Development of Cell Type Specific Drug Carrier Systems for Cancer Therapy

<p>The overall objective of this project is to develop novel drug delivery systems based on nanoparticles for the specific transport of drugs into cancer cells for cancer therapy.</p>

<p>Nanoparticles as drug carriers are firstly prepared based on biodegradable polymers such as human serum albumin (HSA) or inorganic materials such as SiO2, TiO2, ZrO2 and Al2O3. Anticancer drugs will be incorporated into the nanoparticle matrix. The surface of the drug-loaded nanoparticles will then be modified by a covalent attachment of antibodies that are specific for cancer cells. The nanoparticle formulations for drug transport developed in the project will be examined and optimised by in vitro testing in cell culture models of colon carcinoma cells. The selected nanoparticle formulations will be further tested in animals with respect to pharmacokinetics and biodistribution as well as in a xenotransplant model for anticancer properties. The appropriate nanoparticle formulations are then foreseen for phase I clinical trial. The research results of this project would drive innovation in pharmaceutical research, would influence health expenditures extremely and would clearly enhance health care of patients.</p>