mPEG-PLGA from PolySciTech used in research on nanoparticle localization and drug delivery in cancerous tumors

 

Imaging and localization of fluorescent nanoparticles inside of living systems can provide incredible details regarding the internal structures and transport of particles within them. Given that ligands can be conjugated to the exterior surface of the nanoparticles, this provides for a powerful and robust technique to understand drug delivery in tissues. Researchers at University of Toronto used mPEG-PLGA (AK037) from PolySciTech division of Akina, Inc. (www.polyscitech.com) as part of fluorescent nanoparticles for understanding drug transport inside of tumors. This research holds promise to provide for improved cancer therapy in the future. Read more: Syed, Abdullah Muhammad, Presley MacMillan, Jessica Ngai, Stefan Wilhelm, Shrey Sindhwani, Benjamin R. Kingston, Jamie LY Wu et al. "Liposome imaging in optically cleared tissues." Nano Letters 20, no. 2 (2020): 1362-1369. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b04853

“Three-dimensional (3D) optical microscopy can be used to understand and improve the delivery of nanomedicine. However, this approach cannot be performed for analyzing liposomes in tissues because the processing step to make tissues transparent for imaging typically removes the lipids. Here, we developed a tag, termed REMNANT, that enables 3D imaging of organic materials in biological tissues. We demonstrated the utility of this tag for the 3D mapping of liposomes in intact tissues. We also showed that the tag is able to monitor the release of entrapped therapeutic agents. We found that liposomes release their cargo >100-fold faster in tissues in vivo than in conventional in vitro assays. This allowed us to design a liposomal formulation with enhanced ability to kill tumor associated macrophages. Our development opens up new opportunities for studying the chemical properties and pharmacodynamics of administered organic materials in an intact biological environment. This approach provides insight into the in vivo behavior of degradable materials, where the newly discovered information can guide the engineering of the next generation of imaging and therapeutic agents. KEYWORDS: Nanoparticles CLARITY 3D imaging fluorescent label tissue clearing”