He enjoys cooking and his specialty is apple cake, but Coué is more excited when he can create polymer nanocomplexes in the laboratory to encapsulate therapeutic proteins. Working since February 2007 in the Biomedical Chemistry (BMC) group, Coué's goal is to help deliver peptide and protein therapeutic drugs that are notorious for their chemical and biological instability. For example, one area that he is focusing on is insulin delivery, well-known in treating chronic diabetes. Because of insulin's instable nature patients must receive frequent injections which can cause much discomfort and stress.
`As a polymer chemist,' Coué explained, while sitting on a sofa outside his Zuidhorst lab, `I develop biocompatible and biodegradable cationic polymers that I use to formulate pH-sensitive nanoparticles. Once the polymers are synthesized, they can spontaneously assemble into nanoparticles inside an aqueous solution through their charge attraction with negatively-charged proteins. In this way, the protein becomes encapsulated and has a longer lifetime inside the body. In addition, the protein's release is better controlled. Instead of injecting insulin, the patient can then either take the drug orally or with a nasal spray.'
Coué's research is part of the Integrated European Project `Nanobiopharmaceutics.' He sends samples to project partners after having synthesized polymers, and prepared and characterized the nanoparticles. Researchers then perform in vitro and in vivo testing.
`I choose the UT for my PhD study because of this project,' said Coué. `I like that my research has direct biomedical applications. It feels more concrete to me.'
`I also decided on coming to the UT because the research conditions are better here than in France. There is more support here financially, allowing us to attend conferences, buy necessary materials, and even participate in more social activities.'
Still, Coué drives ten hours home to Rennes, the capital of Brittany, four times a year. `In the Netherlands, you eat to feed yourself. But in France, we have more respect for the food,' he grinned thinking of his native cuisine. `If I go to the market in my home town, there is more diversity, not to mention the freshly baked bread!'
`The nice thing about being in the Netherlands,' Coué said, emphasizing the positive side of living and working outside of his native country, `is that I can make friends with people from all over the world. It's a melting pot of different cultures. Here I learned to be more tolerate and open-minded. It's good to compare different ways of thinking and then decide what works best.'
In addition to his research, Coué supports first-year students, and supervises two master's students who perform laboratory experiments on small parts of his project. `It's good for them,' Coué said. `And it's good for me. They get some lab experience, and I get the results for my project.'
When not cooking up cakes or polymers, Coué likes to spend time with his friends and at the fitness gym. He hopes to complete his PhD in spring 2011.
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| Coué prepares a polymerization mixture in his lab. (Foto: Gijs van Ouwerkerk) |
