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Contract Opportunity

Opportunity:

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), operated by the Lawrence Livermore National Security (LLNS), LLC under contract no. DE-AC52-07NA27344 (Contract 44) with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is offering the opportunity to enter into a collaboration to commercialize its drug delivery with carbon nanotube porins technology.

Background:

There is a high demand for novel technologies for efficient drug delivery, particularly in chemotherapy where delivering drugs into unhealthy cells is still quite difficult. Liposomes, which are spherical vesicles characterized by a bilayer of lipids with an internal aqueous cavity, constitute one class of vehicles for drug delivery. The US FDA has approved several liposomal formulations for the delivery of drugs for the treatment of various disorders, but challenges still remain particularly in the delivery of chemotherapeutic agents that are associated with toxicity.

Description:

To address shortcomings of current liposome drug delivery systems, the patented innovation uses drug-loaded liposomes containing carbon nanotube porins (CNTPs) inserted into the liposomal membranes for the delivery of the encapsulated drugs. Short CNTPs (10 nm in length) with narrow diameter (0.8 nm) has been demonstrated to facilitate efficient fusion of lipid bilayers resulting in the complete mixing of the membrane material and vesicle interior content. Drugs encapsulated in the liposome decorated with CNTPs are released into the cytoplasm of the cell upon fusion of the liposomal membrane with the cell membrane.

For proof-of-concept, the delivery of doxorubicin (DOX), a powerful anti-cancer drug that has significant cardiac toxicity in free form, was tested. Scientists used CNTPs to directly introduce DOX from spherical sacs of liposomes through the cell plasma membrane into its interior. Controls such as buffer, CNTP in free form, liposomes with CNTPs on the surface but no DOX, and DOX encapsulated in liposomes without CNTPs on the surface did not show significant effect on viability of cells. On the other hand, DOX encapsulated in liposomes with CNTPs on the surface allowed fusion of the liposome and cell membranes. This permitted direct delivery of the drug and killed cells even to a greater extent than DOX in free form (adjusted for equivalent concentration of the drug).

Advantages/Benefits:

This innovative pathway to deliver a drug directly into a cell interior addresses a long-standing challenge for medicine. Carbon nanotube porins allows for efficient drug delivery of liposomal formulation of drugs. Conventional liposomes rely on endocytic uptake of liposomes and fusion of the liposomes with endosomal membrane, which is not very efficient. The novel approach uses CNTPs embedded in liposomal membrane to actively promote fusion of the liposomal membrane with the cell membrane and thereby achieve higher efficiency of drug delivery.

Potential Applications:

Drug delivery that incorporates carbon nanotube porins as therapeutic carriers could be used for treatment of difficult to cure diseases. The technology can also be used for vaccines as well as gene delivery for immunization and gene therapy, respectively.

Development Status:

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0177756 Nanotube-Vesicle Compositions and Uses Thereof published 6/17/2021

Current stage of technology development: TRL-2 (3/2023)

LLNL is seeking industry partners with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Moving critical technology beyond the Laboratory to the commercial world helps our licensees gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. All licensing activities are conducted under policies relating to the strict nondisclosure of company proprietary information.

Please visit the IPO website at https://ipo.llnl.gov/resources for more information on working with LLNL and the industrial partnering and technology transfer process.

Note: THIS IS NOT A PROCUREMENT. Companies interested in commercializing LLNL's drug delivery with carbon nanotube porins technology should provide a written statement of interest, which includes the following:

1. Company Name and address.

2. The name, address, and telephone number of a point of contact.

3. A description of corporate expertise and/or facilities relevant to commercializing this technology.

Written responses should be directed to:

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Innovation and Partnerships Office

P.O. Box 808, L-779

Livermore, CA 94551-0808

Attention: IL-13451

Please provide your written statement within thirty (30) days from the date this announcement is published to ensure consideration of your interest in LLNL's drug delivery with carbon nanotube porins technology.

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