Magnetically and photochemically actuated bioactive nanowires for remotely controlled drug delivery - PAIRED

Project summary

One of the challenges to eradicate tumors is optimizing both drug activity and delivery. Traditional passive treatments of solid tumors are limited by their lack of efficiency, specificity and off-target toxicity due to the poor penetration and non-uniform distribution of the drug inside the tumor mass. Our aim is to achieve a more efficient, spatially and temporally controlled drug delivery nanotechnology by developing innovative bioactive hybrid nanowires as advanced drug carriers that can be magnetically and photochemically actuated. The synergistic magnetic and photochemical actuation will enable guiding and triggering the release of blends of anti-cancer drugs and thermo-sensitive polymers locally inside the tumor, and generating local hyperthermia to boost the therapeutic effects. We expect that the proposed therapeutic nanotechnology will dramatically enhance tissue selectivity and penetration, thereby locally incrementing drug concentration and lethality to reduce side effects.