NTU team develops ‘trojan horse’ drug delivery system

The discovery promises to be faster, safer, more effective, and better suited for gene therapy, cancer treatment and vaccine delivery – including mRNA-based vaccines such as those used for Covid-19 vaccinations.

Made up of small proteins named peptides, the microdroplets can encase large biomacromolecules that carry drugs inside them. In doing so, they allow these biological molecules to enter cells, something the molecules can’t do alone.

Biomacromolecules are large biological molecules such as nucleic acids (DNA, mRNA), proteins and carbohydrates. They can carry large amounts of drugs, are non-toxic, can target specific sites and do not trigger the body’s immune response, making them preferable to synthetic carriers currently used in drug delivery.

However, their large size and inability to pass through cell membrane have held them back from widespread clinical use.

Led by professor Ali Miserez from NTU’s School of Materials Science & Engineering and School of Biological Sciences, the team’s method of first encasing biomacromolecules in protein-based microdroplets was found to let them enter cells reliably and effectively.