(622h) Engineering Bioresponsive Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery

Nanoparticle penetration inside tumors is a critical step in the treatment of cancer disease. Although significant progress has been made in developing nanoparticle based drug delivery systems, the effects of the physical and chemical properties of nanoparticles on their transport behavior into tumor mass are largely unknown. In our lab, we work on characterizing the effects of nanoparticle geometry and its bioresponsive behavior in penetrating a solid tumor mass. We synthesize rod-shaped nanoparticles using bioresponsive polymers and anti-cancer drugs. Our previous results showed that rod-shaped nanoparticles enhance tumor targeting and uptake 2.5 times more than the conventional spherical nanoparticles. Bioresponsive drug nanoparticles release drugs 1.5 times more in the dense tumor mass than a non-responsive environment.Our results suggest the preparation of an efficient drug carrier system for NP design, drug release within the tumor.