Project Title: Surface modification of layered inorganic nanoparticles encapsulating anticancer drugs
Research overview. We are interested in developing nanocarriers made of inorganic layered structured materials (LSN), such as the layered zirconium phosphates (ZrP), acidic inorganic ion-exchange materials that can be synthesized as nanoparticles. The REU student will synthesize and structurally characterize zirconium phosphate nanoparticles and intercalate in it a series of anticancer drugs (such as cisplatin and doxorubicin) to prepare stable and controlled release drug carriers. In the past funding period we have collaborated with the Tinoco laboratory to intercalate different Titanium compounds and have seen the compounds retain their potency. The intercalation reaction results in nanoparticles with an expanded interlayer distance as monitored using X-ray powder diffractometry. The REU student will use UV-Vis spectrophotometry, Infrared, X-ray photoelectron, and 31P-NMR spectroscopies, thermal gravimetric analysis, and molecular modeling studies to determine any chemical modifications of the bioactive species upon intercalation or interactions with the phosphate groups of the ZrP material. Surface modification of the nanoparticles with monoethyl-polyethyleneglycolphosphate (m-PEG-PO3) will be performed while maintaining the interlayer space intact and intercalated with the anticancer drug to improve biocompatibility and as a step into incorporating surface agents for active targeting. Results of in-vitro drug release studies will be a prerequisite for future work such as cytotoxicity studies with cancer cell lines for anticancer agents that might indicate that the use of these materials for cancer treatment could prove to represent a new strategy for nanotherapeutics. Among the instruments available to the REU students are a Bruker-Tensor 27 FT-IR & OPUS Data Collection Program for the analysis, a UV-Vis spectrophotometer, a BASi potentiostat, and a Rigaku Smart Lab X-ray diffractometer.