DEMETZOS LAB    

The Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology (Demetzos Lab) belongs to the Section of Pharmaceutical Technology of the Department of Pharmacy of the School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (UoA). It is oriented in the area of applied nanotechnology, especially targeted drug delivery nanosystems and colloidal nanocarriers for therapeutic purposes. The lab has been and continues to be a participant in many international, european and national research programs. It is also in close collaboration with scientists and academic partners from institutions all over the world, as well as with a number of industries, aiming to produce scientific evidence that will aid the development and approval of innovative nanoproducts. It is also an active member of many scientific societies. Its director is Professor Costas Demetzos.

  

 

Recent News

 

 

PROFESSOR COSTAS N. DEMETZOS

EUROPEAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND ARTS

 

Professor Costas Demetzos has been elected as an ordinary member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, in the Class IV-Natural Sciences on May 21^st, 2021. The Academy welcomes scientists from all over the world that embrace and promote interdisciplinary research. Check the Academy's work here.

 

 

 

ACADEMY OF ATHENS 2018 AWARD

 

Costas N. Demetzos, Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology & Nano-Technology, Department of Pharmacy of the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, was honored with an award by the Order of Sciences of the Academy of Athens for his scientific contribution in Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology. The ceremony took place during the formal sitting on the 21^th of December, 2018 in the Great ceremony hall of the Academy of Athens, after the unanimous decision of the Athens Academy Plenary. The President of the Academy of Athens, Academician Antonios Kounadis presented the award to the honored Professor.

 

 

 

Fulbright Greece Fellow 2023-2024

Annual Award Ceremony

 

Maria Tsakiri (Pharmacist, M.Sc.), Ph.D. student in the Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology under the supervision of Prof. C. Demetzos, was distinguished with the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship. Her upcoming research goals under the mentorship of Ass. Prof. V. Machairaki at the School of Medicine of the Johns Hopkins University, signify a recognition of her commitment to pioneering advancements in the field.

With the esteemed presence of the U.S. Ambassador to Greece, George J. Tsunis, and a gathering of eminent figures from the worlds of academia, arts and politics, Maria Tsakiri was entrusted with the honor of delivering a speech on behalf of the Greek Fulbright Fellows of 2023-2024 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78C6U1zu8LA ).

 

 

Award

12th Hellenic Conference of Biomaterials 

 

Maria Tsakiri was honored with the 2^nd best oral presentation for her work entitled “Development of exosome-like particles by utilizing 3D-printed microfluidic scaffolds”. The award ceremony was carried out on 17th December 2022, during the 12th Hellenic Conference of Biomaterials at the War Museum in Athens, Greece.

 

 

Award  

12th Hellenic Conference of Biomaterials

 

Best poster presentation for the work entitled “Development of Liposomal and Liquid Crystalline Lipidic Nanoparticles with Non-Ionic Surfactants for Quercetin Delivery". I. Tsichlis, A. Manou, V. Manolopoulou, M. Chountoulesi, V. Pletsa, A. Xenakis, C. Demetzos. The award ceremony was carried out on 17th December 2022, during the 12th Hellenic Conference of Biomaterials at the War Museum in Athens, Greece.

 

 

Award

International Confederation for Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry (ICTAC)

 13th European Symposium on Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry

 

Dr. Maria Chountoulesi was honoured with the 2022 Rigaku-ICTAC Promising Researcher Award, awarded by the International Confederation for Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry (ICTAC), sponsored by Rigaku Corporation, due to her contribution in the field of pharmaceutical nanotechnology, including the application of thermal analysis to the characterization of nanosystems, drugs, active pharmaceutical ingredients, excipients and biomaterials. Award ceremony was carried out on 22th September 2022, during the 13th European Symposium on Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry (ESTAC-13) at the Department of Physics and Chemistry – Emilio Segrè, University of Palermo in Italy.

 

   

 

New Book from Prof. Costas Demetzos

‘Modern Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology’

 

We are happy to announce the release of the book entitled

‘Modern Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology’, published by Ed Parisianou.

Click the link from the University of Athens for more information

 

 

 

 

The monograph of Prof. Costas Demetzos entitled ‘The Voice of Science - The Silence of Nature’ Ed. LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing, translated in 7 International languages. The prototype edition, in Greek is entitled ‘Η Φωνή της Επιστήμης και η Σιωπή της Φύσης’ , Ed. PARISIANOU S.A.

 
 

New Book from Prof. Costas Demetzos

‘The Voice of Science - The Silence of Nature’

 

We are happy to announce the release of the book entitled

‘The Voice of Science - The Silence of Nature’, published by LAMBERT Academic Publishing (OmniScriptum Publishing Group).

Click the link for more information

 

The book is about a young scientist who tries to grasp the meaning of demanding scientific concepts. A conversation with an old man in a library, allows the young scientist to delve into the Odyssey of science. The book seeks to highlight the silent and soundless evolutionary processes and phenomena that dynamically unfold in nature. I would like to thank Professor George Chrousos who prefaces my book. I would also like to thank Ms Eleni Vlachou, who worked on the translation of the book and Dr. Vilelmini Sosoni and John O’Shea for their editing work on the English manuscript.

#thermodynamics, #entropy, #smallsystems, #complexity, #microkosmos and #macrokosmos, #morphology, #nonlinearity

 

 

 

 

 

 Νέο Βιβλίο του Καθηγητή Κ. Δεμέτζου

Κυκλοφορεί από τις Εκδόσεις Παρισιάνου

 

Ο συγγραφέας περιγράφει με λογοτεχνικό τρόπο την ‘συνομιλία’ ανάμεσα στον μικρόκοσμο και στον μακρόκοσμο μέσα από μια φανταστική συζήτηση ενός νεαρού επιστήμονα με τον ‘παππού’ και τον φανταστικό ‘καθρέφτη’ της αυτογνωσίας. Η συζήτηση εξελίσσεται μέσα σε μια βιβλιοθήκη και βασίζεται στα σημαντικά επιτεύγματα της επιστήμης αλλά και της φιλοσοφίας τα οποία ο νεαρός επιστήμονας προσπαθεί να κατανοήσει. Ο συγγραφέας προσπαθεί να μεταφέρει μέσω της συζήτησης, την εξέλιξη των φυσικών νόμων που συμβαίνουν στον μικρόκοσμο, ως τα αληθινά ‘γεγονότα’ τα οποία εμείς προσπαθούμε να κατανοήσουμε στον μακρόκοσμο, με βάση τα επιστημονικά εργαλεία και την φιλοσοφική σκέψη που διαχρονικά έχουμε κατακτήσει ως ανθρώπινα όντα. Η συζήτηση είναι ελκυστική και βαθιά επιστημονική με αναφορές στην βιοφυσική και βιο-θερμοδυναμική, στην χημεία και στην πολυπλοκότητα των βιο-συστημάτων και βιο-δικτύων, ενώ η φιλοσοφία λειτουργεί ως εργαλείο ανάδειξης των ανθρώπινων αδυναμιών μας να κατανοήσουμε την έννοια της δημιουργίας και της κτίσης. Η κοινωνία ως αποδέκτης όλων των μεταβολών και εξελίξεων του μικρόκοσμου αποτελεί την αρένα της εξέλιξης των ‘γεγονότων’ του μικρόκοσμου στον μακρόκοσμο. Μια συνεχής και αέναη προσπάθεια χωρίς τέλος προτείνεται από τον συγγραφέα για την κατάκτηση της επιστημονικής γνώσης και της δημιουργικής προσφοράς του ανθρώπου στην κοινωνία και στον συνάνθρωπο.

 

Νέα Μετάφραση από τον Καθηγητή Κ. Δεμέτζου

"Εισαγωγή στη Φαρμακευτική" του Loyd V Allen Jnr

 

 Ένα ζωτικής σημασίας βιβλίο, το Remington: Εισαγωγή στη Φαρμακευτική –το απόλυτο εισαγωγικό βιβλίο–συνοψίζει την απαραίτητη θεματολογία της φαρμακευτικής, περιέχει περιεκτική και ουσιαστική επισκόπηση των ποικίλων ζητημάτων της φαρμακευτικής με τρόπο κατανοητό από τους φοιτητές που δεν έχουν ακόμη εντρυφήσει στη φαρμακευτική επιστήμη. Συνδυάζοντας τα κλασικά αντικείμενα της φαρμακευτικής επιστήμης με τις συνεχώς εξελισσόμενες ανάγκες του σύγχρονου φαρμακοποιού, σημείο που το καθιστά απαραίτητο για τον φοιτητή φαρμακευτικής και τον φαρμακοποιό, και φυσικά πολύτιμο εργαλείο για τον πρωτοετή φοιτητή που θα τον βοηθήσει να κατασταλάξει στην ειδίκευση της φαρμακευτικής που θα ακολουθήσει και στη μετέπειτα σταδιοδρομία του. Η σοφία με την οποία έχει επιλεγεί και κατανεμηθεί η ύλη, οι εικόνες και οι αναλυτικοί πίνακες που αποσαφηνίζουν τη θεωρία, τα άκρως ωφέλιμα παραρτήματά του καθιστούν το Remington: Εισαγωγή στη Φαρμακευτική απαραίτητη προσθήκη στη βιβλιοθήκη των φοιτητών μας, κάθε φαρμακοποιού, και κάθε επιστήμονα που ασχολείται με τα φάρμακα. Η μετάφραση του συγγράμματος έρχεται να προσφέρει ένα άρτιο εκπαιδευτικό εργαλείο που θα έχει εξέχουσα θέση μεταξύ των συγγραμμάτων της φαρμακευτικής.

 

  

Παρουσίαση του βιβλίου 'Φαρμακευτική Νανοτεχνολογία. Βασικές Αρχές και Πρακτικές Εφαρμογές', Εκδ. Παρισιάνου Α.Ε και ομιλία του Καθ. Κ. Δεμέτζου για το νανοτεχνολογικό υπόβαθρο του εμβολίου εναντίον του SARS-CoV-2

 

Ακολουθείστε τον ιστότοπο

 

Το βιβλίο 'ΦΑΡΜΑΚΕΥΤΙΚΗ ΝΑΝΟΤΕΧΝΟΛΟΓΙΑ. ΒΑΣΙΚΕΣ ΑΡΧΕΣ ΚΑΙ ΠΡΑΚΤΙΚΕΣ ΕΦΑΡΜΟΓΕΣ', Εκδ. Παρισιάνου, είναι το μοναδικό στην Ελληνική βιβλιογραφία και αναφέρεται και στο τεχνο/νανο τεχνολογια υπόβαθρο του εμβολίου εναντίον του SARS-CoV-2. Δίνεται στους φοιτητές των 3 Φαρμακευτικών Τμημάτων και σε Σχολές Ιατρικής, Επιστήμης Υλικών και Χημικών Μηχανικών, μέσα από το σύστημα δωρεάν συγγραμμάτων των Πανεπιστημίων (ΕΥΔΟΞΟΣ).

 

 

  

Latest Publications

 

Innovative vaccine platforms against infectious diseases: under the scope of the COVID-19 pandemic

 

While classic vaccines have proved greatly efficacious in eliminating serious infectious diseases, innovative vaccine platforms open a new pathway to overcome dangerous pandemics via the development of safe and effective formulations. Such platforms play a key role either as antigen delivery systems or as immune-stimulators that induce both innate and adaptive immune responses. Liposomes or lipid nanoparticles, virus-like particles, nano-emulsions, polymeric or inorganic nanoparticles, as well as viral vectors, all belong in the nanoscale and are the main categories of innovative vaccines that are currently on the market or in clinical and pre-clinical phases. In this paper, we review the above formulations used in vaccinology and we discuss their connection with the development of safe and effective prophylactic vaccines against SARS-CoV-2.

 

 

 

Chaotic Dynamics and Stability of Liposomal Nanosystems

 

Background: Natural and living systems are dynamical systems that demonstrate complex behavior, which appears to be deterministic chaotic, characterized and governed by entropy increase and loss of information throughout their entire lifespan. Lipidic nanoparticles, such as liposomes, as artificial biomembranes, have long been considered appropriate models for studying various membrane phenomena that cell systems exhibit. By utilizing these models, we can better comprehend cellular functions, stability, as well as factors that might alter the cell physiology, leading to severe disease states. In addition, liposomes are well-established drug and vaccine delivery nanosystems, which are present in the market, playing a significant role; therefore, due to their importance, issues concerning their effectiveness and stability are research topics that are constantly investigated and updated. Methods: In this study, the emergent deterministic chaotic behavior of liposomes is described, while evaluation in accordance to their colloidal physical stability, by utilizing established nonlinear dynamics tools, is presented. Two liposomes of different composition and physical stability were developed and a chaotic evaluation on the time series of their size and polydispersity was conducted. Results: The utilized models revealed instability, loss of information and order loss for both liposomes in due time, with important differentiations. An initial interpretation of the results is apposed, whereas the foundations for further investigating possible exploitation of the demonstrated nonlinearity and adaptability of artificial biomembranes is laid, with projection on biosystems. Conclusion: The present approach is expected to impact the application of lipidic nanoparticles and liposomes in various crucial fields, such as drug and vaccine delivery, providing useful information for both the academia and industry.

 

 

 

Nanoplatforms as Information Carriers and Thermodynamic Epitopes in Neurodegenerative and Immune Diseases

 

This chapter discusses the idea of producing artificial nanoplatforms that can carry thermodynamic variables. The implementation of this innovative idea requires that new scientific and technological tools are established. Neurodegenerative and immune diseases are among those that need to be given priority in the development of new medicines and the adoption of new therapeutic approaches. Thermodynamics and biophysics are impressive scientific tools that should be incorporated into the scientific framework. Their systematic use in the fight against human diseases should be enhanced and promoted by the scientific community. The term thermodynamic epitope emerges as a new approach that can bridge the gap between basic and applied research and translate the most promising laboratory and preclinical results into clinical proofs. The thermodynamic epitope is the copy of the thermodynamic variables of a biological epitope on a nanoplatform which will, in turn, carry them to the desirable biosite of action. This process will result in a modulation of life functions and the promotion of human health. The concept of thermodynamic epitope relates to a balancing act between information and entropy. By controlling such balance and by mapping the thermodynamic variables of proteins that modulate the functions of life, we can propose the thermodynamic epitope that exceeds existing knowledge and opens up new avenues to cure human complex diseases such as neurodegenerative and immune diseases.

 

 

Nanomedicines and Nanosimilars: Looking for a New and Dynamic Regulatory "Astrolabe" Inspired System

 

The application of the nanotechnology in medicine and pharmaceutics opens new horizons in therapeutics. Several nanomedicines are in the market and an increasing number is in clinical trials. But which is the advantage of the medicines in nanoscale? The scientists and the regulatory authorities agree that the size and consequently the physiochemical/biological properties of nanomaterials play a key role in their safety and effectiveness. Additionally, all of them agree that a new scientific-based regulatory landscape is required for the establishment of nanomedicines in the market. The aim of this review is to investigate the parameters that the scientists and the regulatory authorities should take into account in order to build up a dynamic regulatory landscape for nanomedicines. For this reason, we propose an “astrolabe-like system” as the guide for establishing the regulatory approval process. Its function is based on the different physicochemical/biological properties in comparison to low molecular weight drugs.