Integrated Nanosystems for Diagnosis and Therapy

描述（由申请人提供）： 一个由科学家、纳米技术专家和医生组成的多学科团队将建立一个纳米技术卓越计划（PEN），重点是与“诊断和治疗的集成纳米系统”相关的研究和教育活动。这个PEN将包括来自华盛顿大学文理学院和医学院的调查人员，以及来自加州大学伯克利分校和圣巴巴拉分校的纳米技术专家。中心使命是开发一组充分表征和通用的纳米级试剂，其可以根据需要组装、标记、靶向、填充和激活，用于诊断和治疗与NHLBI相关的各种疾病的综合目的。整体实验策略将侧重于急性肺和全身血管损伤的生物模型（体外和体内），以证明这些药物的有效性。该笔网有六个具体目标：（1）程序化的集成纳米系统的制备和组装;（2）纳米结构在提高灵敏度的成像中的应用;（3）通过识别mRNA转录产物对基因表达进行成像;（4）纳米结构在治疗中的应用;（5）医学和材料科学家的跨学科教育和培训;以及;（6）传播和翻译纳米技术的发展。将进行基础研究，以了解纳米技术应用于医学的潜在作用和局限性，一些应用研究将致力于实施定义明确的纳米结构，用于诊断和治疗急性血管损伤和炎症，并在肺和心血管系统中进行验证。将开发用于制备和表征新型多功能纳米结构的通用方法，所述纳米结构可以作为诊断剂和治疗剂的宿主，然后一旦它们完成其功能就被安全地销毁（目标1）。将分别通过正电子发射断层扫描、磁共振和光学成像对放射性、MR和光学标记的纳米结构进行增强成像能力的演示，从而通过细胞表面受体的配体靶向组织（目标2）。还将开发细胞内靶向，以允许mRNA的鉴定和“阅读”，作为对在疾病状态下不受调节或为基因转移产物的基因产物进行直接成像的手段（目的3）。预计这些新方法将作为一种新的分子成像形式普遍适用，消除了对报告基因的需要。除了急性血管损伤的成像之外，还将开发通过使用纳米级材料阵列递送各种治疗剂的治疗（目标4）。这一国际博士后研究所成功的关键是，通过正式课程、讲习班和实验室轮换，建立对学生和博士后进行教育、培训和指导的基础设施（目标5），并建立一个有效和基础广泛的机制，传播成果、程序和方案（目标6）。通过这些举措，我们将为纳米科学和纳米技术的发展提供领导，这些纳米科学和纳米技术可以影响到整个21世纪的临床指令和能力。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A multidisciplinary team of scientists, nanotechnologists and physicians will establish a Program of Excellence in Nanotechnology (PEN), with the central focus being research and educational activities related to "Integrated Nanosystems for Diagnosis and Therapy". This PEN will include investigators from the Schools of Arts & Sciences and Medicine at Washington University, as well as nanotechnologists from the University of California campuses at Berkeley and Santa Barbara. The central mission is the development of a group of well-characterized and versatile nanoscale agents that can be assembled, labeled, targeted, filled, and activated as needed for the combined purposes of diagnosis and treatment of various diseases of relevance to NHLBI. The overall experimental strategy will focus on biological models of acute pulmonary and systemic vascular Injury (in vitro and in vivo) to demonstrate the effectiveness of these agents. There are six specific aims for this PEN: (1) Preparation and assembly of programmed, integrated nanosystems; (2) Application of nanostructures for imaging at increased levels of sensitivity; (3) Imaging of gene expression by recognition of mRNA transcription products; (4) Application of the nanostructures for therapy; (5) Cross disciplinary education and training of medical and materials scientists, and; (6) Dissemination and translation of nanotechnology developments. Fundamental studies will be conducted to understand the potential roles and limitations for nanotechnology as applied to medicine, and a number of applied studies will work toward the implementation of well-defined nanostructures for diagnosis and treatment of acute vascular injury and inflammation, with validation in the lung and cardio-vasculature. General methodologies will be developed for the preparation and characterization of novel plurifunctional nanostructures that can serve as hosts for both diagnostic and therapeutic agents, and then be destroyed safely once they have fulfilled their function (Aim 1). Demonstration of enhanced imaging capabilities will be performed for radio-, MR- and optically-labeled nanostructures by positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance and optical imaging, respectively, whereby tissues are targeted via ligands for cell surface receptors (Aim 2). Intracellular targeting will also be developed to allow for identification and "reading" of mRNA, as a means to perform direct Imaging of gene products that are either unregulated in a disease state or that are the products of gene transfer (Aim 3). It is expected that these new approaches will be applicable generally as a new form of molecular imaging that eliminates the need for reporter genes. In addition to the imaging of acute vascular injury, treatment by the delivery of various therapeutic agents using an array of nanoscale materials will be developed (Aim 4). Critical to the success of this PEN will be the establishment of infrastructure for the education, training and mentoring of students and postdoctorals, through formal course, workshops and laboratory rotations (Aim 5), and to the establishment of an affective and broadly based mechanism for dissemination of results, procedures and programs (Aim 6). Through these initiatives, we will provide leadership for the development of nanoscience and nanotechnology that can impact clinical directives and capabilities through the 21st century.