Inorganic/Organic Nanocomposite Particles (I/O-NP); A Platform Technology for Next Generation Healthcare Applications

In order to achieve the next generation potential nanomedicine has to offer, next generation nanomaterials must be developed. Inorganic/organic nanocomposite particles are composed of polymeric, organic nanoscale structures (50-200 nm) in which smaller metallic nanoparticles (2-20 nm) are encapsulated. Both the organic and inorganic components can be varied, giving rise to a platform technology with great composition potential. The use of inorganic/organic nanocomposites is in its infancy, but they offer a range of potential healthcare applications, from enhancement of radiotherapy for cancer treatment to providing more sensitive, specific and quantitative diagnostic analysis than current established techniques, with real-time monitoring and quantification in biological systems potential. Such materials may aid cardiovascular imaging, oncology and cell tracking but extension to infectious disease diagnostics and advanced radiotherapy would be world-leading.

Inorganic/organic nanocomposite particles will offer new direction for nanomedicine research, providing the foundation for new research fields to emerge through the creation of a novel platform technology. Investigation into nanocomposites will open significant avenues for research innovation in terms of both nanocomposite material development and device development. Uniquely, the highly novel platform could be further adopted to incorporate responsive functionality, amplified disease targeting as well as the incorporation of multiple component types, thus creating multifunctional composite materials for combinational diagnostics and therapy. The platform technology, therefore, is highly adaptable allowing for a range of applications in both diagnostic and therapeutic areas, each with significant avenues to innovative material design and device development.

The specific aim of this fellowship is to enable the creation of world-leading expertise within the UK, able to pioneer new science and establish impact from its application towards real-world healthcare needs. Next generation nanomaterials will give rise to new technologies which would offer considerable benefits for healthcare diagnosis and for treatment. The nanomaterial development strategy is truly multidisciplinary and thus, through this fellowship, multidisciplinary team development will be established to provide collaborative approaches aimed at the translation of research findings to clinical use. Through this strategy, novel areas of healthcare research will be established in the UK with truly global importance. In the long-term, the impact of establishing a platform technology will provide a springboard from which the applicant will develop commercial and policy influence, enabling him to become a significant global leader of innovative multidisciplinary research.

The fellowship applicant, Dr Marco Giardiello, has experience of inorganic and organic nanomedicine research in both diagnostic and therapeutic areas, having established several research collaborations in both academia and industry. He has been a key lead in the identification and manufacturing processes towards clinical trial development of nanomedicines, as well as being integral in developing platform technologies through to commercial outputs having co-founded a start-up company. The research is to be carried out at the University of Liverpool's Department of Chemistry with critical cross-faculty, cross-sector and multi-disciplinary collaboration.
The fellowship proposal's key aims are:

1. Novel inorganic/organic nanocomposite particle development
2. Multidisciplinary research team building
3. Novel nanomedicine applications creating new IP and industrial regulatory engagement
4. The application of new technologies towards multiple global healthcare needs

Wide application, IP generation and future device development technologies would be of considerable interest to a wide range of beneficiaries:

Policy-makers and industry regulator beneficiaries: It is widely recognised that nanomedicine industrial translation is hindered by the need for greater understanding between scientists and industrial regulators. The key focus of this fellowship is to develop novel, collaborative research strategies and direct engagement with industry regulators and policy makers to address this need. Beneficiaries will emerge during the timescale of the fellowship, i.e. the research community and industry through greater clarity in industrial regulatory policy and guidelines, with long-term impacts and sustained benefits for patients and healthcare services through more rapid clinical availability of cutting-edge medical advances. Such impacts will enhance the UK's global reputation and economic competitiveness as a leader in nanomedicine research through exemplifying regulatory policy, clinical translation and commercialisation of research findings.

Commercial beneficiaries: The immediate targeted healthcare applications herein represent emerging growth areas of scientific research. Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) is a novel technique with research currently not aimed at infectious disease, thus represents significant avenues for novel device innovation, unique to UK research. There are several proton beam therapy (PBT) facilities opening in the UK, however current capacity is still limited. Investigation into novel nanocomposites with tuneable material design will drive both scientific knowledge and advances in PBT technology, enhancing the economic competitiveness of the UK as a global leader in this field. Progressive I/O-NP development would lead to combinational diagnostics and therapy (theranostics) validation, as well as use in rapid, point-of-care diagnostic technology, each representing innovation in novel device development potential and precision medicine applications. The inherent novelty and diversity of the I/O-NP platform will invariably lead to significant IP generation within the timeframe of the fellowship, with novel device development and clinical application targeted for years 5-7. High market value is expected as the fundamental aims of nanomedicine technology represents significant growth markets both globally and in the UK. Both UoL and I have a history of strong and structured engagement with the industrial sector, which will be undertaken to ensure maximum commercial impact from the generation of IP. Impacts will be achieved through IP due diligence and protection, dissemination to global industry and charitable organisations and active industrial engagement through hosting of networking events and industrial visits. Future long-term value will be derived through device manufacturing potential and cross-sector growth of the versatile platform, creating opportunities for both spin-out company development (i.e. commercial nanomaterials or diagnostic device manufacturing) as well as IP licensing (i.e. PBT facility development).

Public sector beneficiaries: Strategies targeting efficiency in drug prescription and discovery as well as PBT facility expansion towards patients travelling overseas and to those not suffering from radioresistant cancers will have significant health advantages to the individual as well as cost effectiveness for healthcare systems, such as the NHS. In the long-term, GP services will benefit from point-of-care systems for rapid detection and distinction between viral and bacterial infection during short GP consultation times, helping to combat rise in antimicrobial resistance and further providing cost savings for the NHS. To disseminate such impacts to the general public, school visits and outreach activities, such as the Pint of Science programme and the UoL realising opportunities programme, will be adopted, for which I have experience.