Understanding Pandemics and Medicines

What is a Pandemic?

• A pandemic is when a virus sweeps the world, affecting many people

Why is getting medicines INTO cells difficult?

• Most medicines target the inside of cells, which are protected by cell membranes
• Small molecules can easily enter cells but only target 10% of the genome
• Biologicals can target more complex actions but are complex and fragile, so they can't easily enter cells

The Power of Small Molecules

• Small molecules are compounds with low molecular weight that can alter biological processes
• Examples: Aspirin, paracetamol, diphenhydramine
• Penicillin is a small molecule that inhibits bacteria from building a strong cell wall
• Small molecules have simple structures and can easily pass through cell membranes

The Power of Biologicals

• Biologicals are substances found in living organisms that target more complex cellular processes
• Examples: Sugars, proteins, nucleic acids
• Biologicals can target specific proteins on a cell membrane, delivering a payload only to that cell
• Bevacizumab is a biological therapy that blocks the production of the protein VEGF, which is required for tumor growth and blood vessel formation.

Limitations of Biologicals

• Many biological medicines get destroyed before reaching their target or are too large to pass through the cell membrane
• Increasing dosages can lead to side effects by increasing a drug's concentration above the therapeutic window

Nanorobots: The new frontier

• Viruses can naturally deliver payloads into cells
• The team at Nano Series is working on a system that harnesses a bacterial phage system to create virus-like particles that deliver payloads into cells
• This system is based on bacteria that produce viruses that carry toxins
• Bacteria can be used to produce the virus-like particles, facilitating a large-scale production at a lower cost
• The genetic code for the virus-like particles is contained in a plasmid, which can be easily edited to carry different therapeutic payloads
• The virus-like particles can be targeted to specific cells by modifying the binding arms.

Advantages of Nanorobots over other delivery systems

• Antibody conjugates are vulnerable to degradation in the environment
• Liposomes and exosomes lack inherent targeting capabilities
• The new system is designed to be a versatile solution for various therapeutic payloads

Potential drawbacks of Nanorobots

• The body's immune system might recognize the virus-like particles as foreign and attack them.
• Repeated treatments may be necessary because the virus-like particles don't replicate inside the body.
• Engineering the system to minimize immune responses is possible via genetic manipulation

The future of Nanorobots

• The nanorobots have only recently been funded and are in early development phases
• This technology is still in its early stages but has the potential to revolutionize medicine by creating a new generation of targeted and efficient therapies