Nano Nexus 2007 Team Profiles: University of Virginia

Pictured l-r: Meng Deng, ORNL Director Jeff Wadsworth, Nano Nexus Managing Director Joy Fisher, Justin Brown.

Team: Smart Nanospheres
Team Members: Justin Brown, Meng Deng
School: University of Virginia
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Cato Laurencin
Product or Service: A long-circulating pH-sensitive, tumor-specific polyphosphazene (PPHOS) conjugate/polyethylene glycol (PEG) blend nanosphere that serves as a nanoparticle drug delivery system for cancer treatment. The system would be capable of targeting and accumulating in the cancer cell mass while delivering the anti-cancer agent from a systemic administration.

The Smart Nanospheres team’s novel technology contains a pH-sensitive linkage to the anti-cancer agent dichloroacetate (DCA), as well as an additional linkage to a tumor-specific antibody, which enables almost immediate release of the drug when the nanosphere comes in contact with the low local pH found in cancer cell masses.

The proposed system involves both the creation of a novel smart polyphosphazene drug conjugate system specifically designed for cancer treatment and the development of a long-circulating polymer conjugate nanosphere. This is the first time pH-sensitive DCA polymer conjugate has been developed for cancer treatment. Other firsts achieved by the Smart Nanospheres team include the development of targeted systems that make use of the synthetic flexibility of polyphosphazene, and the development of long-circulating nanospheres using a polymer blend.

The design and custom synthesis of a biodegradable polymer conjugate based on polyphosphazene in the field of drug delivery is in itself an innovation. This solution replaces complex procedures in which a drug is encapsulated in a degradable delivery vehicle that is further tagged with an antibody to provide selectivity to the target cell. Using a PPHOS conjugate helps the team avoid the difficulties of attempting to capture a drug in a nanosphere. Instead, thanks to Smart Nanospheres’ innovation, the drug is the nanosphere.

Cancer remains the second-leading cause of death worldwide, and the number of patients suffering from cancer will only increase as our population ages and life expectancy extends. Smart Nanospheres’ drug delivery system not only provides the desired effect for cancer treatment but, according to its developers, also has significant advantages over traditional therapies.

In addition to prolonged circulation and tumor-specific delivery, the team believes its nanospheres will provide patients with effective drugs delivered and released at the location of cancer cell masses, for a less invasive systemic administration, and fewer side effects.

The Smart Nanospheres team recently participated 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 conference brought together universities, entrepreneurs, and leaders of the nanotechnology industry in an effort to move nanotechnology out of research organizations and into the marketplace.

“This conference and competition has been truly helpful for us,” said Meng Deng, a graduate student at the University of Virginia. “We hope to have a cure for cancer within the next 1-3 years, so it means a lot to us to be here among these other teams.”