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Lipid-Polymer Hybrid Nanoparticles for Targeted Therapeutics

Liangfang Zhang
Chemical Engineering Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Thursday, February 28, 2008
102 Chemistry Building
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Abstract
Nanotechnology is the understanding and the control of matter generally in 1-100 nm dimension range. The application of nanotechnology to medicine, known as nanomedicine, concerns the use of precisely engineered materials at this length scale to develop novel therapeutic and diagnostic modalities. In the past two decades, there has been a progressive increase in the number of commercially available nanoparticle-based therapeutics products. Among these products, liposomal drugs and polymer-based drugs are two dominant classes, accounting for more than 80% of the total amounts. However, both liposomes and polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) have their own drawbacks as drug carriers that limit their application potential in many medical areas.

Here I report a platform bionanotechnology that enables the formulation of targeted NPs which have merits of both lipid- and polymer-based NPs, while excluding some of their limitations. The NPs are comprised of:

  1. a biodegradable polymeric core which can carry bioactive drugs and release them at a sustained rate;
  2. a lipid monolayer shell which can prevent the carried agents from freely diffusing out of the nanoparticle and reduce water penetration rate into the nanoparticle, thereby enhancing drug encapsulation efficiency and slowing drug release;
  3. a stealth material that can allow the particles to evade recognition by immune system components and increase particle circulation half life; and
  4. a targeting molecule that can bind to a unique molecular signature on cells, tissues, or organs of the body. The targeting therapeutic potential of these lipid-polymer hybrid NPs is demonstrated in treating prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease.

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