Smart Nanocapsules for Efficient Cellular Delivery of Bioactive Peptide Drugs (2007-2009)

We aim to develop and evaluate a novel class of peptide drug carriers for targeted cellular delivery. The project sets out to encapsulate bioactive therapeutic peptide drugs in biocompatible polypeptide nanocapsules (50-100 nm) with high loading, retained activity and in a free state via templating high surface area mesoporous silica (MS) nanoparticles and using layer-by-layer self-assembly technique. Successful carrying out this project will develop a practical synthesis technique for MS nanoparticles and an efficient encapsulation technique for various functional materials. This work is significant not only for constructing efficient site-specific drug delivery systems but also for the nanotechnology development in Australia.