Nanometric cages for transporting and releasing therapeutic and diagnostic agents

CIC biomaGUNE launches the Supramolecular Inorganic Biosystems group, which explores the behaviour of these inorganic structures in living environments for biomedical purposes

Dr Guillermo Moreno Alcántar’s goal is to generate new therapeutic platforms for the treatment of cancer and to tackle bacterial resistance to antibiotics, among other things

CIC biomaGUNE has opened a new strategic line of research focused on the design of inorganic supramolecular structures with great potential for developing new advanced therapeutic and diagnostic tools. The San Sebastian-based biomaterials research centre has launched the new Supramolecular Inorganic Biosystems research group, led by Dr Guillermo Moreno Alcántar, who recently joined the centre thanks to the Ramón y Cajal programme of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.

The new laboratory focuses on the design and study of supramolecular complexes containing metal centres with particular structural and functional properties. These types of systems ‘operate on an intermediate scale between molecules and nanostructures,’ says Ikerbasque professor Aitziber L. Cortajarena, scientific director of CIC biomaGUNE. As the group’s principal investigator, Dr Moreno Alcántar, explains, ‘supramolecular chemistry can be defined as chemistry that goes beyond the molecule. It is important because many of the properties of the matter around us depend on its supramolecular chemistry as much or more than on its structure at the molecular level’.

The research group pays special attention to metal-organic cages. These are molecular-level entities (around 1 nm) that contain bonds between some metal atoms and organic structures (composed mainly of C and H). “These cages have a cavity that can be used to hold smaller molecules inside. Thanks to their design strategy, many structures of different sizes, shapes and chemical characteristics can be generated that favour the encapsulation of different guests in the cavity,‘ describes Dr Moreno. ’This is a highly promising and still largely unexplored area of design,” says Professor Cortajarena.

The new group’s goal is to create inorganic architectures, particularly photoactive cages, that can be used in areas such as photodynamic therapy, photocatalysis and molecular detection. ‘We are particularly interested in integrating these organometallic assemblies with biological systems to develop new therapeutic and diagnostic platforms,’ says Moreno. Our ultimate goal is to design dynamic artificial systems that can interact, couple, emulate and ultimately take on a function in biological systems to exploit the therapeutic possibilities of these interactions.”

Expanding the range of tools for designing therapeutic and diagnostic systems

Dr Moreno wants to ‘adapt the knowledge and tools developed by supramolecular chemistry to generate new therapeutic platforms that can be transferred to clinical practice, particularly in cancer treatment, but also in other health challenges, such as bacterial resistance to antibiotics’. In the short term, the plan is to use metal-organic cages to transport and release therapeutic and diagnostic agents in an “intelligent” way, recognising diseased cells through specific interactions. ‘In the long term, we can imagine systems that detect metabolic imbalances in cells associated with diseases such as cancer and respond to them by activating processes that correct them or inhibit cell growth,’ he adds.

Dr Aitziber L. Cortajarena points out that this new line of research “positions CIC biomaGUNE at the forefront of the application of supramolecular cages in biomedical applications, with the possibility of generating innovative solutions for different current health problems. This line naturally complements our research centre’s capabilities in the development of functional biomaterials for biomedicine. Dr. Moreno’s group expands the range of tools for the design of therapeutic and diagnostic systems and strengthens the centre’s commitment to synthetic bioengineering as a way to find new solutions to challenges in the biomedical field.”

Dr Guillermo Moreno is very grateful for his incorporation into CIC biomaGUNE: “It is an exceptional centre for research development at the frontier of chemistry and materials science for biomedical purposes. The centre has equipment that allows the development of new therapeutic agents from their synthesis and characterisation at the molecular and supramolecular level to their evaluation in vitro and even in vivo. Integrating this capacity requires a multidisciplinary team, and the centre has trained staff to exploit the infrastructure to the full. In addition to the excellent research capabilities, I have found an extremely pleasant community and a very stimulating environment with visits from colleagues from all over the world, which encourages creativity and promotes collaboration.”