Many new drugs and diagnostic imaging agents often fail to work in vivo due to their limited bioavailability or poor pharmacodynamics in the body. This is especially true of many fluorescent chromophores and photoactive chromophores used in photodiagnostic imaging and photodynamic therapy of malignancies.
Dartmouth researchers have now generated a new formulation for the solubilization and dispersion of a chromophore via peptide conjugation and stepwise polyethylene glycolation. Whether alone or modified by covalent conjugation to an active targeting carrier, these novel PEGylated peptide-photoactive chromophore conjugates produce a highly amphiphilic, irregular mixed micellular structure, which exhibits favorable pharmacokinetics and distribution thereby improving the in vivo activity of photoactive chromophores. The novel conjugates and micelles are useful in photodiagnosis and photodynamic therapy of lesions such as cancer. In addition, photodynamic therapy has shown the potential to treat several other types of conditions including psoriasis, arthritis, atherosclerosis and purifying blood infected with viruses, including HIV.
This technology is claimed in the published PCT Application No. PCT/US2009/032514. We are seeking an industrial partner interested in its commercialization (Ref: J437)
