GATE

      

Afilliation

• Biophotonic Research Group, Laboratory of General Biochemistry and Physical Pharmacy, Ghent University, Ottergemsesteenweg 460, 9000 Gent, Belgium.

• Center for Advanced Light Microscopy, Ghent University, Belgium.

• Centre for Nano- and Biophotonics, Ghent University, Belgium

• Université de Lille, IEMN UMR 8520 and Lab. Phys. Lasers Atomes & Mol. UMR 8523, Villeneuve d’Ascq, France

 

Research focus

An important research line that started in 2012 focuses on improving drug delivery by means of laser-induced photothermal effects with (plasmonic) nanoparticles. These laser-irradiated nanoparticles can induce thermal and mechanical effects that can disturb barriers and enhance the delivery of (macromolecular) compounds across those barriers. One application is the enhanced delivery of therapeutic macromolecules as well as contrast agents into cells, including hard-to-transfect stem cells for tissue engineering. This research is funded by a prestigious ERC Consolidator Grant (NANOBUBBLE). 
Another major research line involves the study of biological barriers to nanomedicines by advanced light microscopy techniques. Rational development of nanomedicines requires a thorough understanding of their interaction with the relevant biological tissues. This includes colloidal stability of nanomedicines in biological fluids like blood, transport across extracellular tissues like mucosa, and intracellular processing. Over a period of almost 20 years several advanced microscopy-based methods were developed that are designed to give quantitative insight into these various barriers. These methods have been applied to optimize nanomedicine design for intravenous administration, intravitreal administration (retinal gene therapy), and other routes of administration where nanomedicines have to cross layers of mucus, such as in the lung and stomach.

 

Research team

Kevin Braeckmans is leading a multidisciplinary team of about 10 full time scientists (docs and post-docs). Since our research spans a broad range of activities, going from device and method development, over the development of new nanomaterials to various biomedical applications, scientists in the group have various backgrounds. As such the group is composed of a dynamic team of scientists with a background in physics, engineering, biotechnology, chemistry, pharmacy and biomedical sciences. The group is strongly embedded in a larger department on advanced drug delivery, allowing quick translation of newly developed technologies to various pharmaceutical and biomedical applications.

 

Biography 

Having obtained a Licentiate degree in Physics at Ghent University (Belgium) in 1999, Kevin Braeckmans joined the Laboratory of General Biochemistry and Physical Pharmacy (Ghent University) to perform research on advanced optical microscopy methods for pharmaceutical applications, for which he received the first price for Young Biotechnology Researchers from the Funds of Biotechnology (FBBF, Belgium) in 2005. In 2004 he received a post-doctoral fellowship from the Fund for Scientific Research – Flanders, focusing on single particle tracking microscopy, during which time he was a visiting postdoc in the Christophe Bräuchle lab at the Ludwich Maximilians University Munich. In 2008 he was appointed as professor at Ghent University where he is currently leading the Bio-Photonics Research Group, hosted by the Lab. Of General Biochemistry and Physical Pharmacy, of which he is the co-director. His research involves the study of biological barriers of functional nanomaterials by advanced microscopy techniques, as well as the usage of light as a mediator for enhanced drug delivery. For this work he was awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2015 (NANOBUBBLE, 2015-2020). Prof. Braeckmans is a (co)author of close to 200 articles, with many publications in top tier journals like Nature Methods, Nature Materials, Nature Communications, etc. He is also actively involved in valorization activities, being a (co)inventor of 8 patents and patent applications.

 

Key publications: 

• Braeckmans K., De Smedt S.C., Roelant C., Leblans M., Pauwels R., and Demeester J. Encoding microcarriers by spatial selective photobleaching. Nature Mater. 2, 169-173 (2003).

• Deschout H., Cella Zanacchi F., Mlodzianoski M., Diaspro A., Bewersdorf J., Hess S.T., Braeckmans K. Precisely and accurately localizing single emitters in fluorescence microscopy. Nature Meth. 11, 253-266 (2014).

• Xiong R., Vandenbroucke R.E., Broos K., Brans T., Van Wonterghem E., Libert C., Demeester J., De Smedt S.C., Braeckmans K. Sizing nanomaterials in bio-fluids by cFRAP enables protein aggregation measurements and diagnosis of bio-barrier permeability. Nat. Comm., DOI 10.1038/NCOMMS12982 (2016).

• Vermeulen L., Brans T., Samal S., Dubruel P., Demeester Jo., De Smedt S., Remaut K., Braeckmans K. Endosomal Size and Membrane Leakiness Influence Proton Sponge-Based Rupture of Endosomal Vesicles. ACS Nano 12, 2332-2345 (2018).

• Teirlinck E., Xiong R., Brans T., Forier K., Fraire J., Van Acker H., Matthijs N., De Rijcke R., De Smedt S.C., Coenye T., Braeckmans K. Laser-Induced Vapour Nanobubbles Improve Drug Diffusion and Efficiency in Bacterial Biofilms. Nature Comm., in press (2018).

 

Contact & links:

Prof. Kevin Braeckmans
Bio-Photonic Research Group
Labo. Algemene Biochemie & Fysische Farmacie
Campus Heymans, Ottergemsesteenweg 460, 9000 Gent, Belgium
Email: Kevin.Braeckmans@UGent.be 
T +32 9 264 80 98
F +32 9 264 81 89
http://www.biofys.ugent.be  

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