Dimiter N. Petsev, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
The University of New Mexico
Alpine Biosciences (STC start-up)
Eta Diagnostics, Inc. (STC start-up)
Dr. Petsev has disclosed 16 inventions, received seven issued U. S. patents, has four pending patent applications, one license agreement with local start-up company Alpine Biosciences for protocell technology and one option to license agreement with Eta Diagnostics for massively parallel flow cytometry technology.
The protocell technology uses protocells, porous nanoparticles with lipid bilayers, as a delivery platform for several classes of macromolecules as cancer therapeutic agents, bypassing many severe problems associated with systemic drug administration, such as degradation and non-specific interactions during circulation, while promoting uptake and intracellular trafficking in targeted cells. The cytometry technology provides for novel methods for making negative contrast elastomeric microparticles whose compressibility/density ratio can be well controlled for size and stable synthesis. The microparticles’ compressibility/density ratio is less than water, allowing them to be acoustically manipulated from other particles such as cells within an aqueous solution. The microparticles can be used as platforms for bio-assays.
Dr. Petsev’s technologies are focused on micro- and nano-fluidic devices and materials for biomedical and engineering applications. Dr. Petsev and his co-inventors have developed ways to manipulate microparticles and components (both separating and mixing) in fluids moving through channels less than half a millimeter wide by using electrical fields of alternating and direct current. For example, the method provides a faster way to separate proteins in fluid samples, which could be used to provide more rapid diagnosis of disease. His team has also designed a pump to move liquids through microchannels. The goal is to create integrated electronic-fluidic chips for micro- and nano-fluidic applications.
Dr. Petsev’s research interests include electrokinetic phenomena, micro- and nano-fluidics, and complex fluids and materials.
Issued U. S. Patents
7,402,229, Fabrication and Use of Semipermeable Membranes and Gels for the Control of Electrolysis in a Microfluidic Device, issued July 22, 2008
7,465,381, Electrokinetic Molecular Separation in Nanoscale Fluidic Channels, issued December 16, 2008
7,976,691, Fabrication and Use of Semipermeable Membranes and Gels for the Control of Electrolysis, issued July 12, 2011
8,105,471, Nanofluidics for Bioseparation and Analysis, issued January 31, 2012
8,334,013, Mesoporous Metal Oxide Microspheres and Method for Forming Same, issued December 18, 2012
8,334,014, Microparticles with Hierarchical Porosity, issued December 18, 2012
8,658,734, Synthesis of Stable Elastomeric Negative Acoustic Contrast Particles, issued February 25, 2014
Pending Patent Applications
Fabrication and Use of Semipermeable Membranes and Gels for the Control of Electrolysis
Monodispersed Particles Fabricated by Microfluidic Device
Methods of Fabricating Nanoporous and Radiation Hard Oxide Particles Adsorbent of Noble Gases Fission Products
DNA/RNA Sequencing Using a Semiconducting Nanopore