Targeted nanoparticle drug delivery platform for CNS therapeutics
Our lab has developed a lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticle platform capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier with 3x higher penetration efficiency than conventional PEGylated liposomes in murine models. The platform uses a proprietary surface functionalization approach combining transferrin receptor-targeting peptides with pH-responsive release mechanisms, enabling selective drug release in acidic tumor microenvironments. We have validated the system with doxorubicin and temozolomide payloads, achieving 40% reduction in glioblastoma tumor volume in preclinical studies (n=24, p<0.01).
We are seeking a pharmaceutical industry partner for co-development toward IND-enabling studies. Ideal partnership would include sponsored research funding ($500K–$1M over 18 months), access to GMP manufacturing capabilities for clinical-grade nanoparticle production, and regulatory strategy support. We are open to licensing the core platform technology or structuring a co-development agreement with milestone-based payments. Current TRL is 4, with a target of reaching TRL 6 within the proposed partnership timeline.
About University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private institution that brings together the power of 140 institutes and centers including an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, a microbiome focused center, two U.S. Department of Energy National Labs (Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory) and the Marine Biological Laboratory, making it a truly powerful research and development enterprise of over 15,000 faculty and research staff. UChicago is home to the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, launched in 2011 as the first and only engineering school in the U.S. focused entirely on molecular engineering with one of the major focused areas in immunoengineering, and a core partner of the Chan Zuckerberg (CZ) Biohub - Chicago. Researchers at UChicago have pioneered breakthroughs including discovering the link between cancer and genetics, establishing revolutionary theories of economics, and developing tools to enhance urban schooling. UChicago researchers are at the forefront of fields ranging from quantum computing, data science and artificial intelligence, to the modeling and synthesis of advanced materials, to oncology and neuroscience.
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