Polycaprolactone nanoparticles
Polycaprolactone (PCL) is a biodegradable polymer commonly used to in implantable drug-loaded devices and scaffolds. PCL nanoparticles have been used for drug, protein, hormone, and vitamin delivery. Chemotherapy is an effective way of treating many cancers, however, chemotherapy is injected intravenously and affects the entire body, rather than localizing to the cancer. Polymeric encapsulation of chemotherapeutics, such as with PCL, can help localize the drug to the tumor site and increase the release time to reduce the number of clinic visits. Our focus is advanced and/or metastatic endometrial cancer, for which, there are few chemotherapeutic options in the standard of care.
Current projects include:
- A sustained-release formulation to overcome paclitaxel resistance
- Varying formulation methods to achieve a desired diameter of PCL nanoparticles and microparticles
- A novel core-shell microparticle design for sustained release antitumorigenic activity
- Efficacy of PTX-PCL in 2D vs. 3D cell culture (with Dr. Kaitlin Fogg, Oregon State University)