Nanocarriers

With our advanced “DrugLnk” platform and extensive experience in payload drug chemistry for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) development, Creative Biolabs offers highly customized strategies for ADC production using nanocarriers as novel payload drug delivery media for maximum efficiency and efficacy.

Nanocarriers are colloidal nano-scale systems that carry anticancer agents, including small molecular weight drugs or macromolecules such as genes or proteins. As an indirect method for targeted therapy, nanocarriers allow the amass of anticancer agents in tumor cells, resulting in a cytotoxin concentration several-fold higher at the tumor site. Drugs carried by nanocarriers show a decreased toxicity for the normal tissue comparing to free drugs. Moreover, nanocarriers prevent the drug from degradation, decrease drug renal clearance, and prolong drug half-life in the bloodstream. Unlike usual strategies for ADCs establishment and due to the relative larger size of nanocarriers (ranging from 50~200 nm), the first step in antibody- nanocarrier conjugation is to from an antibody-linker complex, which is subsequently bound to the nanocarriers. Commonly used nanocarriers include liposomes, nanotubes, polymeric nanocarriers…

Liposomes

Liposomes are self-assembled colloidal vesicles with a specific lipid bilayer membrane comprised of amphiphilic phospholipids. They enable the packaging of a number of hydrophilic anticancer drugs and siRNAs in its aqueous core, while in the meantime, keeping hydrophobic cytotoxic agents on the hydrophobic membrane. Apart from the amphiphilic drug loading properties, liposomes also exhibit other advantageous characteristics, such as good bio-compatibility in majority of patients and low antigenic or toxic reactions. Liposomes exert long circulation time in blood, and this can be further increased by liposome surface PEGlyation.

Liposomes have been generally used as carriers of toxins in the fields of drug delivery. A liposomes is the first closed bilayer phospholipid system used for drug delivery. A number of liposomes (lipidic nanoparticles) are on the market, while many more are under active development (Analyst, 2013).

Carbon Nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes are tubular hydrophobic networks of carbon atoms with a length of about 1~100 μm and 1~4 nm in diameter. They have special structural, electronic, optical, and mechanical properties. Various anticancer drugs can be embedded in the internal cavity or on the surface of a carbon nanotube to achieve a high drug load due to their ultra-high surface area. The nanotube carriers show good penetration to cancerous cells, regardless of the different types of functionalization to the nanotubes.

Overall scheme of carbon nanotube, graphene, and graphene oxide for nano-therapeutic drug delivery. Carbon nanotubes is an excellent candidate in neuro-regeneration and neuro-drug delivery, because of their excellent physical properties and their ability to interface with neurons and neuronal circuits (Int J Nanomedicine, 2015a).

Polymeric Nanocarriers

Polymeric nanocarriers are polymer-based drug nanocarriers with versatile forms: polymer micelles, dendrimers, polymer capsules, polymeric core-shell particles, polymer nanorods/nanocubes, and polymersomes. Polymeric nanocarriers are proposed to be more superior than liposomes with increased serum stability and a restricted control of drug release. They are more stable in vivo, exhibiting higher drug circulation times and higher loading capacities. In addition, polymeric nanocarriers are also regarded as one type of vehicles to enable the delivery of poorly soluble cytotoxic drugs to cancer sites.

Schematic illustration of polymeric nanoparticle platforms. Nanoparticle platforms has several different forms, such as polymeric nanoparticle, polymeric micelle, dendrimer, polymersome, polyplex, polymeric-lipid hybrid, and polymer-drug conjugate (Int J Nanomedicine, 2015b).

With our experienced science team, Creative Biolabs provides a variety of services for customary ADC development with nanocarriers in a timely and cost-effective manner. Our services include:

• Produce polymer particles with specific surface functional groups (i.e., -COOH, -SH, alkyne).
• Conjugate the bifunctionalized linker (either cleavable or non-cleavable) to the antibody to form the antibody-linker complex.
• Conjugate the antibody-linker complex to the surface of nanoparticles to obtain the antibody-nanoparticle conjugates.

Our customarily tailored services and high quality products will contribute greatly to the success of your projects. Creative Biolabs also provides other various services regarding ADC development. Please feel free to contact us for more information and a detailed quote.

References:

1. Liu, Q.; et al. Liposomes in biosensors. Analyst. 2013, 138(2): 391-409.
2. John, A.A.; et al. Carbon nanotubes and graphene as emerging candidates in neuroregeneration and neurodrug delivery. Int J Nanomedicine. 2015a, 10: 4267.
3. Prabhu, R.H.; et al. Polymeric nanoparticles for targeted treatment in oncology: current insights. Int J Nanomedicine. 2015b, 10: 1001.
4. Pérez-Herrero, E.; et al. Advanced targeted therapies in cancer: Drug nanocarriers, the future of chemotherapy. Eur. J. Pharm. Biopharm. 2015, 93: 52-79.

For Research Use Only. NOT FOR CLINICAL USE.