Biogenic photo-responsive vectors in nanomedicine

CONTACT : Claire Wilhelm; claire.wilhelm@curie.fr

Cells can profoundly transform and recycle man-made nanomaterials, to which they had been exposed.  To communicate, or in response to exogenous stress, cells generate extracellular vesicles (EVs) which can play crucial roles in multiple physiological processes, including cancer progression. The goal of this project is to combine both biological processes to deliver cell-made nanomedicines.

First, we are developing novel strategies to induce bioinorganic intracellular synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs). This demonstrate that i) NP degradation products can be de novo-synthesized NPs and ii) NPs can also be obtained when cells are “fed” with soluble ionic salts. Using living cells as bioreactors may create functional, complex and organism-friendly NPs.

The second goal is devoted to the biological encapsulation of NPs. For clinical applications, NPs must be efficiently delivered to the target site. The best delivery system is the cell’s innate one, the EVs. Here, ground-breaking physically inspired (hydrodynamic, light) approaches are proposed and implemented to produce and load EVs with NPs. One specific aim will be to scale-up the production and loading.

The last objective is to exploit biosynthesized NPs and their bio-camouflage within EVs as photothermal agents, used in thermal treatments of cancer. A panel of magnetic nanomaterials, nano-bio-hybrids, vesicles, combination of vesicles and liposomes, are magnetically or chemotactically delivered to tumour models, where their action would be triggered by light stimuli to treat cancer.

FUNDING: ERC-CoG-2019 NanoBioMade

PARTICIPANTS: Claire Wilhelm CNRS DR1, Aurore Van de Walle CNRS CRCN, Elliot Thouvenot PhD student, Guilhem Curé PhD student.