UCLA-industry partnership to develop, commercialize new nano...( The California NanoSystems Institute...),Health

The California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) at UCLA and NanoPacific Holdings Inc. have announced a partnership to commercialize a mechanized, nanoparticle-based technology that could lead to prolonged lives of enhanced quality for millions of cancer sufferers.

Under the terms of the partnership, NanoPacific will receive exclusive license to key intellectual property owned by UCLA and developed at the CNSI's Nano Machine Center. The newly formed company will provide funding for further research at the center to broaden the scope of the technology for a diverse range of applications.

"This partnership is a prime example of how the CNSI will fulfill its mission," said UCLA Chancellor Gene Block. "Working with industry to bring new developments in technology and biotechnology into the marketplace for the benefit of the people of California is exactly why the CNSI was established."

The first application under the new partnership will involve the use of the technology for the targeted delivery of Food and Drug Administration-approved chemotherapeutic agents to cancer cells. Because of their unique properties, the mechanized nanoparticles can be preprogrammed to seek out cancer cells specifically while avoiding the body's other rapidly growing cells. In addition, the robot-like nanoparticles allow for the triggered release of cancer drugs that are currently difficult to administer intravenously because of their low solubilities in the blood stream.

The delivery mechanism consists of porous nanoparticles that are capable of storing and selectively releasing small drug molecules via nanoscale gates that can be opened and closed at will on the particles' surfaces. In this way, drugs can be loaded and unloaded in a selective manner in different environments. By equipping the nanoparticle surfaces with specific tags to preferentially target cancer cells, diseased cells can be destroyed selectively without affecting healthy on
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