Multivalent 'Artificial Antibody' Based on RNA/Dendrimer-Like Star Polymer Hybrid Nanomaterials

This award to University of Connecticut by the Biomaterials program in the Division of Materials Research is to study the multivalent artificial antibody based on conjugates of RNA aptamers and biodegradable dendrimer-like star polymers, and to prove the concept that these novel nanobiomaterials have properties of antibodies. Earlier studies have demonstrated that RNA aptamers, which are of smaller size than antibody show minimal immunogenicity, unique binding specificity and affinity, and excellent chemical and biological stability. The proposal includes design and synthesis of biodegradable dendrimer star-like polymers, conjugation of RNA aptamers to the polymer, and functional characterization of these polymer-RNA conjugates. Antibodies are natural nanomaterials that have been developed over a long-term evolution of life. Because of their high affinity and specificity to antigens, antibodies have been used in various areas. Many applications, however, can be significantly hindered because of their immunogenicity, relatively large molecular size, and low chemical and biological stability during manufacturing, shipping, storage and chemical bioconjugation, etc. The synthetic antibodies that being synthesized are expected to possess superior features such as smaller size than natural antibody, environmentally stable structure, tunable biodegradability, and biocompatible property. The knowledge developed from these studies would be useful for various technological applications, e.g., targeted drug delivery, diagnosis and biodetection.

The scientific impact in the development of artificial antibodies would be an enormous breakthrough, and would have huge impacts in the fields of drug delivery, vaccine development and drug targeting among others. With this award, Professors Wang and Zhu plan to develop a new course in nanobiomaterials and nanomedicine with hands on laboratory for undergraduate students. As part of the outreach program and as part of the Da Vinci program at the University, the investigators will utilize one week training camp for teachers to expose them to the cutting edge of bionanomaterials. Research results will be broadly disseminated by collaborations with industries through the Associate Programs at the Institute of Materials Science, as well as by publications in quality peer-reviewed journals and presentations at national and international meetings.