Nanotherapeutics refers to the application of nanotechnology in medicine, specifically using biocompatible nanomaterials to deliver drugs and therapies to targeted areas in the body. This approach allows for improved drug efficacy, reduces side effects, and targets the treatment of diseases like cancer and other medical conditions.

NANOARC’s nanotherapeutic nanomaterials are  designed to selectively accumulate in diseased tissue or cells to minimise harm to healthy tissue. This helps  improve drug solubility, bioavailability, and stability, leading to better therapeutic outcomes. Some areas where nanotherapeutics can be beneficial entail:

CANCER THERAPY: The nanomaterials are used to deliver chemotherapy drugs directly to tumours, reducing systemic toxicity and negative side effects. 

INFECTIOUS DISEASE: The nanomaterials can target and neutralise pathogens like bacteria and viruses. 

CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE: The nanomaterials can be used to deliver drugs that dissolve blood clots and improve blood flow. 

NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS: The nanomaterials can help deliver drugs across the blood-brain barrier to improve the treatment of conditions like Alzheimer's disease

For a nanomaterial to be viable, it has to :

• Be made with a material that can biodegrade and provide intrinsic benefits like those acquired from micro-nutrients e.g. Zinc, Iron, Calcium, Magnesium, etc.

• Have no surface ligands, in order to allow for a generous coupling of therapeutic molecules to its surface and grant access to the active ions

• Be small enough (<< 20 nm) to provide a very high surface area, which allows its dosage in very small quantities and this small size accelerates biodegradation, to prevent accumulation in the body.

NANOARC’s nanotherapeutic nanomaterials are designed to be biodegradable, without surface ligands and have dimensions well below 20 nm, to achieve the aforementioned benefits.

Therapeutic targeting of pathogens using surface-modified appropriately scaled nanoparticles is a strategy, that permits drug delivery at the organ or even cellular level.

The size of a virus, ranges from about 20 nanometers (nm) up to 400 nm. In other words, the pathogen is a nanoscale object. It makes sense, to tackle its impact on a host with more precision, using therapeutic deliverable agents, within that size range.

One of the most notable applications of nanotechnology in the biomedical sector, is in the area of drug delivery and nano-therapeutics. Nanoparticle-based delivery systems present new opportunities to overcome challenges associated with conventional drug therapies and  this makes them particularly useful for consideration in the treatment of viral infections, which are intracellular in nature. 

ROLE  OF  NANOPARTICLES  IN  DRUG  DELIVERY

The premature release of a drug has implications on the treatment of systemic and intracellular infections. Nanoparticles are retained for much longer periods than conventional therapeutics in the body and this retainment enables a slow and sustained release of therapeutic agents. This is important because under conditions of controlled and sustained release, the goal is to ensure, that the drug concentration is maintained within the therapeutic window, thereby also decreasing the possibility of drug resistance.

These characteristics of nanoparticles are relevant in antiviral therapy in which the high dose of a drug is needed and the drugs are often very expensive. Usage of nanoparticulate carriers can reduce the frequency of the drug intake as well as treatment  timeframes, thus enhancing the effectiveness of the approved antiviral therapeutics and overcome their limitations, such as low bioavailability.

SOME  DESIGN  FACTORS

Nanoparticle uptake is an important consideration in the design of nano-therapeutics, because this will have a direct influence on the therapeutic load, and hence the appropriate dose, entering the cells. 

Subsequent biodegradation of the nanoparticles is critical determining the sustained release of a drug and subsequent biodistribution profiles. If biodegradation does not occur, the nanoparticle must eventually exit the cell and be excreted from the body. If nanoparticles are too large to undergo renal clearance, they may accumulate in the body. Smaller particles however (< 5 nm), can be excreted in urine.

It is expected that the usage of quantum materials (typically < 20 nm in diameter) with high surface area in antiviral therapeutic processes will have positive effects in the treatment of infectious diseases. These nanoparticles could potentially improve the efficacy of antiviral drugs and reduce the adverse side effects of the drugs on the body.

OUR  OFFER

NANOARC specialises in the development and manufacture of high surface area, sub 20 nm particles. We offer them as ligand-free nanopowder, for controlled dosage within therapeutic drugs.

The advantage of such a configuration is that in the absence of ligands, there is ample surface area on the nanoparticles for the addition of the necessary amount of therapeutic molecules. The flexibility in surface functionalisation implies the nanoparticle charge can be modified to facilitate cellular uptake, when dispersed in the appropriate biocompatible medium of choice.

Coupled with the advantages of slow and sustained drug release outlined above, in order to make the drug(s) more bioavailable, there is a potential in lowering the likelihood of adverse side effects. from high drug doses.

In conjunction with nanoparticle manufacture, we offer support through nanotech consultancy services.