"Smart" polymers for targeted drug delivery
Although current cancer chemotherapies have significantly improved patients' prognosis and compliance, they often lack tumour targeting specificity which compromises the therapeutic outcome. In this project, we study the use of block copolymers as nanocarriers of anticancer drugs that gradually accumulate at the tumour sites through systemic circulation. By application of an external stimulus such as light, or ultrasound, these nanoparticles are activated and release their cytotoxic cargo only at the targeted sites in a highly specific manner. This approach maximizes the accumulation of the drug molecules at the site of interest and hence improve the therapeutic outcome while maintaining low drug exposure of the healthy tissue. We synthesize our nanomaterials by controlled polymerization routes which allow for unprecedented control of the molecular architecture and develop in vitro and in vivo models to screen the best synthetic candidates for further translational exploitation in nanomedicinal therapeutics.
Although current cancer chemotherapies have significantly improved patients' prognosis and compliance, they often lack tumour targeting specificity which compromises the therapeutic outcome. In this project, we study the use of block copolymers as nanocarriers of anticancer drugs that gradually accumulate at the tumour sites through systemic circulation. By application of an external stimulus such as light, or ultrasound, these nanoparticles are activated and release their cytotoxic cargo only at the targeted sites in a highly specific manner. This approach maximizes the accumulation of the drug molecules at the site of interest and hence improve the therapeutic outcome while maintaining low drug exposure of the healthy tissue. We synthesize our nanomaterials by controlled polymerization routes which allow for unprecedented control of the molecular architecture and develop in vitro and in vivo models to screen the best synthetic candidates for further translational exploitation in nanomedicinal therapeutics.