NANOTAR · SELF-ASSEMBLY POLYMERIC NANO-BIOMATERIALS FOR DRUG DELIVERY AND TARGETING

The present plan aims to build up and consolidate a research program in Pharmaceutical Nanomaterials Science based on the design, synthesis and chemical characterization of novel self-assembly polymeric nano-biomaterials and the investigation of the relationship between the nano/microstructure and the properties and new processing methods for the improvement of the biopharmaceutic performance of drugs. While the long-term goal of my research plan at the Technion is to develop versatile platforms for various therapeutic applications, the present proposal is oriented to make a substantial contribution to improve the treatment of two infectious diseases, the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and tuberculosis (TB), by developing innovative products that overcome important limitations of the products currently on the market such as poor oral bioavailability and frequent administration. The emphasis of the proposal is on the design, synthesis, processing and comprehensive characterization of the nano-biomaterials and the preliminary assessment of their biological performance in vitro and in vivo. It is a mid-to-long term of this proposal to facilitate the integration of my new research group to a multidisciplinary European network that will address challenges in HIV and TB.The specific aims of the proposal are the development of three types of novel self-assembly nano-biomaterials and the preliminary characterization of the in vivo performance of the systems with optimal properties:Aim 1-Development of alkoxysilane-grafted polymeric amphiphiles.Aim 2-Development of polymeric amphiphiles conjugated with mono- and oligosaccharide residues.Aim 3-Development of muco-adhesive polymeric micelles.The different drug delivery systems are planned in a modular approach to enable the production of multifunctional drug nanocarriers with various features (e.g., drug encapsulation ability, muco-adhesivness, etc.).