| Topic |
New concept of enhancing targeting of polymer conjugates for drug delivery to brain |
| Supervisor |
Jiří Pánek, PhD |
| Consultant |
Dr Petr Štěpánek, DSc |
| Department |
Supramolecular Polymer Systems
|
| Description |
The aim of the Ph.D. thesis is to develop a conceptually new system for inhibition of glutamate carboxypeptidase II (GCP II) in brain as a treatment tool for suppressing glutamate toxicity and subsequent neuroinflammation-caused secondary damage after ischemic, hemorrhagic or traumatic brain injuries (which typically damage brain and spinal cord more than the primary injury and are the reason why neural damage often gets worse within few days after first occurrence of symptoms). The delivery system will modify the unfavorably hydrophilic properties of the GCP II inhibitors, which are normally unable to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The delivery system will also enhance inhibitor potency by forming multivalent physically self-assembled („molecular toolbox“) biocompatible polymer-coated solid lipid nanoparticles. The inhibitor-containing nanoparticles will decompose after crossing the BBB by apolipoprotein E-mediated transfer and the polymer-bound inhibitor will become reversibly membrane-anchored in the proximity of the membrane-bound GCP II. This membrane anchoring is expected to be a generally applicable concept for targeting also enzymes or receptors other than GCP II. |
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