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Dr Cheng Cao

Dr Cheng Cao

Research Associate

Ph.D., Chemistry, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) 2019

M.S., Engineering (Applied Chemistry), Shenyang Pharmaceutical University 2015

Science
School of Chemistry

Cheng Cao is a researcher whose expertise in nanotechnology and small-angle scattering techniques has illuminated the intricate world of nanostructures. Cheng's academic journey commenced at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) in Australia, where they pursued his PhD. Following the successful completion of his doctoral studies, Cheng embarked on a postdoctoral position at the University of Oslo in Norway (2020-2021). During this time, Cheng's research journey took them to the Norwegian Resource Centre for X-rays and the prestigious European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), where they delved deeper into the world of nanoscale materials. Currently, Cheng serves as a postdoctoral research associate at Stenzel's group at UNSW Sydney. Their research mission is to make the invisible nanostructures visible for the betterment of nanomedicine. They specialize in designing smart drug delivery nanoparticles by unravelling the internal structures of these tiny marvels. This groundbreaking work has the potential to revolutionize drug-loaded nanoparticles and enhance their precision and efficacy.

As one of the chief investigators, They were granted a NSW Health grant in 2023 for the project "Enhancing Biocompatibility of Cardiovascular Devices." Over the past five years, their leadership as a chief investigator and co-proposer on small angle scattering has resulted in 11 awarded Australian Synchrotron proposals with a total equal grant value of AUD 360,000 for exploring the structure of drug delivery nanoparticles. These grants have facilitated research endeavours aimed at understanding the critical relationship between nanoparticle structures and their functions.

Cheng Cao's research outcomes are also reflected through their publication record, with more than 20 peer-reviewed papers gracing the pages of esteemed journals such as Angewandte Chemie, Chemistry of Materials, Nature Communications, Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, Biomacromolecules, and Nanoscale. Cheng is actively contributing to the community as a guest editor for the journal "Pharmaceutics" and is hosting the special issue " Protein-Based Nanoparticles: Promising Platforms for Drug Delivery.

Location
Room 718 Science and Engineering Building (SEB), E8 School of Chemistry UNSW Sydney NSW 2052 Australia
  • Journal articles | 2024
    Cao C; Tian L; Li J; Raveendran R; Stenzel MH, 2024, 'Mix and Shake: A Mild Way to Drug-Loaded Lysozyme Nanoparticles', ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 16, pp. 27177 - 27186,
    Journal articles | 2024
    El Mohamad M; Han Q; Clulow AJ; Cao C; Safdar A; Stenzel M; Drummond CJ; Greaves TL; Zhai J, 2024, 'Regulating the structural polymorphism and protein corona composition of phytantriol-based lipid nanoparticles using choline ionic liquids', Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 657, pp. 841 - 852,
    Journal articles | 2024
    Tian L; Cao C; Ho J; Stenzel MH, 2024, 'Maximizing Aqueous Drug Encapsulation: Small Nanoparticles Formation Enabled by Glycopolymers Combining Glucose and Tyrosine', Journal of the American Chemical Society, 146, pp. 8120 - 8130,
    Journal articles | 2024
    Vo Y; Nothling MD; Raveendran R; Cao C; Stenzel MH, 2024, 'Effects of Drug Conjugation on the Biological Activity of Single-Chain Nanoparticles', Biomacromolecules, 25, pp. 675 - 689,
    Journal articles | 2024
    Vo Y; Raveendran R; Cao C; Lai RY; Lossa M; Foster H; Stenzel MH, 2024, 'Solvent Choice during Flow Assembly of Photocross-Linked Single-Chain Nanoparticles and Micelles Affects Cellular Uptake', ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 16, pp. 59833 - 59848,
    Journal articles | 2024
    Vo Y; Raveendran R; Cao C; Tian L; Lai RY; Stenzel MH, 2024, 'Tadpole-like cationic single-chain nanoparticles display high cellular uptake', Journal of Materials Chemistry B,
    Journal articles | 2023
    Al-Nakashli R; Raveendran R; Khine YY; Cao C; McKay S; Lu H; Stenzel MH, 2023, 'Drug-Loading Content Influences Cellular Uptake of Polymer-Coated Nanocellulose', Molecular Pharmaceutics, 20, pp. 2017 - 2028,
    Journal articles | 2023
    Al-Nakashli RM; Cao C; Raveendran R; Lu H; Stenzel MH, 2023, 'Increased Drug-Loading Enhances the Activity of Ellipticine in Poly(N-(2-hydroxypropyl) Methacrylamide) PHPMA-Based Polymeric Micelles in 2D and 3D Cancer Cell Models', Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics, 224,
    Journal articles | 2023
    Han Z; Li Z; Raveendran R; Farazi S; Cao C; Chapman R; Stenzel MH, 2023, 'Peptide-Conjugated Micelles Make Effective Mimics of the TRAIL Protein for Driving Apoptosis in Colon Cancer', Biomacromolecules, 24, pp. 5046 - 5057,
    Journal articles | 2023
    Zhang L; Cao C; Tay SS; Chen C; Macmillan A; Wen S; Jin D; McCarroll J; Stenzel MH, 2023, 'Exploring the Effect of Drug Loading on the Biological Fate of Polymer-Coated Solid Nanoparticles', Chemistry of Materials, 35, pp. 4471 - 4488,
    Journal articles | 2022
    Melodia D; Di Pietro Z; Cao C; Stenzel MH; Chapman R, 2022, 'Traceless pH-Sensitive Antibody Conjugation Inspired by Citraconic Anhydride', Biomacromolecules, 23, pp. 5322 - 5329,
    Journal articles | 2022
    Wong S; Cao C; Lessio M; Stenzel MH, 2022, 'Sugar-induced self-assembly of curcumin-based polydopamine nanocapsules with high loading capacity for dual drug delivery', Nanoscale, 14, pp. 9448 - 9458,
    Journal articles | 2022
    Zhang L; Cao C; Kaushik N; Lai RY; Liao J; Wang G; Ariotti N; Jin D; Stenzel MH, 2022, 'Controlling the Biological Behaviors of Polymer-Coated Upconverting Nanoparticles by Adjusting the Linker Length of Estrone Ligands', Biomacromolecules, 23, pp. 2572 - 2585,
    Journal articles | 2021
    Cao C; Zhang L; Kent B; Wong S; Garvey CJ; Stenzel MH, 2021, 'The Protein Corona Leads to Deformation of Spherical Micelles', Angewandte Chemie - International Edition, 60, pp. 10342 - 10349,
    Journal articles | 2021
    Cao C; Zhang L; Kent B; Wong S; Garvey CJ; Stenzel MH, 2021, 'The Protein Corona Leads to Deformation of Spherical Micelles', Angewandte Chemie, 133, pp. 10430 - 10437,
    Journal articles | 2021
    Zhang L; Chen C; Tay SS; Wen S; Cao C; Biro M; Jin D; Stenzel MH, 2021, 'Optimizing the Polymer Cloak for Upconverting Nanoparticles: An Evaluation of Bioactivity and Optical Performance', ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 13, pp. 16142 - 16154,
    Journal articles | 2020
    Cao C; Chen F; Garvey CJ; Stenzel MH, 2020, 'Drug-Directed Morphology Changes in Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly (PISA) Influence the Biological Behavior of Nanoparticles', ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 12, pp. 30221 - 30233,
    Journal articles | 2020
    Wang Y; Cheng YT; Cao C; Oliver JD; Stenzel MH; Chapman R, 2020, 'Polyion Complex-Templated Synthesis of Cross-Linked Single-Enzyme Nanoparticles', Macromolecules, 53, pp. 5487 - 5496,
    Journal articles | 2019
    Cao C; Zhao J; Lu M; Garvey CJ; Stenzel MH, 2019, 'Correlation between Drug Loading Content and Biological Activity: The Complexity Demonstrated in Paclitaxel-Loaded Glycopolymer Micelle System', Biomacromolecules, 20, pp. 1545 - 1554,
    Journal articles | 2019
    Chen F; Raveendran R; Cao C; Chapman R; Stenzel MH, 2019, 'Correlation between polymer architecture and polyion complex micelle stability with proteins in spheroid cancer models as seen by light-sheet microscopy', Polymer Chemistry, 10, pp. 1221 - 1230,
    Journal articles | 2019
    Lu M; Chen F; Cao C; Garvey CJ; Fletcher NL; Houston ZH; Lu H; Lord MS; Thurecht KJ; Stenzel MH, 2019, 'Importance of Polymer Length in Fructose-Based Polymeric Micelles for an Enhanced Biological Activity', Macromolecules, 52, pp. 477 - 486,
    Journal articles | 2019
    Lu M; Khine YY; Chen F; Cao C; Garvey CJ; Lu H; Stenzel MH, 2019, 'Sugar Concentration and Arrangement on the Surface of Glycopolymer Micelles Affect the Interaction with Cancer Cells', Biomacromolecules, 20, pp. 273 - 284,
    Journal articles | 2019
    Noy JM; Cao C; Stenzel M, 2019, 'Length of the Stabilizing Zwitterionic Poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorycholine) Block Influences the Activity of the Conjugated Arsenic Drug in Drug-Directed Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly Particles', ACS Macro Letters, 8, pp. 57 - 63,
    Journal articles | 2019
    Piloni A; Cao C; Garvey CJ; Walther A; Stenzel MH, 2019, 'Poly(4-vinyl imidazole): A pH-Responsive Trigger for Hierarchical Self-Assembly of Multicompartment Micelles Based upon Triblock Terpolymers', Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics, 220,
    Journal articles | 2019
    Procházková E; Cao C; Rawal A; Dračínský M; Bhattacharyya S; Císařová I; Hook JM; Stenzel MH, 2019, 'Polymorphic Transformation of Drugs Induced by Glycopolymeric Vesicles Designed for Anticancer Therapy Probed by Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy', ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 11, pp. 28278 - 28288,
    Journal articles | 2019
    Wong S; Zhao J; Cao C; Wong CK; Kuchel RP; De Luca S; Hook JM; Garvey CJ; Smith S; Ho J; Stenzel MH, 2019, 'Just add sugar forcarbohydrate induced self-assembly of curcumin', Nature Communications, 10, pp. 582,
    Journal articles | 2018
    Cao C; Zhao J; Chen F; Lu M; Khine YY; Macmillan A; Garvey CJ; Stenzel MH, 2018, 'Drug-Induced Morphology Transition of Self-Assembled Glycopolymers: Insight into the Drug-Polymer Interaction', Chemistry of Materials, 30, pp. 5227 - 5236,
    Journal articles | 2015
    Zhao M; Li H; Li H; Qiao Q; Cao C; Xu Z, 2015, 'A turn-on fluorescent probe for hydrogen sulfide and its application in living cells', RSC Advances, 5, pp. 86355 - 86358,
    Journal articles | 2014
    Cao C; Liu X; Qiao Q; Zhao M; Yin W; Mao D; Zhang H; Xu Z, 2014, 'A twisted-intramolecular-charge-transfer (TICT) based ratiometric fluorescent thermometer with a mega-Stokes shift and a positive temperature coefficient.', Chem Commun (Camb), 50, pp. 15811 - 15814,

Research interests:

- How to bring invisible nanostructures into our visible sights for better nanomedicine

- Understand the nature of protein in the body for better drug delivery

- Develop simple drug formulations for industrial purposes