Polymeric nanocarriers for chemo-radiotherapy

This research mainly focus on the fabrication of nano-sized drug delivery systems (DDS) for triggered drug release using radiation and possible application in chemo-radiotherapy. The high-speed development of nanotechnology provides more opportunities for cancer treatment. Various nanomaterials have been studied as promising carriers for the in vivo transportation of anticancer substances, making use of the so-called Enhanced Permeation and Retention (EPR) effect. For this purpose, we mostly use micelles composed of amphiphilic polymers as nanocarriers to deliver anticancer substances. This research project can be divided into two parts:

  1. Radiation-sensitive DDS for radiation triggered drug release
    Controlled release at tumor sites is of great importance for reliable and successful tumour treatment. For this purpose radiation-sensitive DDS are synthesized and their drug release behavior under exposure to external irradiation sources is examined. Different block copolymers are applied here including special radiation sensitive polymers. To explore the release mechanism, the interaction between carriers and drugs, and the influence of radicals formed due to radiation are studied. Finally, in vitro tests are performed to evaluate the potential of these DDS for clinical application.

  2. DDS for co-delivery of anticancer drugs and radionuclides
    Compared to external beam therapy, radionuclide therapy is more suitable for treating metastatic tumors. In this part, we design DDS able to encapsulate drugs and radionuclides, and we investigate their stability and cell killing potential.