PolySciTech PLGA used in development of magnetic nanoparticles for breast-cancer therapy

There are many ways to control motion of nanoparticles in a living body including both active and passive targeting. Another method is to generate nanoparticles which respond to an external stimulus such as magnetism which can be used to draw nanoparticles into a target region of the body near a tumor. Recently, Researchers at Purdue University used PLGA (AP020) From PolySciTech (www.polyscitech.com) to develop paclitaxel-loaded nanoparticles and tested these for their effects on breast cancer. This research holds promise to provide for improved therapies against this form of cancer. Read more: Park, Jinho, Joonyoung Park, Mark A. Castanares, David S. Collins, and Yoon Yeo. "Magnetophoretic delivery of a tumor priming agent for chemotherapy of metastatic murine breast cancer." Molecular pharmaceutics (2019). https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.8b01148

“Tumor microenvironment (TME) is a significant physical barrier to effective delivery of chemotherapy into solid tumors. To overcome this challenge, tumors are pre-treated with an agent that reduces cellular and extracellular matrix densities prior to chemotherapy. However, it also comes with a concern that metastasis may increase due to the loss of protective containment. We hypothesize that timely priming at the early stage of primary tumors will help control metastasis. To test this, we primed orthotopic 4T1 breast tumors with a paclitaxel (PTX)-loaded iron oxide decorated poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticle composite (PTX@PINC), which can be quickly concentrated in target tissues with the aid of an external magnet, and monitored its effect on the delivery of subsequently administered NPs. Magnetic resonance imaging and optical whole-body imaging confirmed that PTX@PINC was efficiently delivered to tumors by the external magnet and help loosen the tumors to accommodate subsequently-delivered NPs. Consistently, the primed tumors responded to Doxil better than non-primed tumors. In addition, lung metastasis was significantly reduced in the animals PINC-primed prior to Doxil administration. These results support that PINC combined with magnetophoresis can facilitate timely management of primary tumors with a favorable secondary effect on metastasis.”

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