Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGBA major challenge in the treatment of diseases is the targeted transport of effect substances to the diseased target, i.e. into a tissue or organ. Membranes are the most important barriers that shield the site of action from the effect substances to be transported. A further problem is the degradation or derivatisation of free active substances in the body. Such metabolisation often reduces the targeted effect of the drugs at the target site. In addition, active ingredients that are incorrectly distributed or altered in the body can lead to undesirable side effects. An already proven way to circumvent these disadvantages is the production of particulate drug formulations in which the active ingredient is embedded in a polymeric shell or matrix.
NANOCYTES® Application – Drug delivery and drug targeting
Controlled release
Polymer core-shell nano- and microparticles act as carriers and control the release of effect or active ingredients (controlled release). The combination of particles with protein active ingredients makes it possible, for example, to experimentally pursue new active ingredient concepts. In addition to the possibility of protecting sensitive drugs against biodegradation, particulate carrier systems can also mediate the targeted release of active ingredients. Of particular interest here are biodegradable compounds, since they are completely metabolised or decomposed after their application in the body or the environment.
At Fraunhofer IGB, customer-specific nano- and microparticles are produced from commercially available or tailor-made polymers, depending on the problem at hand. By varying the molecular weight and the ratio of hydrophilic and hydrophobic monomer units, we can - individually adapted - influence the release kinetics of encapsulated substances. The functional groups of which biodegradable polymers are composed determine physical and chemical properties such as the rate of release and degradation.
Efficient drug targeting
For a targeted transport of active ingredients to the site of action in the body (drug targeting), the polymer particles can be additionally functionalized on the surface. At Fraunhofer IGB, we modify nanoparticles on their surface using common coupling methods via free carboxy groups. Using carbodiimide and crosslinkers, we successfully bind biomolecules such as antibodies to the surface without loss of activity. The unspecific adsorption is very low. In addition to biodegradable nanoparticles, we are developing biosynthetic nanoparticles that simulate the conditions on cell surfaces.