Ultrasound Mediated Cannabinoid/Curcuminoid Loaded Nano Drug Delivery Systems

根据加拿大癌症统计数据，2019年加拿大估计有220,400例新的癌症病例和超过82,000例死亡，使癌症成为加拿大的头号死因。目前，治疗癌症的第一线方法包括手术切除、化疗和放疗，但这些方法都存在不良副作用、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的医学用途的探索不断增长，并取得了可喜的成果。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，通过位点特异性和靶向性的精确药物递送，如化学治疗剂、生物制剂、免疫治疗剂、天然药物等。这个合作研究项目是一个学术-工业-临床联盟，其目标是开发一种新的纳米技术增强的输送方法，包括用于靶向癌症治疗的天然抗癌药物，如大麻素和姜黄素。抗癌药物分子从靶向癌变部位的纳米药物载体释放，将被外部放置的超声涂抹器入射的治疗性超声波激活。本项目还旨在通过实验和理论研究，全面了解超声能量和纳米药物载体的生物物理作用机制。各种纳米载体系统，包括纳米乳液、金属纳米粒子、聚合物纳米粒子和脂质体，以及各种治疗超声模式，将包括在这个项目中，以设计和测试一种新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.