SBIR Phase I: An energy-based therapeutic to treat prostate cancer

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop nanoparticles designed to identify and kill cancer cells upon activation by a beam of light. This project will provide prostate cancer patients with an effective alternative therapy without the side effects associated with surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. In 2018, the total prevalence of men diagnosed and living with any stage of prostate cancer was roughly 3.3 million patients. The project will conduct preliminary studies regarding the idea behind the effectiveness and the safety of the proposed treatment. The technology developed in this project represents a platform cancer treatment, as the nanoparticle could be formulated to seek out other cancers as well. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will address the unmet need for an effective prostate cancer treatment that does not cause the unwanted side effects of current prostate cancer therapy. A novel prostate-specific membrane antigen targeted nanoparticle causes intracellular acidosis and prostate cancer cell death in response to activation by deep penetrating near-infrared light. The goals of this project are to optimize light delivery parameters to maximize the acidosis-driven cancer cell death. Studies will be conducted using prostate cancer cells in vitro and in an animal model of mice with prostate cancer tumors. Prostate cancer cells in the petri dish will be used to determine the optimal intracellular bioaccumulation of the nanoparticle and light delivery parameters. The mice with prostate cancer will receive either near infrared light alone, or three escalating doses of the nanoparticle with optimal light activation. It is anticipated that mice which receive light alone will show increases in prostate tumor growth and decreases in survival. In contrast, mice receiving the nanoparticle and light treatment should demonstrate decreases in tumor growth rate and increases in survival in a dose-dependent manner.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.