There is increasing interest in the development of needle-free drug delivery systems for a number of diseases. A multidisciplinary team at The University of Sheffield, in collaboration with AFYX Therapeutics, have developed a polymer-based patch that can adhere tightly to the oral epithelium that lines the inside of the mouth and deliver drugs (corticosteroids, anaesthetic, peptides) directly to oral lesions (Colley 2018, Clitherow 2020, Said 2021). The patch has successfully completed phase 2 clinical trials. This project aims to incorporate anti-cancer agents into these novel patches for the treatment of oral cancer, the incidence of which has risen by 60% in the UK in the last decade.
To progress further, the oral patch technology requires fine-tuning in terms of controlled drug delivery and understanding drug absorption, distribution in tissues, as well as drug metabolism and excretion. In this project you will produce oral patches to contain anti-cancer drugs at therapeutically relevant concentrations and determine the drug release profiles from the patch over-time using a number of analytical techniques (Franz Chamber/HPLC). We have previously developed tissue-engineered in-vitro models of human oral cancer (Colley 2011) that accurately mimic cancer in vivo. You will adhere patches to oral cancer models and visualise drug permeation through the 3D tissue using Mass Spectrometry (MS) Imaging, a powerful label-free analytical technique that allows visualisation and spatial location of any specific molecule within tissues (Russo 2018, Handler 2021). You will also measure oral cancer cell death and rates of drug metabolism as the anti-cancer drug is de-activated by enzymes within cancer cells. The use of MS imaging combined with tissue-engineered oral cancer to develop oral patch-delivered drugs has not been performed previously. In addition, the data produced will be used by mathematicians at the University of Liverpool to develop an in silico predictive model of drug delivery as part of an NC3R-sponsored project.
This project will deliver extensive training in cell culture, tissue-engineering and 3D biology, a rapidly expanding area that aligns with NC3R principles. This will be combined with training in advanced tissue imaging and analytical techniques. Complementing these core techniques, the student will also obtain training in biomaterial fabrication using polymers (University of Sheffield) and network with mathematical modelers that make-up the wider multidisciplinary team, allowing first-hand insight into other disciplines and how these interact at the cutting edge of science.