New one-step process for the preparation of targeting stealth nanoparticles for drug delivery and molecular imaging

For many diseases, there is a high need for novel disease site focused treatments, as the most efficient drugs are so potent that they also lead to severe systemic toxicity and side effects. Nanoparticles and -capsules can be used to encapsulate drugs and imaging agents for targeted treatment and diagnosis. Important necessary characteristics are stealth corona to avoid clearance by the immune system and specific ligands to target diseased organs and tissue. In spite of many advantages of nanoparticle-bas ed delivery systems, there are per today no such products on the market / in the clinic, due to their high complexity and costly multi-step preparation processes. The main goal of the project is to improve, develop and verify a novel drug delivery platfor m, PACAtarg. The proposed process is a generic technology platform for the cost-effective, unique one-step preparation of targeted vehicles with a wide application range within clinical therapy and diagnostics; a wide range of drugs and/or imaging agents can be encapsulated for treatment of different diseases, and a variety of organs can be targeted by immobilizing different target molecules. PACAtarg describes a technology platform which comprises a novel one-step process resulting directly in long-circu lating (slowly cleared), targeting poly(alkyl cyanoacrylate) nanocapsules, which may contain drugs and/or imaging agents for therapy and/or diagnosis. A patentability search has been performed and is positive as concerns the novelty of the process. Custom ers of this novel technology platform are drug-developing companies, as well as companies developing novel in vivo imaging agents looking for novel drug delivery systems. The ultimate end-users are physicians and their patients suffering from e.g. cancer and cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases.