How nanobiotechnology is revolutionising healthcare

Aims

This course aims to:

1. Introduce you to the multidisciplinary and translational-focused field of nanobiotechnology and nanomedicine.
2. Explore how nanotechnologies are being used for the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of diseases, including cancer and infectious diseases (both from a research and clinical perspective).
3. Give you a realistic understanding of all the aspects that need to be thought through when developing and engineering new nanomaterials for healthcare applications, particularly when aiming at targeted or personalised therapies. 

Content

Although the term “nanotechnology” has only become part of the lexicon since 1974 – when it was proposed by Norion Taniguchi to describe semiconductor processes – nanoscale materials have been used for centuries. The physico-chemical properties of matter at a very small scale (particularly in the nanometre range – 0.000000001 m) are very different from those at a larger scale, allowing the development of nanoscale materials tailored to have specific chemical functionalities, mechanical tunability, responsiveness and biomimicry (i.e., resembling or inspired by nature). Nanomaterials can find their ways into virtually any application market, ranging from electronics to energy, automotive, environment, aerospace, food, and agriculture. The field of nanobiotechnology, which explores the interface of engineered nanomaterials and biological systems, has had a profound impact on the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry. The last decades saw enormous progress in the field of cancer nanomedicine, with nanomaterials being designed and engineered to diagnose, image, and treat tumours in an attempt to address the lack of current effective diagnostic tools and cancer therapies. Most recently, with the hit of the COVID-19 pandemic, the field of nanotechnology has gained new momentum, with two mRNA-based vaccines developed using lipid nanoparticles – BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) and mRNA-1273 (Moderna) – being given emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency. Of course, as with any relatively new and unknown science, the clinical use of complex multifunctional nanomaterials still faces considerable challenges and regulatory hurdles, not to mention a lack of understanding of long-term environmental and health effects. Nonetheless, nanobiotechnology is a world of endless opportunities and unexplored paths. This course will give you an overview of how nanosized materials with a variety of chemical compositions (e.g., transition metals, polymers, lipids, peptides, DNA) and unique optical, magnetic and/or structural properties are transforming medical diagnostics and therapy.

Presentation of the course

The course will include classroom lectures (using PowerPoints and videos as a resource) and in-class group work, presentations, and discussions.

Class sessions

Session 1: Introduction to Nanobiotechnology
Introduction to the concept of nanosized functional and supramolecular materials. Overview of molecules/materials which have shown potential to be used in nanobiotechnology, including polymers, transition metals, lipids, carbon nanotubes, etc.

Session 2: Biological Barriers
Before reaching their target, nanoparticles must cross many biological barriers. This session will give you an overview of mechanisms and factors that affect nanoparticle uptake by the cells, and strategies that are used to overcome biological barriers.
Session 3: Healthcare Applications of nanomedicine
Overview of different healthcare applications of nanobiotechnology and considerations upon clinical use of nanoparticles. Examples of marketed nanoparticles in clinical use.
Session 4: Cancer nanomedicine
Despite manifesting itself throughout human history, cancer is still one of the most challenging diseases of the current world, affecting one in six people of all ages. It is not therefore surprising that the majority of nanomedicines generated so far have been developed for cancer therapy. This session will focus on the distinctive features of nanotechnology in oncology, as well as its challenges in clinical translation.

Session 5: Nanotherapeutics for Infectious Diseases (Part I)
As witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic, nanotechnology can have a major impact on global health. We will discuss nano-based approaches that have shown the potential to improve the diagnosis and treatment of many infectious diseases and target a multitude of pathogens, including antibiotic-resistant bacteria (e.g., M. tuberculosis), viruses (e.g., SARS-CoV-2), parasites (e.g., Plasmodium parasites that cause Malaria), and  fungi. 
Session 6: Nanotherapeutics for Infectious Diseases (Part II)
Continuation of session 5. 

Session 7: Teamwork
Students will be organised in groups to work on a research paper during class. Each group will be given a different paper and topic. 

Session 8: Presentations and discussion by students 
Following session 7, each group will be asked to present their paper to the rest of the class (a sort of journal club). The idea is to encourage student participation and promote a good in-class discussion about the topics covered during the previous week and the different research papers. 

Session 9: Bio-inspired and biomimetic nanotherapies
The central dogma of drug delivery is to steer drugs to their target biological sites (e.g., specific tissues or cells) to achieve maximal therapeutic efficacy while reducing toxicity to healthy cells. While synthetic carriers, such as polymer or lipid-based nanoparticles, have shown great potential, they often struggle to meet clinical expectations, particularly regarding efficient targeting. In this context, nano- and micro-sized biological units, including pathogens (bacteria and viruses) and eukaryotic cells have evolved over millions of years to become highly selective and evade the immune system. Though not without its challenges, these naturally occurring systems can be bioengineered to deliver drugs of interest to specific sites or, at least, the understanding of their biological functions can help in the development of bio-inspired synthetic carriers that mimic their 
action.

Session 10: The Yin and Yang of Nanotechnologies 
In this session, two different nanomaterials will be selected and discussed in detail in terms of their medical and environmental benefits versus safety risks. The idea is to give students a good overview of the pros and cons associated with the use of different nanotechnologies.

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes for this course are:

1. Understanding the concept of nanobiotechnology and how it translates into real-world applications.
2. Having an overview of the different organic and inorganic materials and chemistries that can be used in nanomedicine.
3. Being aware of the challenges and prospects of nanobiotechnology and the potential environmental and health implications of nanomaterials

Required reading

Kisby, T et al. (2021) Reasons for success and lessons learnt from nanoscale vaccines against COVID-19, Nature Nanotechnology, 16, 843-852. (Available on the VLE)
Björnmalm, M et al. (2017) Bridging Bio-Nano Science and Cancer Nanomedicine, ACS Nano, 11, 9594-9613. (Available on the VLE)
Torchilin, V. (2014) Multifunctional, stimuli-sensitive nanoparticulate systems for drug delivery. Nat Rev Drug Discov 13, 813–827 (Available on the VLE)
Whitesides, G M (2003) The ‘right’ size of nanobiotechnology, Nature Biotechnology, 21 (10), 1161-1165. (Available on the VLE)

Typical week: Monday to Friday

Courses run from Monday to Friday. For each week of study, you select a morning (Am) course and an afternoon (Pm) course. The maximum class size is 25 students. 

Courses are complemented by a series of daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to the learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events.

Evaluation and Academic Credit 

If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses. 

Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £75 per essay.

For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit.

Certificate of attendance

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically after the programme.