STTR Phase I: Self-assembling molecular brachytherapy for treatment of metastatic cancer

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是使转移性癌症的放射治疗成为可能，据估计，美国每年60万癌症死亡人数中，转移性癌症占90%。在美国每年大约180万新诊断的癌症病例中，近一半是使用某种形式的放射治疗来改善结果的候选人。然而，由于需要事先了解转移部位，转移性癌症通常不使用放射治疗。拟议中的项目通过使用癌细胞本身来帮助传递辐射来治疗转移性癌症。这项技术可能产生可靠的疗效放射治疗最致命的形式的癌症。这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目旨在推进放疗，利用癌细胞本身作为治疗递送的催化剂。在全身给药或局部注射后，这些单体有望通过组织扩散并随后聚合，将放射性核素固定在癌细胞的细胞外空间。非癌细胞将受到最小的影响，因为在没有癌细胞来源的催化剂的情况下，可溶性单体将继续受到扩散和相对快速的组织清除。该方法的核心化学原理是在生理条件下由酶触发的天然类化合物聚合。最终的治疗化合物具有可聚合化合物和共价共轭放射性核素131-I（一种常用的放射治疗同位素）的特征。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to enable radiotherapies for metastatic cancer, estimated to account for 90% of the 600,000 cancer deaths in the US each year. Of the approximately 1.8 million new cancer cases diagnosed each year in the US, nearly half are candidates for improved outcomes using some form of radiation-based therapy. Metastatic cancer, however, is generally not treated with radiotherapies due to the need for prior knowledge of the metastatic sites. The proposed project treats metastatic cancer by using the cancer cells themselves to help deliver the radiation. This technology may generate reliable efficacy of radiotherapy for the treatment of the most lethal forms of cancer.This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to advance radiotherapy that exploits cancer cells themselves as catalysts for therapeutic delivery. After systemic administration or local injection, the monomers are expected to diffuse through tissues and subsequently polymerize, immobilizing radionuclides in the extracellular space of cancer cells. Non-cancerous cells will be minimally impacted, as soluble monomers will remain subject to diffusion and relatively rapid tissue clearance in the absence of cancer cell-derived catalysts. The chemistry at the core of the approach is an enzyme-triggered polymerization of native-like compounds under physiological conditions. The final therapeutic compound features the polymerizable compound and covalently-conjugated radionuclide 131-I, a commonly used radiotherapy isotope.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.