Pixel International Conferences

"Approximately 20 % of all-cause global deaths are due to sepsis and are largely preventable” [1]. This example shows that there is the necessity for a change from conventional medical treatments using drugs with a mainly systemic mode of action to a targeted, individual, flexible, and effective therapy. Other inflammatory diseases, as well as the fight against numerous cancers, also require alternative approaches. The use of nanotechnology in medicine offers promising potential. The aim is to formulate nanoparticles, enclose the active substances, transport them reliably to the required cells and finally to release them in a targeted way by using special strategies or stimuli (= Drug delivery) [2]. For the realization, nanoparticle carrier materials made of natural or synthetic polymers bring suitable properties to function as an "active ingredient shell". [3–5]. In order to make this complex, but current subfield of nanoparticles which is relevant in “everyday life” accessible to students, there are numerous requirements to adapt the scientific research to the educational context. According to the model of Didactic Reconstruction [6], various simplifications were made to extend the classical subject of polymers by this current research context within a student experiment for K-12. In the experiment, nanoparticles are formulated with the biopolymer derivate cellulose acetate phthalate by using a dialysis process.

References [1] World Health Organization (2020). Global report on the epidemiology and burden of sepsis. Current evidence, identifying gaps and future directions.
[2] Rempel, G. L. (2015). Introduction of Polymer Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery Applications. NTMB 2/3, 1–6.
[3] Gericke, M., Schulze, P., Heinze, T. (2020). Nanoparticles Based on Hydrophobic Polysaccharide Derivatives-Formation Principles, Characterization Techniques, and Biomedical Applications. Macromol. Biosci. 20/4, e1900415.
[4] Heinze, T., Gericke, M. (2021). Polymer Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery – Synthetic vs. Biopolymers? https://bioresources.cnr.ncsu.edu/resources/polymer-nanoparticles-for-drug-delivery-synthetic-vs-biopolymers/.
[5] Englert, C., Brendel, J. C., Majdanski, T. C., Yildirim, T., Schubert, S., Gottschaldt, M., Windhab, N., Schubert, U. S. (2018). Pharmapolymers in the 21st century: Synthetic polymers in drug delivery applications. Progr. in Polym. Sci. 87, 107–164.
[6] Duit, R., Gropengießer, H., Kattmann, U., Komorek, M., Parchmann, I. (2012). The model of educational reconstruction – a framework for improving teaching and learning science. In: Science Education Research and Practice in Europe: Retrospective and Prospective. Jorde, D., Dillon, J. (Hrsg.). Sense Publ, Rotterdam, 13–37.