Objective
Nanomedicine is an interdisciplinary field of research that aims to use nanotechnology to improve the pharmacokinetic profile of therapeutics and/or the contrast and information from medical imaging and diagnostics. The advances in medical treatments that nanomedicine strategies will provide will have a significant socioeconomic impact for the E.U. and is particularly timely due to the aging populations in E.U. member states. This work will use a multi-strategy approach to design novel multicompartmental, multifunctional nanoarchitectures for nanomedicine applications. Lipid nanodiscs will be evaluated as a novel hydrophobic drug carrier and the versatility of the scaffold protein for these discs will be explored by assessing its capacity to form similar complexes with synthetic block copolymers. Multicompartmental, size-limited nanostructures will be developed by using the self-organisation of functional amphiphiles into anisotropic subunits as building blocks for superstructures of greater complexity and functionality. The basic building blocks explored will consist of liposomes, polymersomes and hydrid lipopolymersome structures as well as protein-stabilised lipid nanodiscs. This project will also explore incorporating quantum dots into these nanoarchitectures as an added imaging modality. Finally, through multidisciplinary collaboration of basic scientists through to clinicians, an adjuvant nanomedicine therapy will be developed for treatment of superficial bladder cancers. These therapeutic nanoparticles will contain therapeutic, imaging and active targeting functionalities to remove residual malignant cells following the surgical resection of tumours.
Fields of science
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineoncologybladder cancer
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculeslipids
- medical and health sciencesmedical biotechnologynanomedicine
- engineering and technologynanotechnologynano-materials
- engineering and technologymedical engineeringdiagnostic imaging
Call for proposal
FP7-PEOPLE-2011-CIG
See other projects for this call
Coordinator
LS2 9JT Leeds
United Kingdom