| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/M014649/1 |
| Title: |
Gold nanomaterials for combinatorial photochemotherapy and theranostics |
| Principal Investigator: |
Pasparakis, Dr G |
| Other Investigators: |
|
| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
|
| Project Partners: |
|
| Department: |
School of Pharmacy |
| Organisation: |
UCL |
| Scheme: |
EPSRC Fellowship |
| Starts: |
01 October 2015 |
Ends: |
31 August 2019 |
Value (£): |
872,722
|
| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Drug Formulation & Delivery |
Materials Characterisation |
| Materials Synthesis & Growth |
|
|
| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology |
|
|
| Related Grants: |
|
| Panel History: |
|
|
Summary on Grant Application Form |
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth most lethal cancer with disappointing prognosis profile; according to Cancer Research UK, about 19 patients in every 100 (19%) live for at least 1 year after they are diagnosed. Only about 4 out of every 100 people diagnosed (4%) live for at least 5 years, and only 3 out of every 100 (3%) live for at least 10 years. Around 8,000 patients are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer annually which is now the ninth most common cancer in the UK. At present, surgery is the preferred choice of treatment, however, in cases where operation is not possible, chemotherapy is followed by systemic drug administration. Gemcitabine is the front line drug for pancreatic cancer, with relatively moderate therapeutic performance; as a result physicians administer high gemcitabine doses to compensate for the poor drug potency which leads to unavoidable side effects including severe tiredness and breathlessness, anaemia, high risk of infection, and hair loss. In essence, current pancreatic cancer therapies have marginally improved the disease prognosis and have not addressed patient compliance issues.
In the present approach, we propose radically new therapeutic protocols that combine lasers and nanoparticles (these are small sized materials with diameters thousands of times smaller than the thickness of a human hair) to direct drugs at the diseased sites of the body in a specific manner without damaging healthy tissue. By pointing the laser beam directly to the diseased tissue, it should be possible to treat pancreatic tumours by activating the nanoparticles to release the drugs only within tumor areas and not to surrounding healthy tissue. Our proposed approach will allow us not only to guide the nanoparticles at tumor sites, but also enable us to precisely control the trajectory of the drug molecules within individual cancer cells to ensure that they reach their molecular targets. In addition, the proposed nanoparticles will be equipped with molecular imaging tags to allow for real-time monitoring of the therapeutic outcome during therapy. We envision that in the future oncologists will be able to treat cancers in a dynamic manner by continually adjusting drug dosage during treatment by gaining constant feedback information on the tumours' response to therapy by simultaneous imaging of the diseased area during treatment. The proposed concept, if successful, will constitute a conceptually new therapeutic platform which will open up new avenues in personalised therapeutics where the treatment protocols are dynamically adjusted to maximize the therapeutic outcome.
|
|
Key Findings |
|
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
|
|
Potential use in non-academic contexts |
|
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
|
|
Impacts |
|
| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
|
| Date Materialised |
|
|
|
|
Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
|
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
|
| Project URL: |
|
| Further Information: |
|
| Organisation Website: |
|