MYTHILI TUMMALAPALLI, PhD
I am a polymer technologist by profession and a bookworm by inclination. I obtained a PhD in 2015 from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi where I worked on the development of cytocompatible polysaccharide-protein complex networks for wound care and drug delivery. My areas of interest include polymer design and synthesis, drug delivery and regenerative medicine, and nanotechnology. Currently, there are three problems that are occupying my material scientist brain – antimicrobial surfaces, drug delivery through the blood-brain barrier, and functional scaffold development to understand cancer cell biology. The challenges are wide and varied, and I would like to focus on the ‘how, why, what and when’ in that particular order, to design ecologically sustainable polymeric materials for biomedical applications.
A snapshot of my recent work
My doctoral research sought to address empirical shortcomings of wound dressings used in the treatment of sloughing and exudating wounds. In answer to this problem, I developed cytocompatible and immunomodulatory polysaccharide-protein networks of oxidized pectin and gelatin (OP-Gel) that are capable of sustained infection control and accelerated wound healing. This work was carried out at IIT Delhi and IBCP Lyon. To build networks of pectin and gelatin, without using any external crosslinkers that are potential sources of cytotoxicity, I carried out periodate functionalization of pectin, and used the resultant dialdehyde system as an in situ crosslinker for gelatin. The advantages of this process are twofold – elimination of cytotoxicity and development of systems that can inherently reduce metals such as silver. In situ reduction and encapsulation of nanosilver playeda critical role in determining the pharmacokinetics and cytotoxicity due to the drug.
Apart from nanosilver, I also developed OP-Gel matrices based on ciprofloxacin hydrochloride, and herbal agents such as aloe vera and curcumin. A simple dip coating method was followed to fabricate biocomposite wound dressings of nonwoven cotton fabric overlaid with the OP-Gel matrix. The nonwoven was responsible for structural rigidity, ease of handling, as well as the overall porosity of the wound dressing. In terms of infection control, the OP-Gel based dressings are highly potent antimicrobial agents. Preclinical evaluation proved that the OP-Gel dressings, especially with aloe vera and nanosilver provide excellent surfaces for cell proliferation as well as accelerated healing. Upon randomized clinical testing, the OP-Gel systems can therefore be considered as potential candidates for effective wound management.
Research in collaboration with
Indian Institute of Technology
Delhi
Jamia Hamdard
India
Institut de Biologie et Chimie des Protéines
France
North Eastern Hill University
India
Yokohama National University
Japan
