Roberto Guzman

Professor, Chemical and Environmental Engineering
Investigator, Center for Toxicology
Member of the Graduate Faculty
Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology

John W. Harshbarger Building, 136D

Dr. Roberto Guzman has been a Chemical Engineering professor at the University of Arizona since 1989. He has faculty joint appointments in Biomedical Engineering and in Pharmacology and Toxicology (recently) Departments at the University of Arizona. He also has an academic appointment as an international faculty in the Nanotechnology Program at the University of Sonora, Mexico. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Guanajuato, Mexico, at the University of Uppsala, Sweden and at the University of Technology in Compiegne, France, where he also has a visiting scholar appointment. He received a PhD in Chemical Engineering/Biotechnology from North Carolina State University (NCSU) where he continued as a postdoc for a year before joining the University of Arizona. He received an MSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois, Chicago and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Guanajuato, Mexico. His present research is in Nanoparticle Bio/Technology and protein purifications with emphasis in metal-hybrid nanoparticles for diagnostics and target drug delivery therapy and discovery of biomarkers from biological fluids. Professor Guzman background has strong bases in molecular recognition, affinity technology, synthetic chemistry, applied biochemistry and mathematical modeling. The areas of research studied in his laboratory fall in the boundaries between synthetic chemistry, biology, medicine, polymer sciences and engineering and incorporate both experimental and theoretical work analysis.

Research Interest
Research Contributions and Innovations The main Research Interest in my research group has been the development of novel biomedical nanoparticle platforms for drug delivery, imaging and therapy. Main topics include; 1.Nano/biomolecular polymeric structures with encapsulated anticancer drugs and gold shells for dual cancer therapy that combines controlled and targeted drug delivery and infrared thermal ablation. 2.Nano/biomolecular multifunctional para-magnetic metal-hybrid nanoparticles for diagnostics and target NIR therapy. We are now developing novel Nanoparticle Bioconjugates for Combination Therapy of Lung, Pancreatic and Breast cancer. We are also developing novel multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles for biodiagnostics and novel therapeutic applications. 3.Development of novel specific adsorbents for low molecular weight biomarkers isolation and identification. Technology could be used not only for cancer biomarkers but potentially for any other disease that produces extraneous biomolecules.
Offering Research Opportunities
Yes
Prerequisite Courses
Students that succed in my lab, have usually basic skill of chemistry and knowledge of biochemistry.
Majors Considered
I usually have in my laboratory students from diverse disciplines, including students from biochemistry, biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, and biosystem engineering among others. I usually also host high school students.
Types of Opportunities
Description of Opportunity
No description given
Start Date
Research Location