Integration of novel NANOparticle based technology for THERapeutics and diagnosis of different types of cancer

Nanotechnology is an emerging science whose utility in medicine remains to be exploited. The use of nanomedicine in the treatment of cancer is focused on reducing the overall dosage of pharmaceutical drugs, enabling the administration of higher quantities, but in a more specific manner by targeting the tumourous cells, thus reducing the side-effects of those therapeutic agents when delivered using other methods, such as chemotherapy and radio-therapy. These side-effects, together with the low solubility of the medicines, are the main limitations of current treatment against cancer.

The NANOTER project, coordinated by GAIKER-IK4 –our partner in the Research Alliance IK4- is one of the most important research projects in cancer treatment in recent years. 18 European research bodies of renowned quality are taking part – in Spain, CIC BioGUNE and the pharmaceutical companies Dominion Pharmakine and Pharmamar. Taking part at an international level are: AHAVA (Israel), ALMA Consulting (France), Argus (Italy), COLORITA (Italy), the Interuniversity Consortium for Materials Science and Technology (Italy), the School of Chemistry and Physics of Bordeaux (France), Feyecon (the Netherlands), Hameln (Slovakia), the Technology Education Institute of Athens (Greece), the Joint Research Centre (Belgium), NuovoProbe (the United Kingdom), the University of Tel-Aviv (Israel) and the Víctor Segalen University (France).

The NANOTHER project proposes the use of two types of synthetic nanoparticles:

1. Polymeric nanoparticles
2. Magnetic nanoparticles

The NANOTHER project represents an integration effort of chemical technologies for the synthesis of nanoparticles, biochemical for the union of antibody, and cellular biology to determine the proper operation of the created nanotransports. In fact, it would be impossible to tackle a project of this magnitude without the cooperation of various technological agents.

Vicomtech-IK4 participates in the pre-clinical functionalization and evaluation of in vivo nanoparticles using imaging techniques such as MRI and SPECT/PET.

Project web site: http://www.nanother.eu