NU 2005-053
Inventors
Haimei Chen
Thomas O'Halloran*
Abstract
Despite a long history and excellent therapy record, arsenic compounds have a variety of widely appreciated toxic side effects that currently limit their application. Northwestern researchers have invented novel procedures and compositions for the encapsulation and delivery of arsenic drugs. The developments include a novel procedure for encapsulating arsenic compounds in liposomes, allowing greater exploitation of the arsenic's beneficial characteristics while reducing its toxicity. The encapsulated compounds can also be targeted to a particular diseased tissue by coupling the liposome with an antibody to a cell-specific antigen. Furthermore, the liposomes are able to maintain encapsulation over long periods of time. These developments make the encapsulation procedure a realistic improvement for arsenic therapy in patients.
Applications
Advantages
Publications
Chen H, MacDonald RC, Li S, Krett NL, Rosen ST, O'Halloran TV (2006) Lipid encapsulation of arsenic trioxide attenuates cytotoxicity and allows for controlled anticancer drug release. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 128: 13348-9.
IP Status
Issued US Patent No. 8,246,983