Pictured l-r: Luz Cristal Glangchai, Jakub Felkl, Abiola Ajetunmobi, ORNL Director Jeff Wadsworth, Nano Nexus Managing Director Joy Fisher, and Nicholas Rojeski.
Team: NANOTaxi
Team Members:
Abiola Ajetunmobi,
Jakub Felkl,
Luz Cristal Glangchai,
Nicholas Rojeski
School: University of Texas at Austin
Faculty Advisor: Scott Evans
Product or Service: A targeted, disease-responsive nanocapsule consisting of a container and a stimulus-responsive release lid. Team NANOTaxi’s new technology allows for mass-production of a site-sensitive nanocapsule (NANOTaxi) that selectively delivers its contents to specific sites and cells in the human body with the unique capacity for a stimulus-triggered release. The device is able to deliver toxic or unstable drugs directly to a disease sight while reducing systemic side effects caused by the drugs being absorbed in unaffected areas of the body.
According to the team, there currently is no commercially available drug delivery vehicle with the combined capacity of site targeting and stimulus-triggered release. The manufacturing process for NANOTaxi’s nano-sized container and enzyme-degradable lid allows for more control of the shape and size of the delivery vehicle than present drug encapsulation techniques
Many popular therapies for cancer, both old and new, are extremely potent and toxic, which limits them to careful, site-specific application in order to avoid serious side effects. Many promising drugs have been shelved by their manufacturers due to toxicity and the possible side effects of non-targeted administration. The team believes NANOTaxi, when used to deliver already FDA-approved treatments, will enable these drugs to be used safely and effectively, resulting in an overall reduction in side effects.
NANOTaxi is still in its early stages of development. The team is in the process of developing prototypes of both the drug carrier and its lid, as well as seeking funding for the upcoming phases of research and development. The team was named the grand prize winner in the Nano I2P® Competition at Nano Nexus 2007, a nanotechnology conference hosted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on April 3, 2007. The honor sent the team back to Austin with a $25,000 prize purse for their venture, and a wealth of contact in the nanotechnology world.
“It’s a huge honor to win,” said Nicholas Rojeski, a University of Texas at Austin MBA student, and VP of NANOTaxi’s business development. “This is validation for all of the hard work we’ve done, and it’s important capital to our company, as well as the University of Texas at Austin. It also gives us some momentum to go back to Texas and push for commercialization.”
NANOTaxi also received honors as a finalist in the Rice University Business Plan Competition in March 2007.
Once developed, NANOTaxi will target companies in the drug delivery, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals industries for acquisition of their technology. The team has identified many early adopters and development partners for the technology in the sphere of medical and research institutions. Several of the potential partners are already working on targeted nano-delivery, and are excited about NANOTaxi’s on-demand release abilities.