Main Menu

The invention relates to novel lipid-based nanoparticles (liposomes) for use in targeted, on demand and on site drug delivery. The particles include a wall surrounding a cavity, wherein the wall is comprised of:

1. A lipid bilayer comprising 1,2-bis(tricosa-10,12-diynoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DC_8,9PC), dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC), and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-

phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-2000] (DSPE-PEG2000), and

Tissue obtained for both clinical and research purposes is routinely frozen, commonly in Optimal Cutting Temperature (OCT), an embedding media, for eventual downstream analysis, commonly including sectioning on a cryostat. Though OCT is the standard compound used for freezing, there is no standard freezing protocol. Thus, current methods of handling, labeling, and storing OCT-embedded tissue vary widely, and specimens are often damaged or degraded due to undesirable temperature fluctuations during handling and freezing.

Mesothelin is a cell surface protein that is highly expressed in aggressive cancers such as malignant mesothelioma, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, bile duct carcinoma and gastric cancer. As a result, mesothelin is an excellent candidate for tumor targeted immunotherapeutics. However, the antibodies against mesothelin that are available for clinical trials are of murine origin. These antibodies have the potential to elicit immune responses in patients, which may adversely affect the ability to provide patients with repeated doses.

Adoptive cell transfer (ACT) is a promising immunotherapeutic approach for cancer treatment. During ACT, if a patient is subjected to lymphodepletion prior to cell transfer, there is an observed improvement in a patient’s response to treatment. However, lymphodepletion is associated with detrimental effects, including severe immune dysfunction that persists after treatment.

Multiparametric MRI improves image detail and prostate cancer detection rates compared to standard MRI. Computer aided diagnostics (CAD) used in combination with multiparametric MRI images may further improve prostate cancer detection and visualization. The technology, developed by researchers at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (NIHCC), is an automated CAD system for use in processing and visualizing prostate lesions on multiparametric MRI images.

Bacterial spores can be modified to display molecules of interest, including drugs, immunogenic peptides, antibodies and other functional proteins of interest (such as enzymes).  The resulting engineered bacterial spores can provide many useful functions such as the treatment of infections, use as an adjuvant for the delivery of vaccines, and the enzymatic degradation of environmental pollutants.

Metastatic cancers cause up to 90% of cancer deaths, yet few treatment options exist for patients with metastatic disease. Adoptive transfer of T cells that express tumor-reactive T-cell receptors (TCRs) has been shown to mediate regression of metastatic cancers in some patients. Unfortunately, identification of antigens expressed solely by cancer cells and not normal tissues has been a major challenge for the development of T-cell based immunotherapies. Thus, it is essential to find novel target antigens differentially expressed in cancer versus normal tissues.

Griffithsin is a potent anti-viral protein with activity against HIV, HCV, Sars, HSV 1 & 2 and other viruses.  It is active against HIV and HCV at picomolar concentrations.  Griffithsin is moving into clinical trials as an anti-HIV microbicide. Based on the structure of griffithsin and the necessities of pharmaceutical product development and regulatory approval, certain mutations in the sequence of griffithsin have been generated which could add to the stability and solubility of the protein.

This technology consists of highly specific rabbit monoclonal antibodies reactive with phosphorylated tyrosine located at amino acid 1235 in the human MET sequence. Binding to this pYl235 residue is independent of the phosphorylation of other tyrosines in the vicinity (1230 and 1234), does not cross-react with these nearby phosphotyrosine residues, and does not occur when Y1235 is unphosphorylated.

Most early work on CD133 was carried out using one of two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), AC133 and AC141, which recognize an undefined glycosylated epitope of CD 133.