Theresa Reineke
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
University of Cincinnatti

Theresa Reineke is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Cincinnati. She is a materials chemist with research interests in polymers for biomedical applications and luminescent materials. After receiving an undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 1995, she completed her graduate studies at Arizona State University (M.S. degree) and The University of Michigan (Ph.D. degree) with Dr. Omar Yaghi studying the synthesis and characterization of metal-organic luminescent extended framework materials. After completing her Ph.D. in 2000, she was awarded a National Institutes of Health Fellowship to study the synthesis and biological characterization of carbohydrate-containing polymers for gene therapy in the laboratory of Dr. Mark E. Davis at the California Institute of Technology. In 2002 she joined the faculty at the University of Cincinnati. Currently, her group is studying the synthesis of carbohydrate-containing polymers and dendrimers that bind, compact, and deliver therapeutic DNA in vitro and in vivo. In addition, her group is developing new polymers for use in magnetic resonance imaging and luminescent porous molecules for use as sensors.
www.che.uc.edu/reineke/reineke_group_homepage.htm

IPRIME  Microstructured Polymers Seminar Series:

PGAAs: Versatile and Degradable Glycopolymers for Nucleic Acid Delivery and Diagnostic Imaging

9:45 a.m., 331 Smith Hall

Abstract:
Synthetic polymers are making a tremendous impact in many biomedical fields due to their potential to improve human health. In the emerging areas of drug delivery, nucleic acid therapeutics, and medical imaging, novel polymers are playing an important role in advancing these technologies. For instance, noninvasive materials that bind and compact nucleic acids into nanoparticles and effectively deliver exogenous genetic materials into cells may innovate therapeutic research and development. Likewise, polymeric MRI contrast agents are making a large impact in diagnostic medicine for detecting disease at an early stage.

We have created novel glycopolymers that are allowing us to probe the structure-property relationships for synthetic DNA delivery vehicles and MRI contrast agents. For DNA delivery purposes, we have created a series of carbohydrate-containing polyamides, termed poly(glycoamidoamine)s, that differ in the size and type of carbohydrate moiety. We have created this series to elucidate how these subtle structural changes within the polymer backbone affect DNA delivery efficiency and toxicity. Likewise, structurally-related glycopolymers have been created with alternating carbohydrate and diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA)-gadolinium chelates for MR imaging purposes. These structures have been created to determine the polymer structure-water proton relaxivity relationships. We have found that very subtle structural changes along the glycopolymer backbone can have a profound impact on the biological properties. The synthetic design of these structures along with their toxicity, DNA delivery efficiency, and water proton relaxivity values will be presented and discussed.