UN SDG
Call for SR&TD Project Grants - 2017
€238.923,58
Photoresponsive Self-Assembled Nanomaterials for Drug and Gene Delivery
Nuno Míguel Jesuíno Basílio
NOVA.ID.FCT - Associação para a Inovação e Desenvolvimento da FCT
Chemical Sciences
Chemical Sciences
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Nanostructured materials self-assembled from amphiphilic compounds, such as micelles, vesicles, nanotubes or hydrogels, show highly attractive properties for pharmaceutical applications as drug delivery vehicles.
Considering several types of nanomaterials that can be obtained from amphiphilic molecules, unilamellar vesicles are recognized to be superior drug delivery vehicles due to their ability to encapsulate both hydrophobic and hydrophilic materials, high loading capacity and stability under diluted conditions.
This project envisages the design and synthesis of new amphiphiles equipped with functional photochromic units programmed to form self-assembled materials of nanometric dimensions in aqueous solution. Considering some of the drawbacks related with the preparation of vesicles from conventional lipid-based surfactants and, at the same time, their recognized potential, the current proposal focus in strategies that can be employed to form spontaneous and thermodynamically stable vesicles. Specifically, catanionic systems based on mixtures of oppositely charged surfactants and supramolecular amphiphiles formed from host-guest complexation.
The selected photochromic units comprise a series of appealing properties to exploited in the context of the current proposal: 1) -  Under illumination, undergo a photochemical transformation that leads, under specific conditions, to the formation of a positively charged species. This transformation is expected to modify the amphiphilic balance of surfactant molecules in a major extent, destabilizing the self-assembled nanocontainer and trigger the release of the cargo drugs. 2) ? These functional units have fluorescent properties which confers self-reporting properties to the target compounds enabling monitorization in complex biological systems. This feature represents an important advantage with respect to spectroscopically ?silent? building blocks, enabling additional characterization possibilities.
The main objective of the present proposal is the design and synthesis of photoresponsive nanostructured materials for drug-delivery. Our multidisciplinary team comprise members with recognized expertise in areas such organic chemistry, photochemistry, supramolecular and colloidal sciences and, as well, in biology and biotechnology that provides the required knowledge for the success of the project.
Self-assemblySoft MaterialsDrug DeliveryPhotochemistry