Position for 1.9.2011-31.8.2016 from the Research Council for Health, Academy of Finland.
Project description
In targeted cancer therapy drug molecules block the growth of cancer cells by interfering with specific cell surface moieties involved in tumour growth and progression. This strategy is usually more effective than current treatments and less harmful to normal cells. However, many anticancer drugs cannot be efficiently delivered to tumour cells due to their poor pharmacokinetics and/or pharmacodynamics, which hamper their application in cancer treatment. Therefore, new methodologies are needed for specifically targeting and delivery of therapeutic agents to unhealthy tissues with the fewest side effects possible. Porous silicon (PSi) nanoparticulate systems hold great potential to overcome some of those problems due to their unique properties. The goals of this project are to improve targeting delivery of therapeutic compouds by tuning the physicochemical properties of biofunctionalized PSi nanoparticles and to understand their mechanisms of action both in vitro and in vivo models.