Thermo-responsive, biodegradable polymers for targeted drug delivery
This technology describes methods for creating biodegradable polymers with a specified lower critical solution temperature (LCST) for delivery of pharmaceuticals.
Unmet Need: Physiologically relevant and biologically feasible delivery of pharmaceuticals
Targeted drug delivery is being explored as an alternative to chemotherapy in cancer treatment. While many anti-cancer agents have been identified for targeted drug delivery, applications have been limited due in part to their insolubility, instability in plasma, and drug carrier toxicity. The conjugation of therapeutic agents to water-soluble polymers yields soluble polymeric therapeutic agent carriers, but there is a need for bio-degradable polymers to avoid adverse side effects. Currently there are no available drug carriers that are temperature sensitive and biodegradable.
The Technology: pH degradable drug carrier conjugate with tunable temperature-dependent solubility
This technology is a thermo-responsive, biodegradable polymer for targeted drug delivery. This technology provides an improvement over the traditional thermo-responsive polymers known as poly-(N-isopropylacrylamide), or pNIPAM, because these polymers can be prepared for a variety of specific LCSTs, the temperature above which the polymer separates from its solvent, by chemical modification during synthesis. This precise control over temperature provides a critical feature that is needed for molecules used for drug delivery. Additionally, unlike tough pNIPAM polymers, these polymers degrade into neutral, non-toxic, water-soluble small molecules under mildly acidic conditions (pH 5-6.5). As a result, this technology provides an improved method for targeted delivery of pharmaceuticals.
This technology has been validated in vitro using HIF-1, which is a high-priority target to prevent rapid tumor growth, vascularization, and metastasis.
Applications:
- Anti-cancer therapeutics
- Targeted drug delivery
- Therapeutics for crops, plants or seeds
Advantages:
- Simple chemical synthesis methods
- Highly predictable and tunable release of cargo over a temperature range of 6-80°C
- Rapid phase transition and release of cargo within 3-5°C targets hyperthermic cancer environments
- Biodegradable in mildly acidic conditions
- Non-toxic byproducts after pH induced degradation
- Controllable degradation conditions
- Polymer chain-end functionality for versatility beyond cancer therapies
Lead Inventor:
Patent Information:
Related Publications:
Tech Ventures Reference:
IR CU14314
Licensing Contact: Satish Rao