Development of Novel Ligand-Drug Hybrid Nanocrystals to Target Breast Cancer

Chemotherapy is one of commonly used practices to treat cancers including the breast cancer by stopping cell replication with antineoplastic agents such as paclitaxel. Since a drug cannot distinguish a tumor cell from healthy cells, severe side effects may be associated with these chemicals that can damage healthy tissues and cause reduction in the immunogenicity. Common side effects include fatigue, sores, numbness, diarrhea, hair loss, etc. One of few strategies to overcome the cytotoxicity is to enable drug delivery systems the ability just to target malignant cells. This can be accomplished by taking advantage of specific chemical moieties (i.e., receptors) that are only expressed on the cell surface of tumors. Special receptor-binding molecules (i.e., ligands) are typically linked to the drug delivery system allowing it target tumor cells. Most studies of the targeted delivery require complicated and sometimes troublesome synthesis and formulation techniques. What is proposed in this study is to develop a totally different concept, never tested before, that can integrate ligands with drug substances without going through the complicated synthesis chemistry. Ligand substances will be self-assembled with drug molecules through physical means and form hybrid nanocrystals. This novel dosage form will allow the direct targeting of chemotherapy agents to cancer cells. In addition, the nanosized delivery system will be advantageous over current dosage forms by improving solubility and increasing overall therapeutic effectiveness.