Delivering Large Drug Cargoes in a Super-Sized Nanocage | CPT PPP Coverage

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Apr 7 2023Reviewed by Alex Smith

Consider how difficult it is to attempt to cram a gift into a box that is not big enough. Sometimes a larger box is all that is required

Building a Bigger Box

To deliver treatments to a specific location in the body, small artificial containers called nanocages can be employed. But certain drug molecules are like gifts that are too large for the standard-sized nanocage “box.”

Researchers from the University of Cambridge detailed how they created a super-sized nanocage that could possibly be used to transport larger drug cargo in a study that was published in Nature Synthesis. They created a larger box.

Simple Building Blocks

The ability to exercise rational control over the self-assembly of these types of cages can often be quite difficult. Therefore, the team chose to employ an easy building block procedure inspired by natural biological systems rather than standard self-assembly techniques.

The larger cage they constructed with the new technique has an enclosed volume of more than 92 nm³, making it the largest ligand-enclosed inner cavity volume ever created.

Although larger cages have been reported, they feature more open ligand frameworks, making them less effective because they have not been successful in binding cargoes. Potential “guest” molecules can escape via the widely separated bars if they are not covalently attached to the “host” framework.

The findings of this study are important because they demonstrate how we are able to create ever-larger complex, functional structures using simple building blocks.

Dr Kai Wu, Study First Author and Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge

Larger Cargoes

Super-sized nanocages could be employed in biotechnology and drug delivery, where they could be used to transport larger therapeutic biomolecules to particular body parts.

The researchers also point out that large biomolecules like hydrophobic membrane proteins or proteases could be able to attach to the huge internal cavities of the nanocages, which could prove advantageous for drug discovery and development.

Dr Wu added, “Overall, this research expands our understanding of how to create nanoscale structures and may have practical implications in a variety of fields.”

 “This work, sponsored in part by Astex Pharmaceuticals under its Sustaining Innovation Postdoctoral Program, aims to have real-world impact in the field of new drug development.”

Professor Jonathan Nitschke, Research Lead

Journal Reference:

Wu, K., et al. (2023) Systematic construction of progressively larger capsules from a fivefold linking pyrrole-based subcomponent. Nature Synthesis. doi:10.1038/s44160-023-00276-9.

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