Search by keyword.
The development of effective drug delivery systems is crucial for maximizing the therapeutic potential of pharmaceuticals. Lipid-based and carbohydrate-based drug delivery systems, in particular, have gained significant attention due to their ability to improve the solubility, stability, and bioavailability of drugs. These systems can encapsulate a wide range of therapeutic agents, including small molecules, peptides, proteins, and nucleic acids, providing targeted delivery and controlled release.
Lipids and carbohydrates are difficult modalities to work with because they behave differently from other small molecules. They require special techniques and handling for their synthesis, purification, and characterization/analytics. At SpiroChem, we have perfected techniques to overcome these limitations and perform efficiently on projects involving these challenging modalities.
1. Custom nanoparticles - versatile lipid-based carriers capable of delivering a variety of therapeutic agents. At SpiroChem, we design and synthesize customized nanoparticles tailored to the specific needs of each project, ensuring optimal drug loading, stability, and release profiles.
2. Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLNs) and Nanostructured Lipid Carriers (NLCs) - advanced lipid-based systems that combine the advantages of nanoparticles and traditional lipid carriers. These systems offer improved drug encapsulation efficiency, stability, and controlled release properties. SpiroChem’s expertise in SLNs and NLCs enables us to develop innovative formulations for a wide range of therapeutic applications.
3. Carbohydrate-Based Carriers - carbohydrates are essential components of many biomolecules, often coupled to proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. They play crucial roles in cellular recognition and signaling processes, making them valuable targets for drug development. Carbohydrate-based drugs or drug conjugates can modulate these interactions, leading to therapeutic effects.
Carbohydrate-based targeting ligands - as many cell surface receptors and adhesion molecules are glycoproteins, targeting these glycoproteins with carbohydrate-based ligands or inhibitors can modulate cellular processes and has potential therapeutic applications in areas such as cancer, inflammation, and infectious diseases.
Carbohydrates can also serve as targeting ligands or components of drug delivery systems: conjugating drugs to carbohydrates can improve their pharmacokinetics, enhance targeting to specific tissues or cells, and increase drug solubility and stability.
SpiroChem has extensive experience in carbohydrate chemistry using innovative strategies to prepare stereoselectively glycosylated acceptors (e.g., carbohydrates, aliphatic or aromatic alcohols) and glycosyl phosphates to functionalize the anomeric position with either C-, O-, or N-linkage.
As glycosyl donors, a wide variety of carbohydrates have been used, including monosaccharides, disaccharides, or polysaccharides, 2-glycosylamines, and 5-glycosyl acids.
Functionalization as phosphates (e.g., position 1 or 4) has also been shown and can be expanded to the synthesis of unsymmetrical carbohydrate diphosphates. Our chemists are also highly skilled in the design and preparation of:
4. Lipid-based and carbohydrate-based formulations for nucleic acids - these systems are effective for the delivery of nucleic acids, such as siRNA, mRNA, and DNA. They protect nucleic acids from degradation and facilitate their entry into target cells. At SpiroChem, we develop lipid- and carbohydrate-based formulations that enhance the delivery and efficacy of nucleic acid therapeutics.
In drug discovery, lipids have emerged as targets, delivery vehicles, and even therapeutic agents themselves. Lipid-based drug delivery systems, such as liposomes, lipid nanoparticles, and lipid conjugates, offer advantages like improved solubility, stability, and targeted delivery of pharmaceutical compounds.
Understanding lipid metabolism and lipid-protein interactions has opened additional avenues to develop drugs that target lipid-related diseases, including metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. However, technical challenges need to be addressed when synthesizing and handling lipids, such as structural complexity, regio- and stereoselectivity, solubility in organic solvents, and purification and characterization.
At SpiroChem, we offer innovative solutions to tackle these challenges and have been involved in several projects focusing on large-scale lipid synthesis, as well as phospholipids and carbohydrate-lipid hybrids with our considerable experience in carbohydrate chemistry. We have used our skills in process research and development projects where specialty lipids were required as excipients to solubilize oligonucleotides or other modalities.
Our comprehensive support includes the design, synthesis, and optimization of lipid- and carbohydrate-based drug delivery systems, as well as in vitro and in vivo testing to evaluate their efficacy and safety. We work closely with our clients to ensure that our formulations meet their specific requirements and deliver optimal therapeutic outcomes.
Upon customer request and together with a patent attorney, we can provide analysis of freedom-to-operate and IP management either at the proposal stage or during the project depending on the demands of the project.
The field of lipid- and carbohydrate-based drug delivery is continuously evolving, with innovative technologies and applications emerging regularly. At SpiroChem, we are committed to staying at the forefront of this field by continuously updating our knowledge and refining our techniques. This ensures that we can offer our clients the most advanced and effective drug delivery solutions available.
Whether you need nanoparticles, SLNs, NLCs, carbohydrate-based carriers, or lipid- and carbohydrate-based formulations for nucleic acids, SpiroChem is your ideal partner. Our deep expertise and cutting-edge facilities ensure that we can deliver high-quality results, helping you achieve your research goals faster and more efficiently.
Get in touch
