Chiral Drug Delivery Systems to Tackle Cancerous Chirality

Material science field has shaped the history of humankind for ages with drug delivery systems bringing the inception of controlled, time sensitive release mechanism of pharmaceuticals. Chirality is a ubiquitous property of natural matter and was also introduced as an essential physiochemical trait of drugs. In drug delivery systems (DDS) this aspect was overlooked so far but to develop highly efficient and specific systems, chirality must be considered. The proposed project strives to design and develop novel chiral DDS targeting the neoplastic chiral and topological changes uniquely exhibited by cancer cells. To design these systems, chirality and topology of healthy and cancer cells need to be explored and characterized, including the tumour formation process. Synthesis of DDS will address the tumour specific chiral targets as well as the unique topology of the cancer cells. Targeting cancer cells as a whole would be achieved using poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) and polyglycerol polyricinoleate copolymers micro sized structures, or using Ti(IV) based complexes to obtain metallohelical systems. Nano- size delivery systems will incorporate chiral molecules within achiral polymer backbone, controlling the overall handedness. Overall, the proposed project aspires to design and fabricate pioneering chiral delivery systems to achieve superior targeting and specificity to achieve safe and efficient drug administration.