Nanoengineered microneedle arrays for enhanced delivery of long-acting HIV medicines

艾滋病毒/艾滋病仍然是一个主要的公共卫生威胁，全世界约有3670万人受到感染。2016年，与艾滋病毒相关的疾病夺走了全球近100万人的生命，同年有180万人新感染。2017年，约有2090万人获得了抗逆转录病毒治疗，占感染该病毒的成年人的54%和儿童的43%。。2016年，42%的诊断发生在感染的晚期，英国对艾滋病毒的认识和知识正在下降，强调了预防性治疗的价值。目前治疗和预防艾滋病毒的药物输送方法还远远不是最优的，需要每天多次服用片剂或每月痛苦地注射。在这个项目中，我们将设计和测试一种新型的透皮贴片，其表面有数百个微小的突起。在无痛皮肤应用后，这些微针会溶解，留下治疗或预防艾滋病毒的微小药物颗粒。这些微粒将在几周或几个月内溶解，从而提供治疗性剂量的药物。我们将使用最先进的专业知识，包括高功率计算模型来设计和预测药物颗粒的行为，加快产品设计并为实验室实验提供信息。这里开发的技术是独一无二的，可能会给艾滋病毒感染的预防和治疗带来革命性的变化。它提供了极大地改善治疗的机会，对患者和NHS都有潜在的好处。最终，这项技术的商业化将是英国工业界、英国国民健康保险制度和患者受益的主要途径。为了吸引潜在的工业或风险投资伙伴，至关重要的是证明这项技术的概念，这是本提案的总体目标。

HIV/AIDS remains a major public health threat, with approximately 36.7 million people worldwide infected. In 2016, HIV-related diseases claimed almost 1 million lives globally, with 1.8 million people being newly infected that same year. Around 20.9 million people were accessing antiretroviral therapy in 2017, constituting ~54% of adults and ~43% of children infected with the virus. . In 2016, 42% of diagnoses happened at a late stage of infection and awareness and knowledge around HIV is dropping in the UK, emphasising the value of preventative treatments. Current methods of delivering medicines for treatment and prevention of HIV are far from optimal, necessitating multiple daily tablets or painful monthly injections.In this project we will design and test a novel type of transdermal patch that has hundreds of tiny projections on its surface. Upon painless skin application, these "microneedles" will dissolve and leave behind microscopic particles of medicine for treatment or prevention of HIV. These particles will dissolve over weeks or months to deliver therapeutic doses of the medicine. We will use state-of-the art expertise, including high power computational models to design and predict the behaviour of the medicine particles, speeding up product design and informing laboratory experiments.The technology developed here is unique and could potentially revolutionise prevention and treatment of HIV infection. It offers the opportunity for dramatically improved treatment, with potential benefits for both patients and the NHS. Ultimately, commercialisation of the technology will be the primary route by which UK industry, the NHS and patients will derive benefits. In order to attract potential industrial or venture-funding partners, it is vitally important to demonstrate proof of concept for this technology, which is the over-arching aim of the present proposal.