Fatih YANAR

Research

My research brings together two lines of work: the production of drug delivery systems in continuous-flow reactors, and the evaluation of these systems in cell-based models. In parallel, I study single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with inflammation and dyslipidaemia in coronary artery disease

Continuous-flow production of drug delivery systems

Continuous-flow reactors allow nanoparticle synthesis to be controlled directly through flow rate, temperature and mixing time. This control determines particle size, size distribution and encapsulation efficiency during synthesis, so that carriers are obtained reproducibly and without additional processing steps. The approach also addresses the limited production rates and high costs of conventional batch methods.  We are trying to apply it to liposomes and to inorganic nanoparticles used as drug carriers or as diagnostic agents.

Light-triggered controlled drug release

Thermosensitive liposomes release their contents on approaching the lipid phase transition temperature. Co-encapsulation of a light-absorbing nanoparticle allows this transition to be induced externally, providing spatial and temporal control over drug release. Our current project applies this principle to breast cancer, using thermosensitive liposomes that carry both a near-infrared absorbing nanoparticle and a chemotherapeutic agent. Release under illumination is evaluated in breast cancer cell lines.

Students in the laboratory can take part in both the production of drug carriers and the evaluation of their effects on cancer cell lines. The work sits between molecular biology, materials science and pharmaceutical technology, and no previous experience is expected. Undergraduate and MSc students are welcome to join for a project or thesis in these areas. You can contact me at fatih.yanar@bogazici.edu.tr

Selected Publications

• Yanar F, Mosayyebi A, Nastruzzi C, Carugo D, Zhang X Continuous-flow production of liposomes with a millireactor under varying fluidic conditions Pharmaceutics, 2020, 12(11):1001. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics12111001.
   
• Demircan A, Coskunpinar E, Kanca D, Ozkara G, Yanar F, Kurnaz-Gomleksiz O, Bugra Z, Ozturk O, Yilmaz Aydogan H Role of SNPs of CPTIA and CROT genes in the carnitine-shuttle in coronary artery disease: a case-control study Turkish Journal of Biochemistry, 2019, 44(6): 822-30. doi: 10.1515/tjb-2018-0546.
   
• Cristaldi DA, Yanar F, Mosayyebi A, García-Manrique P, Stulz E, Carugo D, Zhang X. Easy-to-perform and cost-effective fabrication of continuous-flow reactors and their application for nanomaterials synthesis New Biotechnology, 2018, 25;47:1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.nbt.2018.02.002.