Speaker:  Eliahu Heldman, Professor Emeritus,Ben-Gurion University Be’er Sheba, Israel

We have developed nano-sized vesicles capable of delivering a variety of encapsulated drugs and bioactive compounds to specific brain regions. These vesicles are made from bolaamphiphiles – amphoteric molecules containing two hydrophilic head groups connected to two ends of a hydrophobic alkyl chain – that aggregate to form monolayer membranes. These nano-sized vesicles are very stable due to the high energy barrier for lipid exchange of monolayer membranes; they penetrate the bloodbrain barrier (BBB) thanks to specific surface functional groups; they target specific sites in the central nervous system thanks to unique targeting mechanisms; and they release the encapsulated drug at the site of its action thanks to a unique controlled release mechanism. The design principles and the mechanism of action of these nanosized vesicles will be described in this seminar. Potential applications of these nanosized vesicles such as treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) will also be described and discussed.