Chanan Angsuthanasombat, Ph.D.

Our research explores bacterial peptide and protein toxins as fundamental biological models and potential platforms for therapeutic innovations, aiming to advance infectious disease control and address antimicrobial resistance. Key targets include Cry δ-endotoxins from Bacillus thuringiensis (biopesticide), CyaA-hemolysin from Bordetella pertussis (whooping cough), TylA hemolysin and VacA cytotoxin from Helicobacter pylori (a gastric cancer risk factor), lysostaphin from Staphylococcus simulans, an effective agent against MRSA (methicillin-resistant S. aureus), and bacteriocins from probiotic bacteria.

Despite prior progress, the detailed structural mechanisms by which these toxins interact with host cells, especially in binding to specific receptors and forming membrane pores, remain insufficiently elucidated. To bridge this knowledge gap, we have applied a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach that integrates molecular microbiology, structural biology, biochemistry, biophysics and immunology. Our investigations are enabled by advanced techniques, including protein engineering, expression in insect cells, receptor-binding assays, phage-peptide display bio-panning, structural modelling and MD simulations, high-resolution imaging, spectroscopy, and functional assays.

Looking ahead, we aim to translate these fundamental insights into therapeutic innovations. Current initiatives explore nanoencapsulation strategies for engineered toxin-based therapeutics using bio-nanocarriers (e.g., prebiotic inulin nanoparticles) to enhance stability, targeted delivery, and efficacy in the gastrointestinal environment. Concurrently, we plan to establish human-relevant 3D gastrointestinal organoid models integrated with advanced biomedical engineering platforms, including microfluidics, to more accurately simulate disease conditions and assess therapeutic responses.

Through integrative multidisciplinary approaches, this research would propel fundamental scientific understanding and translational advances. By linking molecular discoveries with biomedical engineering innovations, it would create a platform for next-generation therapeutic development with strong potential for clinical and commercial applications.