Ultrasound Mediated Cannabinoid/Curcuminoid Loaded Nano Drug Delivery Systems

根据加拿大癌症统计局的数据，2019年加拿大估计发生了220,400例新癌症病例和超过82,000例死亡，使癌症成为加拿大的头号死因。目前，癌症的一线治疗包括手术切除、化疗和放射治疗，所有这些都可能涉及副作用、非特异性靶向和高剂量辐射。近年来，对天然抗癌药物如大麻素和姜黄素类药物的医疗用途的探索一直在增长，结果令人振奋。此外，纳米医学作为一门相对较新的科学，在治疗人类疾病方面提供了多种好处，通过定位和靶向输送精确的药物，如化疗药物、生物药物、免疫治疗药物、天然药物等。这一合作研究项目是一个学术-产业-临床联盟，目标是开发一种新的纳米技术增强的给药方法，涉及天然抗癌药物，如大麻素和姜黄素，用于靶向癌症治疗。从纳米载体释放的抗癌药物分子在目标癌变部位将被从外部放置的超声波敷贴器入射的治疗性超声波激活。该项目还旨在通过实验和理论研究，充分了解超声波能量和纳米载体的生物物理作用机制。该项目将包括各种纳米载体系统，包括纳米乳剂、金属纳米颗粒、聚合物纳米颗粒和脂质体，以及各种治疗性超声形式，旨在设计和测试一种新型的超声激活的天然药物纳米载体，用于靶向癌症治疗。

According to Canadian Cancer Statistics, an estimated 220,400 new cancer cases and over 82,000 deaths have occurred in Canada in 2019, making cancer the number one cause of death in Canada. Currently, the first lines of treatment for cancer involves surgical resection, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, all of which can involve adverse side effects, nonspecific targeting and high-dose radiation. Exploration of medical uses of natural anticancer drugs such as cannabinoids and curcuminoids have been growing in recent years with promising results. Moreover, nanomedicine, as a relatively new science, has offered multiple benefits in treating human diseases by site-specific, and target-oriented delivery of precise medicines such as chemotherapeutic agents, biological agents, immunotherapeutic agents, natural drugs, etc. This collaborative research project is an academic-industrial-clinical alliance with the goal of developing a new nanotechnology-enhanced delivery method involving natural anticancer drugs such as cannabinoids and curcuminoids for use in targeted cancer therapy. The release of anticancer drug molecules from nanodrug carriers at a target cancerous site will be activated by therapeutic ultrasound waves incident from an externally placed ultrasound applicator. The project also aims toward full understanding of the biophysical mechanisms of action of ultrasound energy and nanodrug carriers, through both experimental and theoretical studies. Various nanocarrier systems including nanoemulsions, metal nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles and liposomes, and various therapeutic ultrasound modalities will be included in this project toward designing and testing of a novel ultrasound-activated natural drug-based nanocarrier toward targeted cancer treatment.