I-Corps: Polysialic Acid Based Nanocarriers as Platforms for Targeted Drug Delivery

拟议的项目旨在教育主要研究者和企业领导人如何将其药物输送技术转化为市场，以提高社会效益。 对现有药物输送的改进将使那些患有潜在衰弱性疾病的人受益，包括类风湿性关节炎，囊性纤维化，外周动脉疾病和癌症。 预计所提出的药物递送技术将在制药和生物技术行业中得到应用。所提出的药物递送技术旨在通过使用基于聚唾液酸（PSA）的纳米载体来改善药物的位点特异性递送。 常规和新开发的治疗剂通常与由于非特异性靶向和诱导免疫原性应答而导致的严重后果相关。近年来，范例已经转向将毒性药物与旨在促进仅递送至患病区域的分子载体组合，从而增加功效并减少副作用。 可以设想，所提出的基于PSA的纳米载体系统，以纳米颗粒和胶束的形式，将在制药和生物技术工业中找到用途，以改善传统的小分子治疗剂以及最近开发的治疗性生物制剂的递送。

The proposed project is intended to educate the principal investigator and the entrepreneurial lead on how to translate their drug delivery technology to the marketplace so as to enhance societal benefits. The resultant improvements to existing drug delivery will benefit those who suffer from potentially debilitating diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, cystic fibrosis, peripheral artery disease, and cancer. It is envisioned that the proposed drug delivery technology will find use in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.The proposed drug delivery technology is aimed at improving the site-specific delivery of drugs by using polysialic acid (PSA)-based nanocarriers. Conventional and newly developed therapeutics are often associated with severe consequences due to non-specific targeting and induction of immunogenic responses. In recent years, paradigms have shifted towards combining toxic drugs with molecular vehicles intended to promote delivery exclusively to the diseased region, thereby increasing efficacy and reducing side effects. It is envisioned that the proposed PSA-based nanocarrier systems, in the form of nanoparticles and micelles, will find use in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries to improve the delivery of both conventional, small molecules therapeutics, as well as recently developed therapeutic biologics.