Mix and Match: One-step activation for targeted drug delivery

Introduction

Current clinically approved drug delivery systems, such as liposome, PEGylated liposome, and polymeric micelle, predominantly rely on passive accumulation within tumor tissues by diffusion through the defective tumor vessels during circulation. The targeting efficacy toward cancer cells is very limited due to their inadequate interaction with cancer cells.

Limitations of Current Methods

The attachment of targeting ligands to nanocarriers has demonstrated its effectiveness in enhancing binding affinity and, consequently, facilitating cellular uptake via receptor-mediated endocytosis. However, the conventional methods employed for ligand attachment suffer from:

1. Harsh conditions
2. Low efficiency
3. Limited control over ligand orientation

These drawbacks compromise the targeting performance and are believed to result in the current absence of a targeted drug delivery system on the market.

Proposed Solution

In this project, we propose a simple, efficient, and mild attachment method to spontaneously activate on-demand nanocarriers.

Potential Impact

This innovative approach has the potential to have a multi-level effect:

1. Revolutionize various fields, including drug delivery, diagnostics, and nanotechnology, by providing advanced tools for targeted therapies and diagnostics.
2. Develop novel methodologies that can be applied to existing technologies to enhance uptake, localization, and efficacy while minimizing systemic toxicity.

This could potentially shift the health-economic balance for some treatments which were previously inaccessible.