruiz-Hernandez, I Gadjanski, N Z Knezevic, Advanced mesoporous silica nanocarriers in cancer theranostics and gene editing applications, Journal of Controlled Release, 337, 2021, p193 - 211, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  URL
M Martinez Carmona, QP Ho, J Morand, A Garcia, E Ortega, LCS Erthal, E Ruiz-Hernandez, M Dolores Santana, J Ruiz, M Vallet-Regi, YK Gunko, Amino-Functionalized Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticle-Encapsulated Octahedral Organoruthenium Complex as an Efficient Platform for Combatting Cancer, Inorganic Chemistry, 59, (14), 2020, p10275 - 10284, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Q Sun, X Bai, AM Sofias, R van der Meel, E Ruiz-Hernandez, G Storm, WE Hennink, B de Geest, F Kiessling, H Yu, T Lammers, Y Shi, Cancer nanomedicine meets immunotherapy: opportunities and challenges, Acta Pharmacologica Sinica, 41, (7), 2020, p954 - 958, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Tatiane Eufrásio-da-Silva, Eduardo Ruiz-Hernandez, Joanne O'Dwyer, Dolores Picazo-Frutos, Garry P Duffy, Bruce P Murphy, Enhancing medial layer recellularization of tissue-engineered blood vessels using radial microchannels, Regenerative medicine, 14, (11), 2019, p1013 - 1028, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Bo Lou, Kate Connor, Kieron Sweeney, Ian S Miller, Alice O'Farrell, Eduardo Ruiz-Hernandez, David M Murray, Garry P Duffy, Alan Wolfe, Enrico Mastrobattista, Annette T Byrne, Wim E Hennink, RGD-decorated cholesterol stabilized polyplexes for targeted siRNA delivery to glioblastoma cells, Drug delivery and translational research, 9, (3), 2019, p679 - 693, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
  

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Research Interests

Description Of Research Interests

- Investigation of drug release and stability of nanomedicines - Synthesis of inorganic and organic-inorganic hybrid nanoparticles for the delivery of bioactive therapeutics - Design, processing and assessment of biomaterials for drug and gene delivery My main research interest is in the design and manufacture of novel delivery systems combining injectable polymer matrices that contain free drug and stimuli-responsive theranostic nanoparticles loaded with drugs and contrast agents. My team has prepared matrices able to deliver a sustained release of free drug and drug-loaded nanoparticles, focusing on the treatment of brain tumors. Advanced biomaterials offer new solutions to the challenges associated with the non-specific delivery of therapeutics that leads to ineffective treatments, especially in oncology. Currently, both therapeutic and diagnostic molecules are administered systemically, increasing the likelihood of side effects. I aim to develop delivery systems that enable selective, targeted delivery of therapeutics, as well as imaging agents. In the example of brain tumors, we are developing novel therapeutic options that overcome the shortcomings of current treatments: limited penetration of the blood brain barrier by intravenously-administered drugs, limited penetration and lack of specificity of intracranially-administered drugs. Our proposed technology will facilitate selective diagnostic and prognostic imaging to allow the identification of residual or recurrent cancer cells. This research programme is truly multi-disciplinary, relying on inputs from different fields including biomaterials, cancer, neurosurgery and clinical translation. Technologies and research expertise should be combined to develop and preclinically characterise an innovative solution to a clear, clinical challenge: the targeted, controlled delivery of chemotherapeutic and imaging agents to surgical resection sites. While the overall aim is to develop and characterise novel systems for the controlled delivery of drugs and contrast agents (using brain tumors as a case study), this research line is expected to advance knowledge and capabilities in our research and technology domain and demonstrate the value of multi-disciplinary approaches to building solutions to clinically and technologically challenging problems. In future developments, I aim to deepen our understanding of nanomedicines that respond to biological cues or changing pathophysiological conditions, which could enable ultrasensitive diagnosis and exquisite therapy selectivity. Nanomedicine research against cancer focuses on the local targeted delivery of chemotherapeutics to enhance drug efficacy and reduce side effects. Despite all the efforts in the design of chemotherapeutic agents as nanomedicines, hardly any improvement has been translated into benefits for patients' survival. There is an urgent need for improved carrier systems able to deliver high doses of diagnostic agents and anti-cancer drugs to the tumor. Stimuli-responsive carriers are promising candidates since the release of the cargo can be triggered locally in the tumor environment. Currently, there exists an unparalleled effort to identify genes, proteins and metabolites implicated in human disease and utilize systems biology and mathematical approaches in order to develop new prognostic tools for the treatment of cancer and develop more targeted therapies for patients. In future plans, I intend to bring all these efforts and advances into the design of stimuli-responsive organic-inorganic hybrid nanoparticles that can adapt their response to the biological milieu. We will design engineered delivery systems consisting of an inorganic porous matrix surface-modified with tumor-specific molecules with the ability to sense changes in the environmental conditions and react by providing a proportional release.