heterotopic-mucosal-engrafting-procedure-for-direct-drug-delivery-to

Heterotopic Mucosal Engrafting Procedure for Direct Drug Delivery to the Brain in Mice

Delivery of therapeutics into the brain is impeded by the presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) which restricts the passage of polar and high ...

Boston University

Substituted 1,3,5-triazaadamantanes: biocompatible and degradable building blocks.

Large degradable dendrimers (MW > 30 kDA) were synthesized in a divergent manner utilizing a novel 1,3,5-triazaadamantane (TAA) monomer that can degrade under acidic conditions.

Degradable dendrimers divergently synthesized via click chemistry.

The physical properties and function of hydrogels are shown to depend on the substituents present in three novel 1,3,5-tri-azaadamantane (TAA) cross-linkers. Gel stiffness and degradation rate at varied pHs could be predictably tuned with the cross-linker substituents used to form the gel. Subsequently, protein release from the hydrogel were controlled with chemical structure of the cross-linker.

Tuning hydrogel properties and function using substituent effects.

A one-step, large-scale preparation of alkyne-containing hyper-branched polyglycerols (HPG) is reported. The HPGs undergo click reactions to organic azides allowing a range of applications.

Clickable polyglycerol hyperbranched polymers and their application to gold nanoparticles and acid-labile nanocarriers.

Injectable and biodegradable hydrogels have been increasingly studied for sustained drug delivery in various molecular therapies. However, it remains a challenge to attain desired delivery rate at injection sites due to local tissue pressures exerted on the soft hydrogels. Furthermore, there is often limited controllability of stiffness and degradation rates, which are key factors required for achieving desired drug release rate and therapeutic efficacy. This study presents a stiff and metastable poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA)-poly(ethylene imine) (PEI) hydrogel which exhibits an elastic modulus equivalent to bulk plastic materials, and controllable degradation rate independent of its initial elastic modulus. Such unique stiffness was attained from the highly branched architecture of PEI, and the decoupled controllability of degradation rate was achieved by tuning the non-equilibrium swelling of the hydrogel. Furthermore, a single intramuscular administration of granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF)-encapsulated PEGDA-PEI hydrogel extended the mobilization of mononuclear cells to four days. A larger yield of expanded CD34+ and CD31+ endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) was also obtained as compared to the daily bolus administration. Overall, the hydrogel created in this study will be useful for the controlled and sustained delivery of a wide array of drug molecules.

Tuning the non-equilibrium state of a drug-encapsulated poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogel for stem and progenitor cell mobilization.

Since stem cells emerged as a new generation of medicine, there are increasing efforts to deliver stem cells to a target tissue via intravascular injection. However, the therapeutic stem cells lack the capacity to detect and adhere to the target tissue. Therefore, this study presents synthesis of a bioactive hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG) that can noninvasively associate with stem cells and further guide them to target sites, such as inflamed endothelium. The overall process is analogous to the way in which leukocytes are mobilized to the injured endothelium.

Leukocyte-mimicking stem cell delivery via in situ coating of cells with a bioactive hyperbranched polyglycerol.

Utilization of neuropharmaceuticals for central nervous system(CNS) disease is highly limited due to the blood-brain barrier(BBB) which restricts molecules larger than 500Da from reaching the CNS. The development of a reliable method to bypass the BBB would represent an enormous advance in neuropharmacology enabling the use of many potential disease modifying therapies. Previous attempts such as transcranial catheter implantation have proven to be temporary and associated with multiple complications. Here we describe a novel method of creating a semipermeable window in the BBB using purely autologous tissues to allow for high molecular weight(HMW) drug delivery to the CNS. This approach is inspired by recent advances in human endoscopic transnasal skull base surgical techniques and involves engrafting semipermeable nasal mucosa within a surgical defect in the BBB. The mucosal graft thereby creates a permanent transmucosal conduit for drugs to access the CNS. The main objective of this study was to develop a murine model of this technique and use it to evaluate transmucosal permeability for the purpose of direct drug delivery to the brain. Using this model we demonstrate that mucosal grafts allow for the transport of molecules up to 500 kDa directly to the brain in both a time and molecular weight dependent fashion. Markers up to 40 kDa were found within the striatum suggesting a potential role for this technique in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. This proof of principle study demonstrates that mucosal engrafting represents the first permanent and stable method of bypassing the BBB thereby providing a pathway for HMW therapeutics directly into the CNS.

Permeabilization of the blood-brain barrier via mucosal engrafting: implications for drug delivery to the brain.

A series of amphiphiles with differing cationic tri- and di- peptide headgroups, designed and synthesized based on lysine (K), ornithine (O), arginine (R), and glycine (G), have been characterized and evaluated for DNA and siRNA delivery. DNA-lipoplexes formed from the tri- and di- lipopeptides possessed lipid:nucleic acid charge ratios of 7:1 to 10:1, diameters of ~200 nm to 375 nm, zeta potentials of 23 mV to 41 mV, melting temperatures of 12 °C to 46 °C, and lamellar repeat periods of 6 nm to 8 nm. These lipid-DNA complexes formed supramolecular structures in which DNA is entrapped at the surface between multilamellar liposomal vesicles. Compared to their DNA counterparts, siRNA-lipoplexes formed slightly larger complexes (348 nm to 424 nm) and required higher charge ratios to form stable structures. Additionally, it was observed that lipids with multivalent, tripeptide headgroups (i.e., KGG, OGG, and RGG) were successful at transfecting DNA in vitro, whereas DNA transfection with the dipeptide lipids proved ineffective. Cellular uptake of DNA was more effective with the KGG compared to the KG lipopeptide. In siRNA knockdown experiments, both tri- and di- peptide lipids (i.e., RGG, GGG, KG, OG, RG, GG) showed some efficacy, but total cellular uptake of siRNA complexes was not indicative of knockdown outcomes and suggested that the intracellular fate of lipoplexes may be a factor. Overall, this lipopeptide study expands the library of efficient DNA transfection vectors available for use, introduces new vectors for siRNA delivery, and begins to address the structure-activity relationships which influence delivery and transfection efficacy.

Richie E. Kohman

Department of Biomedical Engineering

Boston University

Heterotopic Mucosal Engrafting Procedure for Direct Drug Delivery to the Brain in Mice