Biography
Dr. Inge S. Zuhorn
Current research
Prof. Zuhorn is leading the Targeted Drug Delivery with Nanomedicine group at the Department of Biomaterials and Biomedical Technology, University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands. After having obtained her PhD on non-viral gene delivery (2002), Dr. Zuhorn worked at the Biomade Technology Foundation for 5 years. After that she returned to academia and started working on the design of nanocarriers for drug delivery to the brain. Her team identified the G23 peptide, a peptide that mediates the transport of nanoparticles across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). In addition, they created a filter-free in vitro BBB model in order to quantitatively measure the transport of nanoparticles across the BBB, and developed several assays to measure the endocytosis and endosomal escape of drugs/genes from nanocarrier systems, including extracellular vesicles (EVs).
Dr. Zuhorn was awarded both a VIDI and VICI grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO), to develop nanocarriers for drug delivery to the brain, focusing on treatment of glioblastoma.
The ‘Targeted Drug Delivery with Nanomedicine’ research group focuses on drug delivery across cellular barriers. Our research involves the design and synthesis of nanoparticles, and the study of nanoparticle-cell dynamics. By studying the mechanisms of drug delivery and elucidating structure-function relationships we aim for rational design of drug delivery systems. The overarching aim of the work is to exploit physiological transport routes for nanoparticle-mediated drug delivery.
Overarching research lines
i. Elucidation of the mechanisms of nanocarrier-mediated drug and gene delivery, including the cellular processing of nanoparticles and the mechanisms of endosomal escape of (therapeutic) cargo
ii. Design of nanocarriers for drug delivery to the brain, bridging basic science with clinical applications.
We develop lipid-based, polymer-based and natural nanocarriers such as extracellular vesicles (EVs) for drug delivery. Translational and collaborative research projects include nanocarrier design for treatment of glioblastoma, Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Huntington’s Disease (HD), and Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 1 (SCA-1), and prevention of anastomotic leakage following esophageal surgery.
Our work follows a multidisciplinary approach, bridging polymer chemistry/materials science to tailor nanocarrier properties, biology/medicine to understand disease/cell interactions/drug delivery, engineering for assay design/(large-scale) manufacturing, and in vivo validation to assess biocompatibility/safety/therapeutic outcome, for clinical translation.
Key publications:
1. Development of a Microwell System for Reproducible Formation of Homogeneous Cell Spheroids
Miguel A. Reina Mahecha, Ginevra Mariani, Pauline E. M. van Schaik, Paulien Schaafsma, Theo G. van Kooten, Prashant K. Sharma, Inge S. Zuhorn. Pharmaceutics 2026, 18(1), 56; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics18010056
2. Breaking free: endocytosis and endosomal escape of extracellular vesicles
Ribovski L, Joshi B, Gao J, Zuhorn I. Extracell Vesicles Circ Nucl Acids. 2023 Jun 30;4(2):283-305. doi: 10.20517/evcna.2023.26.
3. Converting extracellular vesicles into nanomedicine: loading and unloading of cargo
B.S. Joshi, D. Ortiz, I.S. Zuhorn. Materials Today Nano 2021, 16, 100148; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtnano.2021.100148.
4. Development of curcumin-loaded zein nanoparticles for transport across the blood-brain barrier and inhibition of glioblastoma cell growth
Zhang H, van Os WL, Tian X, Zu G, Ribovski L, Bron R, Bussmann J, Kros A, Liu Y, Zuhorn IS. Biomater Sci. 2021 Oct 26;9(21):7092-7103. doi: 10.1039/d0bm01536a.
5. Low nanogel stiffness favors nanogel transcytosis across an in vitro blood-brain barrier
Ribovski L, de Jong E, Mergel O, Zu G, Keskin D, van Rijn P, Zuhorn IS. Nanomedicine. 2021 Jun;34:102377. doi: 10.1016/j.nano.2021.102377.
6. Endocytosis of Extracellular Vesicles and Release of Their Cargo from Endosomes
Joshi BS, de Beer MA, Giepmans BNG, Zuhorn IS. ACS Nano. 2020 Apr 28;14(4):4444-4455. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.9b10033.
7. Mechanism of polyplex- and lipoplex-mediated delivery of nucleic acids: real-time visualization of transient membrane destabilization without endosomal lysis
ur Rehman Z, Hoekstra D, Zuhorn IS. ACS Nano. 2013 May 28;7(5):3767-77. doi: 10.1021/nn3049494.
8. Nonviral gene delivery vectors use syndecan-dependent transport mechanisms in filopodia to reach the cell surface
ur Rehman Z, Sjollema KA, Kuipers J, Hoekstra D, Zuhorn IS. ACS Nano. 2012 Aug 28;6(8):7521-32. doi: 10.1021/nn3028562.
9. Peptide-mediated blood-brain barrier transport of polymersomes
Georgieva JV, Brinkhuis RP, Stojanov K, Weijers CA, Zuilhof H, Rutjes FP, Hoekstra D, van Hest JC, Zuhorn IS. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2012 Aug 13;51(33):8339-42. doi: 10.1002/anie.201202001.