Periodic Reporting for period 2 - NANO4TARMED (Advanced hybrid theranostic nanoplatforms for an active drug delivery in the cancer treatment)
Période du rapport: 2022-04-01 au 2024-06-30
Osteosarcoma, a primary bone cancer, typically affects the long bones of teenagers and young adults, predominantly in the legs but occasionally also in the arms. While rare, it can also develop in surrounding soft tissues. Current treatment options, including chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation therapy, can be effective but often come with significant side effects. Research into precisely targeted drug delivery systems offers a promising way for improving osteosarcoma treatment. Delivering of highly efficient drugs directly to not only osteosarcoma cancer cells can be a beneficial approach. This approach could potentially minimize side effects and considerably enhance therapeutic efficacy.
The Nano4Tarmed project focuses on the development of novel nanomaterial-based drug delivery platforms for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer diseases, including osteosarcoma. These platforms employ functionalized 2D carbon nanomaterials such as graphene oxide and graphene acid, combined with polymers, platinum organo-metallic complexes, low-molecular selectors, and anticancer drugs. Beyond its research objectives, Nano4Tarmed fosters a strong international scientific cluster. The project connects multi-branch research groups from Palacký University in Olomouc, Maynooth University in Ireland, and Consiglio Nazionale delle Recherché in Italy. The Nano4Tarmed project aims to establish a scientific platform with results that can be translated into practice.
Objectives:
- Strengthening knowledge and implementing new approaches to developing advanced nanocarrier systems for anticancer drug delivery.
- Strengthening knowledge of novel platinum-based anti-cancer drugs and study of their effects on cell lines and 3D models.
- Strengthening scientific profile and collaborations mainly of Early-stage researchers and research management and administration skills of the coordination institution, establishing new links between the Twinning partners and beyond.
- Strengthening the network with the application partners and thus enhancing the competitiveness of the region.
- Implementing open science models.
The successful establishment of the scientific consortium contributed to the research in the field of nanomaterial-based drug delivery systems for transport of anticancer drugs such as Pt-based complexes, DOX, actinomycin D and others. This activity helped to improve currently used approaches and established new ones, which will be applicable in the diagnosis and treatment of osteosarcoma and therefore will positively impact the health of the European and World-wide societies.
The Nano4Tarmed project focuses on the development of novel nanomaterial-based drug delivery platforms for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer diseases, including osteosarcoma. These platforms employ functionalized 2D carbon nanomaterials such as graphene oxide and graphene acid, combined with polymers, platinum organo-metallic complexes, low-molecular selectors, and anticancer drugs. Beyond its research objectives, Nano4Tarmed fosters a strong international scientific cluster. The project connects multi-branch research groups from Palacký University in Olomouc, Maynooth University in Ireland, and Consiglio Nazionale delle Recherché in Italy. The Nano4Tarmed project aims to establish a scientific platform with results that can be translated into practice.
Objectives:
- Strengthening knowledge and implementing new approaches to developing advanced nanocarrier systems for anticancer drug delivery.
- Strengthening knowledge of novel platinum-based anti-cancer drugs and study of their effects on cell lines and 3D models.
- Strengthening scientific profile and collaborations mainly of Early-stage researchers and research management and administration skills of the coordination institution, establishing new links between the Twinning partners and beyond.
- Strengthening the network with the application partners and thus enhancing the competitiveness of the region.
- Implementing open science models.
The successful establishment of the scientific consortium contributed to the research in the field of nanomaterial-based drug delivery systems for transport of anticancer drugs such as Pt-based complexes, DOX, actinomycin D and others. This activity helped to improve currently used approaches and established new ones, which will be applicable in the diagnosis and treatment of osteosarcoma and therefore will positively impact the health of the European and World-wide societies.
Events organized in a relation to ESRs included trainings, short-term stays, long-term scientific stays, seminars, and workshops on the topics of drug discovery, drug delivery and studies of interaction between drugs / drug delivery systems and cells. Next, we organized over 20 short-term scientific stays attended by students from UP and MU and CNR. In total, there were 11 ESRs involved in the short-term stays from UP, MU and CNR. These stays helped them to better understand problematics of drug discovery, synthesis of organometallic complexes (MU) and studies of interactions of cells with drugs and drug delivery nanoplatforms (CNR). Training was also provided to RMAs related to Nano4Tarmed project and their colleges from UP. RMAs attended two short-term stays at an organization with highly developed grant offices, MU (Ireland) and facilities in Amsterdam. Moreover, RMAs attended training provided by Europa Media in Lisbon and finally, Europa Media organized a custom-based training at the premises of UP in June 2024 for more than 20 RMAs. RMAs related to the Nano4Tarmed project also attended meetings of EARMA (European Association of Research Managers and Administrators) in Amsterdam, Prague and Odense.
We organized in total three high-school competitions, attended several open days organized at UP, CNR, and MU, published four articles aimed at non-scientific public. We also established a website together with a community platform aimed at researchers working in fields of drug delivery. The results of the project were presentedat international conferences.
We published 7 scientific papers in open access journals. We developed a dual modality drug delivery systems based on GO@PEG nanoplatforms, and We also focused on the development of plasmonic nanomaterials for the diagnosis of cancer. Moreover, we discussed our results with pharmaceutical companies during organized roundtables as well as with experts in oncology as part of the exploitation activities. These events provided us with feedback for our next work, which will continue through the Strike project funded by EC in 2022.
Conclusions:
To conclude the work related to the Nano4Tarmed project, we fully focused on the achievement of all objectives defined by the project. We organized training, seminars and workshops for ERSs and short- and long-term scientific stays to maximize their potential in further scientific work. RMAs from UP attended training to learn new aspects of project management and preparation of project proposals. We organized or attended high-school competitions and open days to disseminate the project aims and results. Researchers related to the N4T project also attended many international scientific events to further disseminate obtained results among the scientific community. We believe we achieved all defined objectives through using available tools, events, and approaches.
We organized in total three high-school competitions, attended several open days organized at UP, CNR, and MU, published four articles aimed at non-scientific public. We also established a website together with a community platform aimed at researchers working in fields of drug delivery. The results of the project were presentedat international conferences.
We published 7 scientific papers in open access journals. We developed a dual modality drug delivery systems based on GO@PEG nanoplatforms, and We also focused on the development of plasmonic nanomaterials for the diagnosis of cancer. Moreover, we discussed our results with pharmaceutical companies during organized roundtables as well as with experts in oncology as part of the exploitation activities. These events provided us with feedback for our next work, which will continue through the Strike project funded by EC in 2022.
Conclusions:
To conclude the work related to the Nano4Tarmed project, we fully focused on the achievement of all objectives defined by the project. We organized training, seminars and workshops for ERSs and short- and long-term scientific stays to maximize their potential in further scientific work. RMAs from UP attended training to learn new aspects of project management and preparation of project proposals. We organized or attended high-school competitions and open days to disseminate the project aims and results. Researchers related to the N4T project also attended many international scientific events to further disseminate obtained results among the scientific community. We believe we achieved all defined objectives through using available tools, events, and approaches.
Developed structures allow to covalently bind drugs with a high efficacy, with low levels of cytotoxicity. Novel Pt-based complexes, together with conventional drugs, including doxorubicin, were loaded on the platforms and their anticancer potential were tested. The data shown that the use of a GO@PEG nanoplatform allows the use of lower amounts of Pt drugs, while achieving inhibition of cellular proliferation in osteosarcoma. The prepared GO@PEG nanoplatform also showed good results in the inhibition of cell migration. We also demonstrated that the developed platforms could transport Pt-based complexes and doxorubicin simultaneously, and that the therapeutic effect is higher at lower concentrations, compared to the effect of free drugs. We performed studies using advanced 3D scaffold-based models. The results showed that the treated models had a significant reduction of cell migration compared to the control. The nanoplatforms have the potential to inhibit the invasiveness of cancer cells in colonizing the material, without causing a cell death. By combining drugs with different mechanisms of action, these systems enhance therapeutic efficacy while overcoming drug resistance, and they offer a personalized treatment approach and aim to minimize side effects by precisely targeting tumor sites. Next, we developed plasmonic nanosensors based on noble-metal nanoparticles, allowing a detection of cancer markers at ultra-low limits by the principles of surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Similar principles were also applied in a development of a method which allows detecting peripheral areas of gliomas during the brain surgery. This method potentially allows performing the resection with a higher level of precision, with a positive impact on the patient survival rate and overall quality of life after the performed brain surgery.