פרופ' אלחנדרו סוסניק

picture of person
077-887-1971
sosnik@technion.ac.il
https://materials.technion.ac.il/en/Research/laboratory-of-pharmaceutical-nanomaterial-science-2/
De-Jur, 607
    • Pharmacy degree (1994) (5 years plan), Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
    • D. in Applied Chemistry (2003), Casali Institute of Applied Chemistry, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. (M.Sc. equivalency to direct access to Ph.D. program between 1998-1999)
    • Postdoctoral, Institute of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Canada (2003-2006)

    Prof. Alejandro Sosnik received his Pharmacy degree from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry of the University of Buenos Aires in 1994, carrying out his professional stage in the pharmacy of a public hospital and volunteering afterwards in the pharmacy of a public pediatric hospital in Buenos Aires for more than one year. During his undergraduate studies, he was also teaching assistant in analytical chemistry and organic chemistry. After two years as junior research scholar of the University of Buenos Aires in the field of organic chemistry (1993-5), he worked as research pharmacist in the Department of Chemistry of the Argentine regulatory agency (equivalent to the US-FDA), a dependency of the Ministry of Health of Argentina (1996). In early 1997, he emigrated to Israel where after obtaining the pharmacist license, he continued his graduate studies, receiving M.Sc. (equivalency, 1998) and Ph.D. degrees in applied chemistry (polymeric biomaterials) from the Casali Institute of Applied Chemistry (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, 2003) under the supervision of Prof. Daniel Cohn. In 2003-6, Prof. Sosnik spent a postdoctoral in the laboratory of Professor Michael Sefton (Institute of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry/Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Canada) working in the development of hybrid matrices for cell culture and tissue engineering. Between 2006 and 2013, Prof. Sosnik was Assistant Professor (tenure) of Pharmaceutical Technology at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry (University of Buenos Aires) and Investigator of the National Science Research Council of Argentina (CONICET, tenure). In this period, he established a research group that worked at the interface of drug crystallization and processing, biomaterials science, nanotechnology and microtechnology, drug delivery and therapeutics. In this context, he supervised three junior staff scientists (CONICET), five postdocs (CONICET) and four Ph.D. theses at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry of the University of Buenos Aires. Prof. Sosnik established the “Ibero-American Network of New Materials for the Design of Advanced Drug Delivery Systems in Diseases of High Socioeconomic Impact” (RIMADEL) of the CYTED Program that gathered eleven research groups and companies of Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Cuba, Colombia, Brazil and Argentina and over 75 scientists and served as its international coordinator in the period 2011-2013. He also served as advisor of several Argentine pharmaceutical companies in scientific, technical and intellectual property issues. Owing to its multidisciplinary background and expertise at the interface of drug research and development and polymeric biomaterials, in 2014, Prof. Sosnik was appointed Associate Professor of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering of Technion-Israel Institute of Technology where he founded the Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Nanomaterials Science and heads the BSc program in Materials Engineering and Biology. In the last years, he was awarded the Marie Reintegration Grant of the European Commission for the period 2014-2018 and other competitive Israeli and European research grants and awards. In 2020, he was promoted to the rank of Professor. His current research lines comprise drug self-assembly and crystallization phenomena and processing, polymer and macromolecular chemistry, biomaterials science, colloidal chemistry (drug and polymer self-assembly), hybrid organic-inorganic nanomaterials, mucoadhesive drug delivery systems, nanomedicine (drug encapsulation, release and targeting), therapy of poverty-related diseases (HIV, tuberculosis), pediatric cancer, intestinal diseases and pharmacokinetics (oral, inhalatory and intranasal administration routes) and ceramic/polymer nanomaterials for sono-dynamic therapy. He has served and serves as evaluator for more than twenty national and international research funding agencies and universities. Prof. Sosnik is co-author of over 190 peer-reviewed articles, reviews, editorials, and book chapters in areas of biomaterials science, nanomaterials, tissue engineering, pharmaceutical research and development and innovation, drug delivery, co-inventor in several patents and patent applications related to biomedical and pharmaceutical innovation and editor of two books.

    ACTIVE PROJECTS

    • 2019-2023 ISF-Individual, Director: Alejandro Sosnik. “Novel Hybrid TiO2/polymer Amphiphilic Nanomaterials of Controlled Size for Targeted Sonodynamic Therapy of Pediatric Cancers”.2020-2023 M-ERA.NET, Partner: Alejandro Sosnik. "Bioactive injectable hydrogels for soft tissue regeneration after reconstructive maxillofacial surgeries (INJECT-BIO)".2021-2025 H2020-MSCA-RISE-2020, European Commission (Grant #101008072); Partner: Alejandro Sosnik. “Supramolecular polyamine gene vectors for cancer therapy (SUPRO-GEN)”2022-2026 H2020-MSCA-DN-2021, European Commission (Grant # GAP-101073404), Partner: Alejandro Sosnik. “Innovative tools to treat and model complex cancer environments (THERATOOLS)”.2023-2025 Technion – Israel Institute of Technology – Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital Collaborative Projects, Director in Israel: Alejandro Sosnik (collaboration with Lionel Fernel Gamarra), “Development of Actively Targeted TiO2 Nanosensitizers for Sonodynamic Therapy of Glioblastoma Multiforme”.
    1. Sosnik A§, das Neves J, Sarmento B, Mucoadhesive polymers in the design of nano-drug delivery systems for administration by non-parenteral routes: A review, Prog Polym Sci 39, 2030-2075 (2014).
    2. Sosnik A§, Carcaboso AM, Nanomedicines in the future of pediatric therapy, Adv Drug Deliv Rev 73, 140-161 (2014).
    3. Sosnik A§, Seremeta KP, Advantages and challenges of the spray-drying technology for the production of pure drug particles and drug-loaded polymeric carriers, Adv Colloid Interface Sci 223, 40-54 (2015).
    4. Sosnik A§, Menaker Raskin M, Polymeric micelles in mucosal drug delivery: Challenges towards clinical translation, Biotechnol Adv 33, 1380-1392 (2015).
    5. Sosnik A§, Drug self-assembly: A phenomenon at the nanometer scale with major impact in the structure-biological properties relationship and the treatment of disease, Prog Mater Sci 82, 39-82 (2016).
    6. Sosnik A§, Augustine R, Challenges in oral drug delivery of antiretrovirals and the innovative strategies to overcome them, Adv Drug Deliv Rev 103, 105-120 (2016).
    7. Menaker Raskin M, Schlachet I, Sosnik A§, Mucoadhesive nanogels by ionotropic crosslinking of chitosan-g-oligo(NiPAam) polymeric micelles as novel drug nanocarriers, Nanomedicine (Lond.) 11, 217-233 (2016).
    8. Talal J, Abutbul-Ionita I, Schlachet I, Danino D, Sosnik A§, Amphiphilic nanoparticle-in-nanoparticle drug delivery systems exhibiting a surface rate-controlling crosslinked inorganic domains, Chem Mater 29, 873–885 (2017).
    9. Augustine R, Mathew A, Sosnik A, Metal oxide nanoparticles as versatile therapeutic agents modulating cell signaling pathways: Linking nanotechnology with molecular medicine, Appl Mater Today 7, 91-103 (2017).
    10. Bukchin A, Kuplennik N, Carcaboso A, Sosnik A§, Effect of growing glycosylation extents on the self-assembly and active targeting in vitro of branched poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide) block copolymers, Appl Mater Today 11, 57-69 (2018).
    11. Bukchin A, Pascual-Pasto G, Cuadrado-Vilanova M, Castillo-Ecija H, Monterrubio C, Olaciregui NG, Ordeix L, Mora J, Carcaboso AM, Sosnik A§, Glucosylated nanomicelles target glucose-avid pediatric sarcomas, J Control Releas 276, 59-71 (2018).
    12. Augustine R, Levin Ashkenazi D, Sverdlov Arzi R, Zlobin V, Shofti R, Sosnik A§, Nanoparticle-in-microparticle oral drug delivery system of a clinically relevant darunavir/ritonavir antiretroviral combination, Acta Biomater 74, 344-356 (2018).
    13. Sverdlov Arzi R, Sosnik A§, Electrohydrodynamic atomization and spray-drying for the production of pure drug nanocrystals and co-crystals, Adv Drug Deliv Rev, 131, 79-100 (2018).
    14. Schlachet I, Trousil J, Rak D, Knudsen KD, Pavlova E, Nyström B, Sosnik A§, Chitosan-graft-poly(methyl methacrylate) amphiphilic nanoparticles: Self-association and physicochemical characterization, Carbohydr Polym 212, 412-420 (2019).
    15. Moshe Halamish H, Trousil J, Rak D, Knudsen KD, Pavlova E, Nyström B, Štěpánek P, Sosnik A§, Self-assembly and nanostructure of poly(vinyl alcohol)-graft-poly(methyl methacrylate) amphiphilic nanoparticles, J Colloid Interface Sci 553, 512-523 (2019).
    16. Schlachet I, Sosnik A§, Mixed mucoadhesive amphiphilic polymeric nanoparticles cross a model of nasal septum epithelium in vitro, ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 11, 21360–21371 (2019).
    17. Kumarasamy M, Sosnik A§, The nose-to-brain transport of polymeric nanoparticles is mediated by immune sentinels and not by olfactory sensory neurons, Adv Biosys 3, Art. 1900123 (2019).
    18. Chauhan P, Kumarasamy M, Sosnik A, Danino D, Enhanced thermostability and anticancer activity in breast cancer cells of laccase immobilized on Pluronic-stabilized nanoparticles, ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 11, 39436-39448 (2019).
    19. Zaritski A, Castillo-Ecija H,Kumarasamy M, Peled E, Sverdlov Arzi R, Carcaboso AM, Sosnik A§, Selective accumulation of galactomannan amphiphilic nanomaterials in pediatric solid tumor xenografts correlates with GLUT1gene expression, ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 11, 38483-38496 (2019).
    20. Kuplennik N, Lang K, Steinfeld R, Sosnik A§, Folate receptor a-modified nanoparticles for targeting of the central nervous system, ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 11, 39633-39647 (2019).
    21. Weisbord I, Shomrat N, Moshe H, Sosnik A, Segal-Peretz T, Nano spray-dried block copolymer nanoparticles and their transformation into hybrid and inorganic nanoparticles, Adv Func Mater 30, Art. 1808932 (2020).
    22. Kushnirov Melnitzer V, Sosnik A§, Novel hybrid titanium oxide/polymer amphiphilic nanomaterials with controlled size for drug encapsulation and delivery, Adv Func Mater 30, 1806146 (2020).
    23. Lecot N, Glisoni R, Oddone N, Benech J, Fernández-Lomonaco M, Gambini JP, Cabral P, Sosnik A§, Glucosylated polymeric micelles actively target a breast cancer model, Adv Ther, Art. 2000010 (2020).
    24. Sverdlov Arzi R, Sosnik A§, Cohen N, A microscopically motivated model for particle penetration into swollen biological networks, Polymers 12, Art. 1912 (2020).
    25. das Neves J, Sverdlov Arzi R, Sosnik A§, Molecular and cellular cues governing nanomaterials-mucosae interactions: From nanotherapeutics to nanotoxicology, Chem Soc Rev, 49, 5058-5100 (2020).
    26. Abu Saleh D, Rana U, Higuchi M, Sosnik A§, Luminescent amphiphilic nanogels by terpyridine-metal ion complexation of polymeric micelles, Mater Today Chem, 18, 100359 (2020).
    27. Schlachet I, Moshe Halamish H, Sosnik A§, Mixed self-assembled amphiphilic polymeric nanoparticles for intranasal drug delivery to the brain, Molecules, 25, 4496 (2020).
    28. Bukchin A, Sanchez-Navarro M, Carrera A, Teixidó M, Carcaboso AM, Giralt E, Sosnik A§, Amphiphilic polymeric nanoparticles modified with a retro-enantio peptide shuttle target the brain of mice, Chem Mater, 32, 7679-7693 (2020).
    29. Bukchin A, Sanchez-Navarro M, Carrera A, Resa-Pares C, Castillo-Ecija H, Balaguer-Lluna L, Teixidó M, Olaciregui NG, Giralt E, Carcaboso AM, Sosnik A§, Amphiphilic polymeric nanoparticles modified with a protease-resistant peptide shuttle for the delivery of SN-38 in diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, ACS Appl Nano Mater 4, 1314-1329 (2021).
    30. Abu Saleh, Sosnik A§, Enhanced photoluminescence of boron nitride quantum dots by encapsulation in polymeric nanoparticles, Nanotechnology 32, 195104 (2021).
    31. Kumarasamy M, Sosnik A§, Heterocellular spheroids of the neurovascular blood-brain barrier as a platform for personalized neuronanomedicine, iScience 24, 102183 (2021). Advanced publication in bioRxiv (https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.08.14.249326v2).
    32. Singh Chauhan P, Kumarasamy M, Carcaboso AM, Sosnik A§, Danino D, Multifunctional silica-coated mixed polymeric micelles for targeted therapy of pediatric glioblastoma multiforme, Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl 128, 112261 (2021).
    33. Pariente A, Peled E, Zlotver I, Sosnik A§, Hybrid amorphous TiO2/polymer nanomaterials trigger apoptosis of pediatric cancer cells upon ultrasound irradiation, Mater Today Chem 22, 100613 (2021).
    34. Peled E, Sosnik A§, Amphiphilic galactomannan nanoparticles trigger the alternative activation of murine macrophages, J Control Release 339, 473-483 (2021).
    35. Sosnik A§, Ben Shabo R, Moshe Halamish H, Cannabidiol-loaded mixed polymeric micelles of chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol) and poly(methyl methacrylate) for trans-corneal delivery, Pharmaceutics 13, 2142 (2021). Advanced publication in Preprints (https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202111.0364/v1).
    36. Ashkar A, Sosnik A, Davidovich-Pinhas, Structured edible lipid-based oral drug-delivery systems, Biotechnol Adv 54, 107789 (2022).
    37. Dobrynin D, Polishchuk I, Portal L, Zlotver I, Sosnik A§, Pokroy B, Adsorption of SARS CoV-2 spike proteins on various functionalized surfaces correlates with the high transmissibility of Delta and Omicron variants, Mater Today Bio 14, 100265 (2022). Advanced publication in arXiv (https://arxiv.org/abs/2202.12051).
    38. Trousil J, Dal N-JK, Fenaroli F, Schlachet I, Kubíčková P, Janoušková O, Pavlova E, Škorič M, Trejbalová K, Pavliš O, Sosnik A§, Antibiotic-loaded amphiphilic chitosan nanoparticles target macrophages and kill an intracellular pathogen, Small 18, 2201853 (2022).
    39. Moshe Halamish H, Zlotver I, Sosnik A§, Polymeric nanoparticles surface-complexed with boric acid actively target solid tumors overexpressing sialic acid, J Colloid Interface Sci 626, 916-929 (2022).
    40. Sverdlov Arzi R, Davidovich-Pinhas M, Cohen N, Sosnik A§, An experimental and theoretical approach to understand the interaction between particles and mucosal tissues, Acta Biomater 158, 449-462 (2023). Advanced publication in bioRxiv (https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.09.15.508137v2)
    41. Shreiber-Livne I, Sulimani L, Shapira A, Procaccia S, Meiri D, Sosnik A§, Poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(epsilon-caprolactone) nanoparticles as a platform for the improved oral delivery of cannabidiol, Drug Deliv Transl Res, in press (2023). Advanced publication in Research Square (https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-2962018/v1).
    42. Peled E, Tornaci S, Zlotver I, Dubnika A, Toksoy Öner E, Sosnik A, First transcriptomic insight into the reprogramming of human macrophages with levan-based fructans, Carbohydr Polym 320, 121203 (2023).
    43. Sosnik A§, Zlotver I, Peled E, Galactomannan-graft-poly(methyl methacrylate) nanoparticles induce an anti-inflammatory phenotype in human macrophages, J Mater Chem B 11, 8471-8483 (2023).
    44. 44. Awad R, Avital A, Sosnik A, Polymeric nanocarriers for nose-to-brain drug delivery in neurodegenerative diseases and neurodevelopmental disorders, Acta Pharm Sin B 13, 1866-1886 (2023).
    45. Peng X, Li X, Xie B, Lai Y, Sosnik A, Boucetta H, Chen Z, He W, Gout therapeutics and drug delivery, J Control Release 362, 728-754 (2023).
    46. Jayita S, Pravinkumar V, Sosnik A§, Kumarasamy M, Microfluidics for brain endothelial-astrocytic interactions, Organs-on-a-Chip 5, 100033 (2023). Advanced publication in Preprints (https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202306.1121/v1)
    47. Boucetta H, Zhang L, Sosnik A, He W, Pulmonary arterial hypertension nanotherapeutics: New pharmacological targets and gene therapy, J Control Release 365, 236-258 (2024).
    48. Zlotver I, Sosnik A§, Glucosylated hybrid TiO2/polymer nanomaterials for actively targeted sonodynamic therapy of cancer, Small 20, 2305475 (2024).

     

    § Corresponding author.

Pharmaceutical Materials Science emerged as the systematic study of the physicochemical properties and the behavior of materials of pharmaceutical interest (MPIs) in relation to product performance, MPIs comprising drugs and non-pharmacologically active pharmaceutical excipients. In this framework, the thorough study of the relationship between the structure and the properties of drugs, excipients and their combinations has become a pillar of the rational development of pharmaceutical products.

I am interested in the investigation of novel biomaterials-based strategies to optimize the treatment of disease from the isolation, processing and characterization of pure drugs and the design, production and characterization of polymeric micro and nanocarriers to the evaluation of the performance in relevant in vitro (cell), ex vivo (animal tissue) and in vivo (animal) models. This perspective is articulated and consolidated by the establishment of strategic intra and extramural scientific collaborations. The deep understanding of the relationship between micro/nanostructure, properties and processing methods is a fundamental goal of our research. The main research topics are the following:

 

The main research interests are the following:

  • Polymer and macromolecular chemistry
  • Biomaterials science
  • Microwave-assisted polymer synthesis
  • Drug crystallization and nanocrystals
  • Hybrid polymer-ceramic nanobiomaterials
  • Colloidal chemistry (drug and polymer self-assembly)
  • Nanomedicine (drug encapsulation, release and targeting)
  • Therapy of poverty-related diseases (HIV, tuberculosis), cancer, intestinal diseases
  • Hybrid polymer/ceramic nanomaterials
  • Sono-dynamic therapy
  • Cell culture
  • Pharmacokinetics (oral, inhalatory and intranasal administration routes)