I-Corps: Burning fat by nanoparticles for obesity treatment (FatBuringNanoTM)

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是利用脂肪基质干细胞（ASC）靶向纳米颗粒（NP）给药技术预防和治疗肥胖及其相关疾病。肥胖是美国乃至全世界的一个主要公共健康问题。超过三分之一的美国成年人肥胖，超过三分之二的人超重或肥胖。肥胖是心脏病、中风、糖尿病、脂肪肝和其他代谢紊乱的主要危险因素。据估计，美国每年因肥胖而产生的医疗费用超过1450亿美元。目前可用的抗肥胖药物治疗存在许多严重的问题，因此，迫切需要更好的方法来对抗肥胖。以asc为靶点的基于np的给药技术是将生物活性药物/药物输送到皮下脂肪组织的asc中，诱导过量的葡萄糖和脂肪燃烧掉，从而以高效率和最小的副作用对抗肥胖及其相关并发症。我们的技术可以改善人类健康和生活质量，同时大幅降低医疗成本，最终减少肥胖对社会和经济的负面影响。此外，博士生将在创新和创业方面获得密集而严格的培训和经验。I-Corps项目将探索一项技术的市场潜力，该技术涉及使用以asc为目标的基于np的设备来预防和治疗肥胖，具有高效率和低副作用。ASCs是在脂肪组织中发现的干细胞。ASCs可以分化成许多不同类型的细胞，有助于组织修复、再生医学、肥胖和其他疾病治疗。我们的目标是在皮下白色脂肪组织中诱导ASCs分化为米色脂肪细胞以对抗肥胖。与储存脂肪的白色脂肪细胞不同，米色脂肪细胞燃烧多余的脂肪和葡萄糖。以asc为靶点的np为基础的装置可以将生物活性药物/药物输送到皮下asc，诱导其分化为米色脂肪细胞，从而减轻体重和脂肪，改善代谢健康。这种局部（透皮装置）和靶向（asc靶向NPs）给药技术绕过肝脏和其他组织，从而最大限度地减少给药频率，提高依从性，最重要的是，最大限度地提高整体治疗效果，同时减少副作用。I-Corps项目旨在评估FatBurningNanoTM技术的市场机会，并通过即将到来的客户访谈帮助建立产品市场契合度。这些活动的反馈将促进产品开发及其最终商业化。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 I-Corps project is to prevent and treat obesity and its related diseases using adipose stromal stem cell (ASC)-targeted nanoparticle (NP)-based drug delivery technology. Obesity is a major public health problem in the US and worldwide. More than one third of US adults are obese, and more than two thirds are either overweight or obese. Obesity is a major risk factor for developing heart disease, stroke, diabetes, fatty liver diseases and other metabolic disorders. The estimated yearly medical care costs of obesity are more than $145 billion in the US. Currently available anti-obesity medical therapies have many severe issues, hence, better approaches to combat obesity are greatly needed. The ASC-targeted NP-based delivery technology is to deliver bioactive agents/drugs to ASCs in subcutaneous adipose tissue, inducing excessive glucose and fat burn off, thus combating obesity and its related complications with high efficacy and minimum side effects. Our technology can improve human health and the quality of life while dramatically reducing medical care costs, ultimately lessening the negative societal and economic impact of obesity. In addition, a doctoral student will gain intensive and rigorous training and experience in innovation and entrepreneurship. This I-Corps project will explore the market potential of a technology involving the use of ASC-targeted NP-based device for the prevention and treatment of obesity with high efficacy and low side effects. ASCs are stem cells found in the adipose tissues. ASCs can be differentiated into many different types of cells that aid in tissue repair, regenerative medicine, obesity and other disease therapy. We aim to induce ASCs differentiation into beige adipocytes in the subcutaneous white adipose tissue for combating obesity. Different from fat-storage white adipocytes, beige adipocytes burn excessive fat and glucose. ASC-targeted NP-based device can deliver bioactive agents/drugs to subcutaneous ASCs and subsequently induce them differentiation into beige adipocytes, resulting in body weight and fat loss and improved metabolic health. This local (transdermal device) and targeted (ASC-targeted NPs) delivery technology bypasses the liver and other tissues, thus minimizing administration frequency, enhancing compliance, and most importantly, maximizing overall treatment efficacy while decreasing side effects. This I-Corps project aims to evaluate the market opportunity of the FatBurningNanoTM technology and help establish product-market fit through upcoming customer interviews. The feedback from these activities will facilitate product development, and its ultimate commercialization.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.