Shellie Knights-Mitchell

Shellie Knights-Mitchell is a Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. Candidate working under the guidance of Marek Romanowski. Her work focuses on the development of a novel, nanoscale drug delivery system using liposomes as the delivery vehicle. When coated with a layer of gold these spherical vesicles become responsive to light. Moreover, the gold shell can be tuned so that it responds to light in the near infrared region thus increasing penetration depth and decreasing damage to tissue. Since these liposomes only release content on exposure to light at a predetermined wavelength, this delivery system can be used to address the need for controlled release of drugs or imaging agents at a disease site. Specifically, this technology has the capability for use in the treatment of cancer where liposomes are delivered directly to the disease site and content is released on demand. Success in this research has the potential to provide a decrease in deleterious side effects and improve the quality of life associated with cancer treatments.

Fluorescence spectroscopy set up – Doxorubicin loaded liposomes excited with 470 nm (blue) light and fluorescence emission (red light) collected to determine drug release