Description:
Reference #: 01155
The University of South Carolina is offering licensing opportunities for a nanocarrier that can effectively pass the blood-brain barrier and deliver therapeutic drugs to diseased tissue by taking advantage of the physiological characteristics of brain.
Invention Description:
The subject invention is a dual targeted and dual responsive nanoparticle, which is able to cross the blood-brain barrier and release its payload in the brain tissue when it is triggered by the stimuli from the brain. The payload (i.e. the drug compound to be delivered to the brain) can be encapsulated into the nanoparticle by hydrophobic interactions or chemically conjugated through cleavable bonds.
Potential Applications:
Treatment of brain tumors, glioblastoma, neuroblastoma, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and other diseases of the central nervous system
Advantages and Benefits:
1. Effectively passes the blood-brain barrier to enhance the efficacy of drugs that treat diseases of the central nervous system
2. Labile in brain environment, which makes it an ideal candidate for brain-targeted drug delivery
Background:
The blood-brain barrier poses significant challenges to treating central nervous system diseases by targeting diseased brain tissue because it prevents the passage of most molecules from the blood to the brain.
Development
Proof of concept has been shown both in vitro and in vivo experiments. Ex vivo imaging showed that a significant concentration of dual target, dual responsive nanoparticles in the representative brain tissue, demonstrating that these nanocarriers are able to cross the blood-brain barrier.