New drug targeting utilizes nanoparticles

The nanoscale continues to unlock dynamic potential of research into therapeutic drug delivery:

researchers at the University of Georgia have refined the drug delivery process further by using nanoparticles to deliver drugs to a specific organelle within cells.

By targeting mitochondria, often called “the powerhouse of cells,” the researchers increased the effectiveness of mitochondria-acting therapeutics used to treat cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and obesity in studies conducted with cultured cells.

“The mitochondrion is a complex organelle that is very difficult to reach, but these nanoparticles are engineered so that they do the right job in the right place,” said senior author Shanta Dhar, an assistant professor of chemistry in the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

Dhar and her co-author, doctoral student Sean Marrache, used a biodegradable, FDA-approved polymer to fabricate their nanoparticles and then used the particles to encapsulate and test drugs that treat a variety of conditions. Their results were published this week in early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Note in the release that the nanoparticles used are FDA-approved, which emphasizes just how far nanoscale drug delivery has moved into mainstream thinking and action on new therapies. While just a few short years ago the work in some of our labs might have been considered near science fiction, the distance to clinical settings has clearly shrunk, thanks to the diligence at every stage of this process - from bench-scale research to our own OVPR to the National Institutes of Health. It's an exciting time for innovations in healthcare.