Nanoparticle-based Drug Delivery System Receives Ignition Award
Professor Mark Grinstaff and postdoctoral scientist, Dr. Aaron Colby, have received a 2015 Ignition Award from the BU Office of Technology Development to develop a nanoparticle-based drug delivery system for the treatment of mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that develops from cells of the mesothelium, the protective lining that covers many of the internal organs of the body.
The purpose of the Ignition Awards program is to validate early-stage projects with clear commercial and medical potential. This project was selected because, to date, there is no effective cure for mesothelioma and there is no way to prevent local recurrence. In this research, the Grinstaff group is developing a novel nanoparticle-based drug delivery system for localizing intraperitoneally administered chemotherapy directly to the site of established disease that remains following surgical resection procedures. The result is increased tumor-tissue drug concentrations and, subsequently, reduced recurrence and improved patient survival.
Since its establishment in 2007, the Ignition Awards Program has funded 46 project. Of these projects, 10 have been developed by Chemistry faculty.