Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aziz Maleki | Nanotechnology | Best Researcher Award

Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Aziz Maleki, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology at the School of Pharmacy, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. He holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS), followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in Nanomedicine. His research focuses on tissue engineering, phototherapy, catalytic nanomedicine, and sonodynamic therapy. Dr. Maleki serves as Dean of the Zanjan Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology Research Center and has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications. He is a member of editorial boards for journals such as Small and ACS Applied Nano Materials, and actively participates in national and international research projects.

Profile:

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🎓 Education:

• Postdoc in Nanomedicine, School of Pharmacy, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, 2014–2016

• Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry, Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS), Zanjan, Iran, 2004–2009

• M.Sc. in Organic Chemistry, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran, 2001–2003

• B.Sc. in Pure Chemistry, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran, 1996–2000

👨‍🏫 Academic Appointments:

• Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Nov 2016–Present

• Dean, Zanjan Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology Research Center, Oct 2021–Present

• Dean, Department of Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, Dec 2019–Dec 2020

• Quality Control Manager, School of Pharmacy, ZUMS, Nov 2016–Present

• Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Pharmacy, ZUMS, Nov 2014–Nov 2016

• Research Assistant, IASBS, Oct 2015–Dec 2015

🧪 Research Interests:

• Tissue engineering

• Phototherapy

• Bioadhesives

• Catalytic nanomedicine

• Sonodynamic therapy

🧬 Research Projects (Selected):

• Ce-Bi@ZIF-8 hybrid nanocomposite for Alzheimer’s therapy, 2021–2023

• Polymer-coated mesoporous silica for dissolution enhancement, Completed 2019

• Artificial skin photothermal studies with polydopamine nanoparticles, 2022

• Gelatin-Platelet Hydrogels for wound healing, 2020–2023

🏆 Honors and Awards:

• Ranked 34th in National MSc Entrance Exam (Organic Chemistry), 2010

• Selected as Exemplary Teacher, ZUMS

• NIMAD-TÜBİTAK Grant Awardee, 2021 (Grant No. 9900262)

• Selected among Top 110 Scholars by Iran National Science Foundation, 2023

• Awarded/Highlighted by Iran Science Elites Federation

🧑‍🎓 Student Supervision (Selected):

• Nasim Shadmani (Postdoc) – Mesoporous silica nanocarriers for methotrexate

• Samaneh Fateh (PhD) – Mesoporous silica for brain delivery of rivastigmine

• Vagiheh Alinegad (PhD) – Polydopamine hydrogels for wound healing

• Shayesteh Bochani (PhD) – MnO₂ nanosheets in wound healing

• Roya Poornouroz (PhD) – MOFs in dissolution enhancement of fenofibrate

• Rezvaneh Azizi (PharmD) – Cu-functionalized ZIFs for infected wounds

📚 Book Chapters:

• Nanoarchitectured Mesoporous Silica-Based Drug-Delivery Systems, Elsevier, 2016

• Functionalized Quantum-Dot-Based Nanomaterials for Cancer Therapy, Elsevier, 2024

🧫 Laboratory and Technical Skills:

• Characterization: TGA, DSC, H¹NMR, FT-IR, UV-Vis, SEM, TEM, N₂ adsorption

• Instrumentation: DLS, FT-IR, UV/Vis, HPLC

• Animal Studies: MTT assay, tumor modeling, wound/abscess models

💻 Software Skills:

• ChemOffice, ImageJ, OriginPro, EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley, Microsoft Office

📄 Peer Review & Editorial Activities:

• Editorial Board Member:

  • Journal of Nanostructure in Chemistry (IF=8, Springer)

  • Polymers (IF=5, MDPI – Special Issue)

• Referee for journals including:

  • Small, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, ACS Applied Nano Materials, ACS Applied Bio Materials

Citation Metrics:

• Total citations: 3,620 (3,365 since 2020)

• h-index: 28 (27 since 2020)

• i10-index: 38 (35 since 2020)

Publication Top Notes:

1. Multifunctional photoactive hydrogels for wound healing acceleration
   A Maleki, J He, S Bochani, V Nosrati, MA Shahbazi, B Guo
   ACS Nano 15(12), 18895–18930, 2021.
   Citations: 439

2. Promoting role of MXene nanosheets in biomedical sciences: therapeutic and biosensing innovations
   M Soleymaniha, MA Shahbazi, AR Rafieerad, A Maleki, A Amiri
   Advanced Healthcare Materials 8(1), 1801137, 2019.
   Citations: 365

3. MXenes and ultrasonication
   M Malaki, A Maleki, RS Varma
   Journal of Materials Chemistry A 7(18), 10843–10857, 2019.
   Citations: 349

4. Mesoporous silica materials: From physico-chemical properties to enhanced dissolution of poorly water-soluble drugs
   A Maleki, H Kettiger, A Schoubben, JM Rosenholm, V Ambrogi, M Hamidi
   Journal of Controlled Release, 2017.
   Citations: 305

5. Advances in tannic acid-incorporated biomaterials: Infection treatment, regenerative medicine, cancer therapy, and biosensing
   A Bigham, V Rahimkhoei, P Abasian, M Delfi, J Naderi, M Ghomi, …
   Chemical Engineering Journal 432, 134146, 2022.
   Citations: 190

6. Mesoporous silica‐based materials with bactericidal properties
   A Bernardos, E Piacenza, F Sancenon, M Hamidi, A Maleki, RJ Turner, …
   Small 15(24), 1900669, 2019.
   Citations: 185

7. Biomedical applications of MXene‐integrated composites: regenerative medicine, infection therapy, cancer Treatment, and biosensing
   A Maleki, M Ghomi, N Nikfarjam, M Akbari, E Sharifi, MA Shahbazi, …
   Advanced Functional Materials 32(34), 2203430, 2022.
   Citations: 164

8. The progress and prospect of zeolitic imidazolate frameworks in cancer therapy, antibacterial activity, and biomineralization
   A Maleki, MA Shahbazi, V Alinezhad, HA Santos
   Advanced Healthcare Materials 9(12), 2000248, 2020.
   Citations: 158

9. Mesoporous bioactive glasses in cancer diagnosis and therapy: stimuli‐responsive, toxicity, immunogenicity, and clinical translation
   E Sharifi, A Bigham, S Yousefiasl, M Trovato, M Ghomi, Y Esmaeili, …
   Advanced Science 9(2), 2102678, 2022.
   Citations: 124

10. Electroconductive multi-functional polypyrrole composites for biomedical applications
    EN Zare, T Agarwal, A Zarepour, F Pinelli, A Zarrabi, F Rossi, …
    Applied Materials Today 24, 101117, 2021.
    Citations: 115

11. Conferring BiVO4 Nanorods with Oxygen Vacancies to Realize Enhanced Sonodynamic Cancer Therapy
    Z Yang, M Yuan, B Liu, W Zhang, A Maleki, B Guo, P Ma, Z Cheng, J Lin
    Angewandte Chemie International Edition 61(44), e202209484, 2022.
    Citations: 108

12. Bioinspired microneedle patches: Biomimetic designs, fabrication, and biomedical applications
    P Makvandi, A Maleki, M Shabani, ARJ Hutton, M Kirkby, R Jamaledin, …
    Matter 5(2), 390–429, 2022.
    Citations: 104

13. Emerging insights on drug delivery by fatty acid mediated synthesis of lipophilic prodrugs as novel nanomedicines
    N Fattahi, MA Shahbazi, A Maleki, M Hamidi, A Ramazani, HA Santos
    Journal of Controlled Release 326, 556–598, 2020.
    Citations: 74

14. Self-assembled organic–inorganic hybrid silica with ionic liquid framework: a novel support for the catalytic enantioselective Strecker reaction of imines using Yb(OTf)3
    B Karimi, A Maleki, D Elhamifar, JH Clark, AJ Hunt
    Chemical Communications 46(37), 6947–6949, 2010.
    Citations: 74

15. Nanoarchitectonics for smart delivery and drug targeting
    AM Holban, AM Grumezescu
    William Andrew, 2016.
    Citations: 70

16. Dendrimers as nanoscale vectors: Unlocking the bars of cancer therapy
    AD Dey, A Bigham, Y Esmaeili, M Ashrafizadeh, FD Moghaddam, SC Tan, …
    Seminars in Cancer Biology 86, 396–419, 2022.
    Citations: 67

17. Chemically engineered immune cell‐derived microrobots and biomimetic nanoparticles: emerging biodiagnostic and therapeutic tools
    LP Jahromi, MA Shahbazi, A Maleki, A Azadi, HA Santos
    Advanced Science 8(8), 2002499, 2021.
    Citations: 66

18. Dissolution enhancement of a model poorly water-soluble drug, atorvastatin, with ordered mesoporous silica: comparison of MSF with SBA-15 as drug carriers
    A Maleki, M Hamidi
    Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery, 2015.
    Citations: 54

19. Titanium‐based nanoarchitectures for sonodynamic therapy‐involved multimodal treatments
    A Maleki, M Seyedhamzeh, M Yuan, T Agarwal, I Sharifi, A Mohammadi, …
    Small 19(12), 2206253, 2023.
    Citations: 48

20. ROS-responsive hydrogels with spatiotemporally sequential delivery of antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs for the repair of MRSA-infected wounds
    B Qiao, J Wang, L Qiao, A Maleki, Y Liang, B Guo
    Regenerative Biomaterials 11, rbad110, 2024.
    Citations: 45