Therapeutic Polymer Nanoparticles Designed for Treatment of Pulmonary and Urinary Tract Diseases

Therapeutic Nanomaterials made from ProteinsJulie A. Champion, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, GeorgiaInstitute of Technology Protein drugs can provide a key advantage over small molecule drugs; they evolved to perform theirfunction, while small molecules are often selected for “best” function compared to a pool of candidates.However, proteins can present challenges in delivery that must be overcome in order to be used astherapeutic drugs. Their folded structure is critical to their biological function and makes them sensitiveand difficult to package. However, this structure also provides an opportunity to create nanomaterialsfrom them that is not available for small molecules. The main goal of our work is to engineernanomaterials made from therapeutic proteins and this is accomplished through a combination ofself-assembly and/or bio-conjugation processes. The ability to control these processes is essential tomanipulating material physical properties, ensuring retention of protein activity, and directing theinteractions between the materials and cells. The strategies developed here provide opportunities towork with unlikely proteins, such as those from pathogenic bacteria, and transform them from diseasecausing agents into beneficial therapeutic materials. Protein design, self-assembly and disassemblyproperties, and applications of therapeutic protein nanomaterials in cancer, inflammation and vaccineswill be discussed Using DNA to Deliver Drugs: The 3DNA Nanotechnology PlatformRobert Getts PhD, Vice President, Research and Development, Genisphere A variety of materials have been used to synthesize and create nanoparticles for attachment of drugs inorder to improve their therapeutic index for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. DNA as ananotechnology matrix offers a unique set or physical, chemical, and biological properties, thus openingup a new strategy for the development of a multivalent therapeutic delivery molecule. Genisphere's3DNA platform is composed entirely of noncoding DNA that has been assembled through the sequentialhybridization of single strands of DNA into a network of double stranded nucleic acid having a controlledarchitecture (layers) and multiple attachment sites for both drug as well as targeting molecules. For drugdelivery, Genisphere customizes two-layer and four-layer 3DNA scaffolds with a variety of drug cargos, targeting moieties, and tracking labels. 3DNA nanostructures have been used for in vitro and in vivo drugdelivery in the fields of oncology, ophthalmology, and others. An overview of this new and exciting drugdelivery nanotechnology will be presented.