Professor Robert Carlisle, University of Oxford, Engineering Science, BUBBL group

Combination of nanoscale formulations and externally applied mechanical stimuli for improved delivery of therapy to tumours

This talk will cover how nano-scale constructs can be combined with focussed ultrasound to improve delivery of drugs and vaccines into and throughout solid tumours.

High interstitial pressure, poor perfusion and dense extracellular matrix makes delivery of drugs into and throughout solid tumours an ineffective process, even for the most advanced therapeutics. The combination of novel nanoscale formulations with externally applied mechanical stimuli, such as focussed ultrasound, can help address this challenge and provide a means to improve both the amount and distribution of drugs in tumours. This talk will cover 2 approaches which have been the subject of clinical trials in Oxford. The first involves the combination of thermally sensitive liposomes with tumour-targeted high intensity focussed ultrasound. The second involves the application of nanoscale ultrasound-responsive particles for the improved delivery of antibody and virus-based therapeutics into tumours.

The talk will cover the full-range of the development and testing of nanoscale drug delivery strategies from concept, to formulation, to clinical trials.

References:

Ultrasound‐propelled nanocups for drug delivery
JJ Kwan, R Myers, CM Coviello, SM Graham, AR Shah, E Stride, ...
small 11 (39), 5305-5314

Ultrasound-enhanced drug delivery for cancer
S Mo, CC Coussios, L Seymour, R Carlisle
Expert opinion on drug delivery 9 (12), 1525-1538

Improved therapeutic antibody delivery to xenograft tumors using cavitation nucleated by gas-entrapping nanoparticles
M Grundy, L Bau, C Hill, C Paverd, C Mannaris, J Kwan, C Crake, ...
Nanomedicine 16 (1), 37-50

Safety and feasibility of ultrasound-triggered targeted drug delivery of doxorubicin from thermosensitive liposomes in liver tumours (TARDOX): a single-centre, open-label …
PC Lyon, MD Gray, C Mannaris, LK Folkes, M Stratford, L Campo, ...
The Lancet Oncology 19 (8), 1027-1039