Bacteria-based Delivery System Development

Bacteria, a class of prokaryotic organisms with nucleoplasm without a nuclear membrane envelope, have an unexpected role in brain tumor treatment. Certain anaerobic bacteria readily grow in hypoxic tumor regions, and with increased metabolic byproducts in the tumor region, these anaerobes can easily survive to destroy the tumor tissue. Certain bacteria can naturally colonize tumor sites, known as tumor targeting. Using this ability to design brain tumor drug delivery systems with drug-targeted transport has promising applications.

We offer services for the development of bacteria-based drug delivery systems for brain tumors

Many bacteria have been found to have the ability to target tumor regions. Based on this feature, Alfa Cytology is developing their potential as (metastatic) brain tumor drug carriers. By combining bacteria with drugs that have different excellent properties, we can overcome the shortcomings of conventional drugs such as low bioavailability, weak targeting performance, and poor tissue penetration. Thanks to the specific response to the target lesion, our bacterial-based drug delivery system can not only achieve efficient active target delivery but also reduce the toxic side effects on normal tissues.

Construction of bacterial/nanomaterial complexes

The anaerobic targeting property of some anaerobic bacteria gives them the ability to actively target and colonize the tumor microenvironment in the absence of oxygen. Therefore, we can combine different nanomaterials with bacteria to form bacterial/nanomaterial complexes. The bacteria carry the nanomaterials to the tumor site, enhancing the targeting effect on the tumor.

• Bacteria/nanomaterials complex construction by chemical bonding
• Construction of bacteria/nanomaterial complexes using electrostatic interactions
• Construction of bacterial/nanomaterial complexes using specific biological recognition

Figure 1. The illustration of fabrication of bacteria-nanoparticle bio-hybrids via chemical bonds, physical adsorption, biomineralization and other binding forms. (Ye, Z., et al., 2021)

Construction of bacterial ghost (BG) drug delivery system

We use the natural large lumen inside the bacteria to prepare the drug delivery form. We transformed bacteria into BG, which can be loaded with antimicrobial drugs with a loading capacity of 12.5%. The BG drug delivery form can successfully deliver antimicrobial drugs into the cell and release them rapidly in the presence of intracellular micro acids and lysozyme. At the same time, BG acts as a natural immune activator to promote the secretion of antimicrobial cytokines and assist in the clearance of intracellular bacteria.

Construction of bacterial secretion/nanomaterial co-interaction system

We can construct tumor-targeting bioreactors by introducing plasmids into anaerobic bacteria. We use the engineered bacterial secretion to interact with nanoparticles to generate products with the anti-cancer ability to kill brain tumor cells. In addition to plasmid introduction, bacterial autocrine secretions can also be combined with nanomaterials to enhance antitumor efficacy, targeting, and activation of the immune response.

Construction of bacterial bio enzyme/nanomaterial reactant system

Some bacteria can produce some biological enzymes, which have the function of transforming and breaking down some substances. Based on these enzymatic reactions, we design nanoparticles to make bacterial bio enzymes react with nanomaterials to realize the use of reaction products against brain tumors. In addition, we design nanoparticles that can be decomposed by bacterial bio enzymes and then inject the nanoparticles after the bacteria reach the tumor site and proliferate, which can realize the controlled release of drugs at the tumor site.

How we can do better

Combining bacteria with nanomaterials as drug carriers can provide both targeting enhancement and combining the enzymatic reactions and secreted substances of bacteria with nanomaterials to enhance tumor treatment. Alfa Cytology uses the tumor anaerobes of bacteria to target and enhance the targeting of nanomaterials by combining them with nanomaterials. We also use the biological enzymes of bacteria to catalyze or transform some substances to combine with nanomaterials to perform the function of treating brain tumors. In addition, we use specific products secreted by the engineered bacteria and OMVs secreted by the bacteria themselves, combined with therapeutic agents such as photothermal agents and chemotherapeutic drugs contained in the nanomaterials, to achieve target enhancement, immune activation, and controlled release in brain tumor treatment. If you are interested in our services, please feel free to contact us to start your research project as soon as possible.

Reference

1. Ye, Z., et al. (2021). "Nanotechnology-Employed Bacteria-Based Delivery Strategy for Enhanced Anticancer Therapy." International Journal of Nanomedicine, 16, 8069-8086