Professor N.A. Peppas, Biomedical Engineering

Dr. Peppas is a world leader in research in drug delivery, biomaterials, biomolecular engineering, mass transfer, kinetics, and reaction engineering, polymers and biomedical engineering. The multidisciplinary approach of his research in biomolecular engineering blends modern molecular and cellular biology with engineering to generate next-generation systems and devices, including bioMEMS with enhanced applicability, reliability, functionality, and longevity. The fundamental studies of his group have provided valuable results on biomaterials design and development. Dr. Peppas is internationally known for his work on the preparation, characterization and evaluation of the behavior of compatible, crosslinked biomaterials known as hydrogels, which have been used as biocompatible materials and in controlled release devices, especially in controlled delivery of drugs, peptides and proteins. He has applied these theoretical studies to the development of systems for the release of theophylline, proxyphylline, diltiazem, and oxprenolol. Using intelligent polymers, Dr. Peppas and his group were the first to use such pH-sensitive and temperature-sensitive systems for modulated release of streptokinase and other fibrinolytic enzymes. More recently, his group has announced new inventions of oral insulin delivery systems and new biomaterials. These devices release insulin orally, “protecting” the insulin throughout its transport in the stomach, upper small intestine, and, eventually, blood, and bypassing diabetics’ need for several daily injections. This is the first time that an oral system has been shown to be effective for oral delivery of proteins, especially insulin, calcitonin (for treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women) and interferon-alpha (for cancer therapy).

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