I-Corps: Nano Drug Enabled Cancer Therapy

Award ID: 2208838

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a platform to understanding of the toxicological properties of nanoparticles and ultimately allow for the development of better therapeutic strategies for breast cancer treatment. This work will form a basis for further understanding of the use of nanoparticles in targeting specific cancer types and learn about oncogenic transformation. Depending upon cell response to these formulations in in vivo models, these studies have translational potential and might form basis for clinical trial. For future studies, we propose to add drugs that target different pathways or different components of the same pathway and other hallmarks of cancer such as metabolic reprogramming and immunity. Additionally, incorporating inhibitors of epigenetic changes linked to malignancies in our nano-platform would be of greater commercial application. This project will conduct customer discovery to seek product market fit and further support the development of strategies for safe and effective cancer treatment applications. This I-Corps project is based on the development of novel nanoparticles and antigens highly expressed on cancer cells to deliver drugs to inhibit cell proliferative pathway. This platform can be adapted to treat other cancer types, e.g., pancreatic cancer. The nanoparticles create a robust, synergistic apoptotic response to AuNRs/Ag-rapamycin targeting EpCAM or Her2, or both. The platform also uses FDA-approved, rapamycin, developing nano-formulations that reduce toxic side effects. Future studies will add drugs that target different pathways or different components of the same pathway and other hallmarks of cancer such as metabolic reprogramming and immunity. Additionally, incorporating inhibitors of epigenetic changes linked to malignancies would be of great commercial application. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Program Director: Ruth Shuman