Design and evaluation of sphingomyelin nanosystems for the development of anticancer targeted therapies

Abstract

In the era of personalized medicine, the rational design of nanosystems has become a key element to provide more effective and powerful treatments in cancer therapy. This thesis disclosed a new nanoplatform, based on sphingomyelin in combination with an oil, which is simple in composition, easy to produce, stable, biocompatible, highly versatile and suitable for the association of different drugs and molecules. An in silico-in vitro approach has allowed us to gather extensive knowledge regarding the fundamental interactions governing the assembly of the nanosystem, as well as the interactions with several selected drugs. Subsequent experiments were carried out to assess the potential application of this nanoplatform for cancer therapy exploring two main approaches, a gene delivery strategy and the development of a targeted combination therapy. Altogether, the results show a nanoplatform with adequate physicochemical, biopharmaceutical, and functional properties, with potential for the development of improved anticancer therapeutics.