RESEARCH
TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., June 21 -- Liquidia
Technologies Inc. and the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill announced today a breakthrough that
creates the world's tiniest manufactured particles
for delivering drugs and biological materials into
the human body. This technology results in unprecedented
control over shape, size and composition of material
when manufacturing nanoparticles.
The innovative process has widespread pharmaceutical
and biotechnology applications for drug formulation,
drug delivery, medical imaging and disease detection,
in addition to non-medical nanotechnology applications
such as sensors, taggants, ink jet printing, semiconductors
and microelectronics.
The technology, Particle Replication In Nonwetting
Templates (PRINT(TM)), enables fabrication of custom-sized,
monodispersed and shape-specific particles of virtually
any material and encapsulating nearly any active
cargo. This includes delicate substances, biological
agents and small molecules, which can then be delivered
through a full range of injectable, pulmonary, topical
and oral methods. Applications are expected to have
a profound positive impact on human health care in
areas such as oncology and biodefense.
"This technique allows for development of a particle
foundry, similar to continuous manufacturing techniques
in the microelectronics industry, but for fabricating
delicate particles for use in nanomedicines and other
emerging nanotechnologies," noted Dr. W. Lowry Caudill,
Executive Chairman of Liquidia Technologies and former
co-founder of Magellan Laboratories. "This application
demonstrates the caliber of ingenuity and creativity
that led to Prof. Joseph DeSimone's early appointment
to the National Academy of Engineering announced
this year."
"Nanoparticle fabrication, until now, has focused
on inorganic materials such as metals that involve
harsh manufacturing methods and often is not useful
for medical applications. This breakthrough allows
for the production of nanoparticles that contain
fragile organic matter such as genes or drug products," explained
Joseph M. DeSimone, co-founder of Liquidia Technologies
and William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor
of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina
State University. "Researchers have long believed
in the importance of precise control over the size
and shape of delivery vehicles. This technology allows
for the first time fabrication of particles for vaccines
and therapies that are nontoxic for patients since
the particles themselves are made from well-known
bioabsorbable organic materials. Impressions are
made with what we call liquid Teflon and the resulting
molds look something like ice cube trays with tiny
cavities in them. After that, we mold the carrier
and fragile functional materials into whatever particles
we want," noted Prof. DeSimone.
A report on the findings appeared online in the
Journal of the American Chemical Society ( http://pubs3.acs.org/acs/journals/doilookup?in_doi=10.1021/ja051977c )
today (June 21). Liquidia Technologies has an exclusive
license from the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University for
the development and commercialization of the processes.
Drs. Ginger Denison and Jason Rolland, co-founders
of Liquidia Technologies and co-authors of the JACS
publication, are pioneers of the technologies.
About Liquidia Technologies: ( http://www.liquidia.com/ )
Located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina,
Liquidia Technologies develops and markets innovative
fluoropolymer materials for high-value industrial
applications in the electronics, life science and
chemical industries. Much of the initial focus of
Liquidia Technologies has been in microfluidics and
imprint lithography applications due to the beneficial
qualities of its innovative material platform including
solvent resistance, low surface energy and elastomeric
properties. Liquidia Technologies brings precision,
uniformity and mass production techniques associated
with the engineering of devices found in the microelectronics
industry to the nanomedicine field for the fabrication
and delivery of therapeutic, detection and imaging
agents for the diagnosis and treatment of human diseases.
Source: Liquidia Technologies Inc.
CONTACT: Bruce Boucher, President of Liquidia Technologies
Inc.,
+1-919-991-0835 Ext. 224, or bruce.boucher@liquidia.com
Web site: http://www.liquidia.com/
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