Image-Guided Drug Delivery Systems

The efficient delivery of a drug to its designated site of action is a challenging, multifaceted bioengineering problem. Although the issue is associated with most therapeutics, it is particularly complex in the field of cancer chemotherapy. Through a multidisciplinary approach uniting research in cancer biology, interventional radiology, targeted drug delivery and biomedical engineering, we propose to develop a minimally invasive drug delivery system for local cancer treatment. Specifically, this project focuses on the development of functional polymer matrixes for image guided, site-specific, delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs to solid tumors that will address the challenges of systemic chemotherapy and already available local treatment options. This comprehensive drug delivery system will possess numerous advantages over existing treatment approaches, with the highlight being its use of various medical imaging modalities for minimally invasive placement, characterization and therapeutic evaluation. The multidisciplinary partnership will result in the development of a highly effective delivery system for site-specific treatment of cancer, demonstrate the potential of medical imaging in chemotherapy, and lead to enhanced understanding of cancer and paths leading to its eradication.

Project PI: Agata Exner

Noninvasive characterization of local drug delivery implant using CT. The biodegradable implant contains carboplatin, an anticancer drug, which is visible on X-ray imaging techniques. The implant morphology, local drug release profile and tissue response can all be determined in the same animal over time with this technique.