Russian Scientists Develop Unique Nanopharmaceuticals for Targeted and Highly Effective Cancer Therapy

Lobachevsky University scientists are implementing a research project entitled "Development of  nanopharmaceuticals based on toxins and beta-emitters for combination cancer therapy".  The project is led by Andrei Zvyagin, lead researcher of the Biophysics Center of the UNN Institute of Biology and Biomedicine, who is also a professor at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. The aim of the project is to create a multifunctional nanopharmaceutical for combined therapy of tumors that contains a beta-emitter and a protein toxin and can be targeted at specific tissues and cells in the human body. It is also expected to study the therapeutic properties of the developed multifunctional  nanopharmaceutical using xenograft models of human cancer. Due to their unique set of properties, nanoparticles offer the most promising platform for creating effective biocompatible multifunctional compounds.

The nano drug delivery system is being developed on the basis of  NaYF4 particles doped with Yb and Tm lanthanide ions. The anti-Stokes photoluminescence of such particles enables their visualization by optical methods for diagnostic purposes. The inclusion of 90Y isotope particles makes the nanoparticle a beta-emitter whose properties are optimized for radionuclide therapy. The combined action of the nanopharmaceutical on the tumor is provided by including a recombinant protein toxin that inhibits protein synthesis in cells. The selective action  on tumor cells of specific molecular profile is ensured by guiding non-immunoglobulin proteins of the DARPin class.

The project will result in a potential antitumor therapeutic agent. After passing all the necessary preclinical and clinical  tests,  it  may be used to treat malignant tumors of a specific molecular profile. In the future, the potential of radionuclide-biomolecular therapy can be also applied in the treatment of autoimmune diseases where monotherapy is ineffective. The industrial partner of the project is the Amplituda Research and Technology Center.