2022
The IDUN research activities in 2022 have resulted in 23 peer reviewed journal articles, 2 journal covers, 9 confer- ence contributions and 11 invited talks. Five of our papers have impact factors of around 10 or above (Chemical Engineering Journal, Journal of Controlled Release, ACS Sensors, Advanced Healthcare Materials and Food Hy- drocolloids). In 2022 3 PhD students graduated and 4 new PhDs have been hired, one of them with activities at University of Copenhagen. There has also been hired a postdoc to explore the use of Coherent Antistokes Raman Scattering (CARS) in sensing and drug delivery.
Approximately 40 people were working in relation to the IDUN center in 2022 and together, they supervised 13 master and bachelor students and taught several courses. We successfully ran our PhD summer school program for the seventh time and hosted our annual IDUN Industry Day for our invited members from industry. In connection to the IDUN Industry Day we also arranged an alumni event for former students and staff in the IDUN Center of Excellence. To this event, also students and staff from Anja Boisen’s earlier research groups, going back as far as to 1999 attended.
We received an ERC advanced grant (PI Anja Boisen) to further explore the self-unfolding drug delivery devices initiated in IDUN. Later in 2022, we were awarded a Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF) Challenge grant on energy materials. Here we will, in collaboration with University of Glasgow develop new materials/solutions for energy har- vesting/transformation in the gut. This effort will eventually allow us to truly combine sensing and drug delivery ac- tivities – targeting e.g. self-powered devices for sensing & delivery. Our IDUN faculty members associate professors Line Hagner Nielsen and En Te Hwu have both been promoted to group leaders and have also both secured external funding (e.g. Horizon 2020 and NNF). Additionally, we have received several grants for supporting our start-up ac- tivities, including two NNF Pioneer Innovator grants (Oleksii Ilchenko and En Te Hwu) and a Spin-out Denmark grant.
We are proud to share that our postdoc Rolf Bech Kjeldsen, won the first prize in the DNRF photo competition and the winner photo can be seen below. Anja Boisen was awarded the Electro Chemical Societies Sensor divisions outstanding achievement award in Atlanta, USA and she was giving a WIN distinguished lecture at University of Waterloo, Canada. IDUN continues to be deeply engaged in outreach and we have among other things participated in podcasts on biotech, hacking technology and nanotechnology.
IDUN Drug. In IDUN Drug we have for the first time been able to image discrete 3D printed microdevices in vivo using Computed Tomography (CT). We have mixed contrast agents into polymers that we use in our high-resolu- tion homemade 3D printer. The 3D printer is used for realizing advanced drug carrier geometries. Thereby we can study which geometries perform best in terms of mucus adhesion and mucus embedment. Additionally, we have explored more advanced geometries and materials for dual-release devices. We have made our first publication on micromotors for drug delivery. These micromotors can be loaded into some of our own larger drug delivery devices.
IDUN Sensor is mainly focusing on our Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) based sensors for applications in therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) and centrifugal microfluidics for cell growth. We have published our first work on combination of electrochemistry and SERS in detection of anti-cancer drugs. Here, we also disclosed the first prototype of an instrument to perform TDM. Moreover, in close collaboration with IDUN Drug, we have developed a sensitive force analyzer system that can monitor adhesive forces in relation to one single µm sized drug delivery device.
2021
2021 has been a year of transition from the first to the second phase of our DNRF center. In total 7 PhD students graduated and 4 new PhDs and postdocs have been hired. Additionally, we have welcomed new partners from SSI, University of Copenhagen and DTU Food. In 2021, approximately 50 people were working in relation to the IDUN center and together, they supervised 17 master and bachelor students and taught several courses. We successfully ran our PhD summer school program for the sixth time – this time enjoying that we could again have physical presence. We also hosted our annual “IDUN Industry Day” for our invited members from industry.
We are proud to share that two of our PhD students, Juliane Fjelrad Christfort and Nikolaj Kofoed Mandsberg received competitive internationalization postdoc awards from the Danish Independent research Council and the Carlsberg foundation. They will soon start positions at Université Côte dÁzur, Nice, France and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany. Associate prof. Line Hagner Nielsen has received a Eurotech PhD grant to study cellulose particles for drug delivery. Prof. Anja Boisen was awarded Novo Nordisk Foundation ‘Distinguished innovator’ award to continue the centers work on cell growth in a centrifugal microfluidics platform. Assistant Prof. Chengfang Pang, Researcher Oleksii Ilchenko and Prof. Anja Boisen received project grants from Novo Nordisk to study nanomaterials effect on bacteria and advanced Raman instrumentation. Associate Prof. En Te Hwu received support from the Innovation Fund Denmark to explore commercialization of our high resolution 3D printer.
We are also very happy to announce that Ph.D. Nikolaj Kofoed Mandsberg was honored with the ‘Best PhD thesis’ of the year award from DTU. Prof. Anja Boisen was awarded the MNE Fellow Award 2021. She received the recognition at the annual MNE conference in Turin for her outstanding contributions to the field of micro and nano engineering. Anja also became a fellow of ECS (the Electrochemical Society). In terms of outreach we have, among others, contributed with a popular science article to the journal ‘Kvant’, have been featured in the Advent calendar on TV2, provided events at ‘Forskningens Døgen’, and participated in the radio show ‘Stafetten’.
IDUN Drug. In IDUN Drug we have for the first time been able to image our discrete µm sized drug delivery devices in vivo using Computed Tomography (CT). This is a very important step in order to understand the overall behavior of our devices. We also, for the first time, reported on our high-resolution homemade 3D printer that we use for realizing advanced drug carrier geometries. We have made our first publication on the delivery of probiotics and have treated biofilm with a variety of antibiotics-loaded micro-devices.
IDUN Sensor are mainly focusing on our Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) based sensors for applications in therapeutic drug monitoring. Here, we have had our first promising results on the detection of the anti-cancer drug MTX in blood samples from patients. We have also published our work on intestinal tissue-based biosensor for monitoring the antioxidant effect of orally administered drugs.
2020
The IDUN research activities in 2020 have resulted in 27 peer reviewed journal articles, 5 journal covers, 5 conference contributions and 10 invited talks. Four of our 2020 papers have impact factors above 10 (Nature Com, ACS Nano and Adv. Drug delivery rev). 41 people were in 2020 working in relation to the IDUN center and together they supervised 24 master students and taught several courses. We successfully ran our PhD summer school program for the fifth time in an online version, with a track on drug delivery and one on micro- and nano-sensors, and hosted an online version of our annual “IDUN Industry Day” for our invited members from industry.
In 2020, Anja Boisen was awarded a faculty grant from the BioInnovation Institute to continue the centers work on sensors within health tech. Associate professor En Te Hwu received support from the LEO foundation for work on rapid and quantitative assessment of skin dysfunction and treatment monitoring. Associate professor Martin Dufva received support from EU for the project entitled “GUT VIrus BRain Axis Technology In OrgaNoid Science (GUTVIBRATIONS)”.
Three IDUN members received honorary awards in 2020. Anja Boisen was awarded the Order of Dannebrog form Her Majesty the Queen for her contributions to the scientific community. IIDUN PhD student, Nikolaj Kofoed Mandsberg, was presented the prestigious Eliteforsk travel grant from the Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education for talented young researchers and with it, financial contribution for a long-term exchange with a foreign University. Nikolaj was also the recipient of the Kirstine Meyers Memorial Grant, which is awarded to “young promising Danish students or Graduates to promote their education or their research in the Field of Nature Doctrine”. Postdoc Tijana Maric was given the honorary citizen award from her birth city Uzice, Serbia
IDUN Drug
In IDUN Drug we have now for the first time realized oral delivery of insulin (in rats) with the use of self-unfolding foils. Even though the bioavailability is low (less than 1 %) the initial studies suggest that we should focus on designs that will ensure close proximity between the intestinal wall and our delivery device. The initial microcontainer design has, when loaded with antibiotic, been demonstrated to have significantly improved ability to eradicate bacterial biofilms. Moreover, our microcontainers have been ‘repurposed’ to operate as gut microbiome sampling devices Finally, we have a microfabrication toolbox ready for realization of devices made of biodegradable/biocompatible materials.
IDUN Sensor
In IDUN Sensor we have finalized the development of a stackable in-vitro system for analysis of drug transport through several organs. Also, we have published our pioneering work on growing cells (bacteria biofilms as first case) in a centrifugal microfluidic system. These constructs will facilitate the characterization of our drug delivery devices. We have succeeded to use single drug crystals as resonators, hereby demonstrating the possibility of monitoring previously undetected dehydration events in small amounts of drugs. Our work on Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) based sensors has had a major breakthrough since we have demonstrated that the SERS substrates can be reused and that specific analytes can be ‘drawn’ towards the sensing surface.
2019
The IDUN research activities in 2019 have resulted in 38 peer reviewed journal articles, 56 conference contributions and 31 invited talks. Four of our 2019 papers have impact factors above 10 (Nature Com, Adv. Materials, ACS Nano and Adv. Drug delivery rev). 50 people were in 2019 working in relation to the IDUN center and together they supervised 35 Master students and taught several courses. We successfully ran our PhD summer school program for the fourth time, with a track on drug delivery and one on micro- and nano-sensors, and hosted our annual “IDUN Industry Day” for our 20 invited members from industry.
In 2019, Anja Boisen was awarded her third ERC PoC grant for work in therapeutic drug monitoring. Sarvesh Srivastava was awarded both a DTU PoC grant and a Lundbeck Experiment grant for research in oral delivery of Insulin and magnetically-guided microbots respectively. Chengfang Pang received a Villum experiment grant with a project on nanoparticle-Microbial Interactions in antimicrobial resistance. Senior researcher Tomas Rindzevicius was granted funding for a H2020 framework project on chemical threat detection. In addition, Anja Boisen is a collaborator on three recently granted research projects within pediatric cancer (Rigshospitalet), oral vaccine delivery (SII) and healthy aging (Hvidovre Hospital). Ritika Singh Petersen has started an industrial postdoc with FOM technologies on work initiated by IDUN research. IDUN PhDs and postdocs took home 146.273 kr. in travel grants.
Lastly, IDUN was prolonged for a second research period after our midterm evaluation in 2019. The entire center has been actively involved in the work leading up to our site visit in September. We are all beyond excited for the positive review and for the opportunity to take our research to the next level.
IDUN Drug
When using microcontainers and permeation enhancers, insulin can be transported across cell layers as well as tissue. The containers are essential – probably because they provide a local co-localization of drug and permeation enhancers. However, an exponential decrease in insulin transport is seen with increasing distance between microcontainers and the intestinal wall. To ensure closer contact, new designs of drug delivery devices are being developed. Our first microcontainer results on oral vaccine delivery show that a vaccine can be formulated, loaded and protected by a pH sensitive lid and delivered to mice. Indications of an immunological response is seen after a subcutaneous booster. A method for realization of devices in biodegradable materials has been developed and new applications in the fields of antibiotics/probiotics delivery are showing first promising results. Microdevices
have been ‘repurposed’ for the use as microbots that can self-propel and collect cell samples along their trajectory.
IDUN Sensor
We have discovered a method to make Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) substrates more selective and reusable. We integrate the SERS substrate with potential control whereby it is possible to attract and repel molecules. This will be a unique tool in our future work towards therapeutic drug monitoring. Our recent development of a Single Acquisition Raman Orientation Mapping (SAROM) tool has facilitated a breakthrough in monitoring of e.g. crystal orientation in drug formulations and will form the basis for a spinout company. Using single crystals as resonators, we have been able to unravel thermal properties of single drug crystals. Sensor integration with centrifugal microfluidics has facilitated easy cell culturing/monitoring.
2018
The research activities at IDUN in 2018 have resulted in 35 peer reviewed journal articles, 63 conference contributions and 27 invited talks. 63 people were in 2018 working in relation to the IDUN center and together they supervised 26 Master students and taught several courses. We successfully ran our PhD summer school program, with a track on drug delivery and one on micro- and nano-sensors, and hosted our annual “IDUN Industry Day” where IDUN researchers were given a platform to share their research while learning more about the industry.
In 2018 IDUN Senior Scientist En Te Hwu was awarded the Villum Experiment grant for his project “3D micro/Nano printing”. Professor Jukka Rantanen, Associate Professor Martin Dufva and Associate Professor Stephan Keller were independently awarded grants from the Independent Research Fund, receiving more than 8 MDKK. In addition, Associate Professor Stephan Keller secured funding for his project “Microneedles for allergy testing in the skin” from the Leo foundation and the Copenhagen Center for Health Technology, while Associate Professor Martin Dufva was awarded a Marie Curie grant as a coapplicant. IDUN PhDs and postdocs took home 68.000 kr. in travel grants.
In 2018 IDUN hosted Micro and Nano Engineering (MNE), a large international conference with 600 participants, attracting many of the top researchers within the field of micro- and nanotechnology. IDUN researchers gave 7 talks and presented 9 posters at the conference, generating significant interest in the research conducted at IDUN. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and has provided IDUN researchers with an array of collaborative ideas and future research partners.
IDUN Drug IDUN drug has made a breakthrough in the realization of released 3D printed microcontainers. These allow for fundamental studies on how size and shape of the containers affect flow and attachment to intestinal surfaces. New tissue-based models have been developed for the characterization of mucus adhesion and these have been applied to study e.g. influence of lid material, container surface texture and geometry. First in-vivo vaccine studies have been concluded, showing the potential of containerbased oral vaccination. Using cell-models, container-based delivery of insulin and permeation enhancers have been studied, clearly illustrating the benefit of confining delivery to small regions and at a close distance to the cell layer. New studies on delivery of antibiotics and probiotics are ongoing.
IDUN Sensor Nanoresonators, which are very sensitive to temperature changes, have been used for thermal analysis of a variety of materials, e.g. polymers and proteins. Our nano-pillar Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) substrate has been developed into a chromatography-like platform, showing e.g. direct separation and detection of analytes in urine samples. Complex sample pretreatment and up-concentration of analytes have been integrated on a centrifugal microfluidics platform, and demonstrated on cell supernatants. SERS substrates have been combined with electrochemical sensing and potential control of the SERS substrate facilitates reliable and quantitative SERS measurements. New SERS substrates in polymers and using recyclable nano-hoodoos have been pioneered.