Targeting Hard to Treat Cancers with Metal-Organic Frameworks
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Glasgow
Department Name: School of Chemistry
Abstract
Drug delivery from metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is receiving increased attention due to the chemical versatility of MOFs allowing installation of bespoke functionality to target specific conditions. As part of an EPSRC Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration investigating hard to treat cancers, the project will investigate methods to enhance delivery of standard therapeutics into pancreatic tumours, where patients have a very poor survival rate. Enhanced tumour uptake, stroma penetration, and drug delivery will all be aims, and systems benchmarked against current delivery strategies used in the clinic (e.g. nab-paclitaxel).
Organisations
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP/R513222/1 | 01/10/2018 | 30/09/2023 | |||
| 2279749 | Studentship | EP/R513222/1 | 01/10/2019 | 01/09/2023 | Rachel Foulkes |
| Description | The nanoparticles used in this work, metal organic frameworks, have been loaded with the anti-cancer drug gemcitabine, often used in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. In cancerous cells we tested the nanoparticles, the drug gemcitabine, and then the nanoparticles containing gemcitabine (G@N) to see if there were any effects on how toxic the drug used was. The nanoparticles themselves did not cause any harm to the cells, but the G@N and gemcitabine were able to kill the cells when used in the same amounts. This means that the drug can still kill the cells when inside the nanoparticle, therefore the nanoparticles will be able to protect the gemcitabine until it reaches the pancreatic cancer tumour. Further, when the G@N are exposed to conditions that mimic those of the human body, for example body temperature and pH, they break down very quickly, usually within 6 hours. This must be improved before sending these on to be used in people, therefore attaching an extra layer onto the surface of the nanoparticle should prevent this breakdown and make the nanoparticles more stable overall. Finally, I have been fortunate enough to attend both virtual and in person conferences where I have been able to present my work and get feedback from other people working within the drug delivery area, such as other tests that I can run in order to ensure that the results collected are correct. |
| Exploitation Route | My hope is that if I cannot do it myself, this work will go forward in vivo, as this is another good model to assess the drug loaded nanoparticles usefulness in the clinical setting. Past this, it would be interesting to see if these materials make it into the clinical setting, but I feel that this is a way off yet due to more testing being required for this work specifically. |
| Sectors | Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |