Described herein are systems and methods for the degradation of endogenous protein with the help of a nanocarrier, which has the advantage of easy scale-up and feasibility for in vivo application.

Disclosed are biodegradable nanocarriers that have a net positive surface charge and zeta potential between about +2 to about +20 mV. The positive surface charge of the nanocarriers is provided by peptides that are covalently attached to the surface of the nanocarriers. The nanocarriers may comprise a drug and may be administered for localized and sustained delivery of the drug.

Described herein is a nanoparticle system including a multivalent nanoparticle core having a plurality of immune checkpoint inhibitors conjugated thereto. Also included are pharmaceutical compositions and methods of making the nanoparticle system. Further included are immunotherapy methods including administering the nanoparticle system to a subject in need thereof, such as a human cancer patient.

The present disclosure relates to a rosmarinic acid derivative, rosmarinic acid-derived particles, and a composition containing same for treating an inflammatory disease. The use of the rosmarinic acid derivative and rosmarinic acid-derived particles of the present disclosure enables the utilization of rosmarinic acid, which has been restricted in the utilization thereof due to low water solubility and low bioavailability, for a medicinal purpose.

The present invention concerns a block copolymer having at least one oligo- or polysaccharide block and at least one elastin-like polypeptide block, wherein said block copolymer comprises at least one repetitive unit having the following formula (I):

##STR00001##

wherein R′ is the side chain of a natural or synthetic amino acid other than proline and derivatives thereof.

Provided herein is a composition comprising a nanoparticle comprising poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)-b-polyethylene glycol (PEG) (PLGA-PEG) copolymer formulated with polyethylenimine (PEI), and one or more cargo molecules (e.g., a nucleic acid molecule with or without a small molecule compound) associated with the nanoparticle. The nucleic acid molecule may be a plasmid or minicircle DNA expressing a gene or genes, CRISPR/Cas9 components, or an RNA molecule (e.g., small interfering RNA, miRNA, or lncRNA). Also provided are methods for delivering a cargo molecule to a cell in vitro and in vivo using the aforementioned composition.

The present invention relates to a method and composition for optimized intracellular delivery of nucleic acids, in particular mRNA. In addition to mRNA, the composition, in particular a nanoparticle, may include a glycolipid antigen. Combinations with checkpoint inhibitors are also provided. The method and composition of the invention targets antigen presenting cells and is especially useful for immunotherapy and vaccination purposes.

A multifunctional dendrimer nanoparticle and method of treating diseases of the posterior segment of the eye is presented. The functionalized polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer effectively delivers drugs and/or genes to the posterior eye, thereby providing for the effective, non-invasive, and topical treatment of diseased in the posterior eye. The multifunctional dendrimer nanoparticle has shRNA-encoding DNA and small molecule drug encapsulated cyclodextrin complexed to the outer surface of the dendrimer for delivery to the posterior segment of the eye.

The present invention provides a biocompatible conjugate for treating a disease or an injury. The conjugate contains a polymer covalently linked to one or more moieties each containing a polymerizable functional group. The conjugate forms a cross-linked polymer network after being exposed to an elevated level of free radicals associated with the disease or injury.

A carrier-free nanoparticle based on the self-assembly of curcumin-erlotinib conjugate (EPC) that exhibits stronger cell killing, better anti-migration effects, and anti-invasion effects for pancreatic cancer cells than the combination of free curcumin and erlotinib.