Cavitation-inducing polymeric nanoparticles
AssigneeOxsonics Limited
InventorsJames Kwan, Rachel Myers, Constantin-Cassios Coussios, Apurva Shah
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Abstract
The invention disclosed herein relates to a nanoparticle comprising: a cup having a cavity, and a gas pocket present in the cavity, wherein the gas pocket is partially encapsulated by the cup. Typical uses of the nanocups include initiating inertial cavitation during simultaneous exposure to ultrasound, and/or as drug carriers to achieve targeted drug delivery in response to ultrasound excitation.
Claims34
A pharmaceutical composition comprising a plurality of polymeric nanoparticles and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent which is a liquid medium, wherein each polymeric nanoparticle comprises:
- a cup having a cavity, wherein at least a part of the cavity is substantially part-spherical with an opening of at least 50 nm, and
- a gas pocket present in the cavity,
- wherein the gas pocket is partially encapsulated by the cup, and wherein the polymeric nanoparticle comprises a single cup having a gas pocket present therein.
A method of producing a polymeric nanoparticle comprising:
- a cup having a cavity, wherein at least a part of the cavity is substantially part-spherical with an opening of at least 50 nm, and
- a gas pocket present in the cavity,
- wherein the gas pocket is partially encapsulated by the cup, and wherein the polymeric nanoparticle comprises a single cup having a gas pocket present therein, which method comprises:
- providing a seed particle;
- partially coating the seed particle, by carrying out polymerization on the surface of the seed particle to provide a polymer coating, wherein the polymer induces swelling and deformation to provide a cup having the cavity;
- drying the cup;
- providing gas to the cup to produce a pocket of the gas within the cavity;
- and
- resuspending the polymeric nanoparticle in a liquid medium.
A method of treatment or diagnosis of a human or animal subject, wherein the method comprises administering to the subject a pharmaceutical composition comprising a plurality of polymeric nanoparticles, each polymeric nanoparticle comprising:
- a cup having a cavity, wherein at least a part of the cavity is substantially part-spherical with an opening of at least 50 nm, and
- a gas pocket present in the cavity,
- wherein the gas pocket is partially encapsulated by the cup, wherein the polymeric nanoparticle comprises a single cup having a gas pocket present therein, and wherein the pharmaceutical composition further comprises a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent which is a liquid medium;
- and exposing the subject to ultrasound.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.