Targeted Cancer Drug Delivery
A new breakthrough technology is emerging in cancer diagnosis, treatment, and prevention that utilizes novel “smart” nanoparticles that are capable targeting only the cancerous cell. The smart nanoparticles are designed to have a multilayer assembly with a drug loaded core and highly sensitive shells that are triggered by the biological signatures of cancer. The efficacy of the nanoparticles and their interaction with biological systems is of significant interest. The Nangia lab is developing state-of-the-art computational methods to design novel drug carriers for improved selectivity, targeted drug release, and cellular drug uptake efficacy with molecular-level accuracy. The specific goals of the research are:
- Quantitative yield assessment of drug release as a function of pH
- kinetics of reactions leading to supramolecular disassembly
- structural and charge dependence on drug loading
Representative publications
Wenjuan Jiang, Juntao Luo, and Shikha Nangia. “Multiscale approach to investigate self-assembly of telodendrimer based nanocarriers for anticancer drug-delivery”. Langmuir. 2015 31, 4270-4280.
- 2014 Shi, D. Yuan , Shikha Nangia, G. Xu, K. Lam, and Juntao Luo. “A Structure–Property Relationship Study of the Well-Defined Telodendrimers to Improve Hemocompatibility of Nanocarriers for Anticancer Drug Delivery.”,Langmuir. 2014. 28, 17666–17671.
Faculty