In medicine, developing a technology to treat tumors, viruses or toxins often requires a long and complex process. One building block is the production of nanoparticles, which have to be manufactured from scratch for each specific application. This means that manufacturing for different biological targets requires a different synthetic process from start to finish each time. To simplify this procedure, researchers at the University of California San Diego have now developed a technique with which a nanoparticle base only needs to be slightly modified to create a whole series of specialized nanoparticles.
Zhang and his team make use of the synthetic proteins, SpyCatcher and SpyTag. This is relevant so that a system can be created with which the desired proteins can be easily bound to the surface of the nanoparticles. SpyCatcher is embedded in the surface of the nanoparticle, while SpyTag is chemically bound to a protein of interest, which can be a protein that is directed against tumors or viruses. When these come into contact, they bind to each other and the desired protein can easily be bound to the surface of the nanoparticles.
To test the concept, the researchers tested the nanoparticles on mice with ovarian tumors. The nanoparticles loaded with docetaxel, a chemotherapy drug, were administered intravenously to the mice every three days for a total of four injections. The treatment worked, suppressing tumor growth while improving survival rates. In the treated mice, the median survival time was 63 to 71 days, while the untreated mice only had a median survival time of 24 to 29 days.
In addition to cancer treatment, the researchers also point to other potential applications of this technology. There is also the possibility of neutralizing viruses and biological toxins by attaching a neutralizing agent to the surface of the modular nanoparticle base, as well as the possibility of developing vaccines by attaching an antigen to the surface of the nanoparticles. Zhang is convinced that the new technology opens the door to a variety of new therapeutic approaches.