Biofunctional Polymers for Intracellular Drug Delivery

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The objective of this proposal is to develop approaches to enhance the delivery of nucleic acid based therapeutics to intracellular targets in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) cells. The project will utilize novel pH-sensitive "smart polymer" based carriers to penetrate the endosomal barrier that limits entry to the cytoplasmic and nuclear compartments where antisense-ODN and siRNA exert their gene silencing effects. We believe that siRNA and AS-ODN have great potential for the treatment of NHL and hypothesize that improvement in delivery methods will facilitate their success in the clinical setting. PUBLIC HEALTH REVELANCE This project aims to develop new drug delivery systems for biomolecular drugs that must reach intracellular targets for efficacy. Biotherapeutics such as siRNA, antisense oligonucleotides (ODN), and proteins have significant therapeutic potential, but effectively formulating and delivering them remains a widely recognized challenge. Here we will develop smart polymeric carriers for siRNA drugs, and such carriers might be used widely for other DNA, RNA, and protein drugs.