Dr. Samokhvalov Awarded $326K to Study Delayed Release of Anti-cancer Drug

Dr. Alexander Samokhvalov, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, has been awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study complexes which slowly release the widely used anti-cancer drug gemcitabine. His research project, “Encapsulation and delayed release of gemcitabine by aluminum metal-organic frameworks,” is expected to total $326,128 over the period of May 1, 2020 through April 30, 2023.

Gemcitabine has been approved by the FDA for use in chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer, administered orally or intravenously. However, administered in this way, the drug affects the whole body, rather than being specifically targeted, and it leads to a quick "burst" or increase of drug concentration when first administered. Chemotherapy can therefore have undesired, severe and systemic side effects. Instead, one could locally release the drug in a targeted area using implants, but the matrices used in most implants have weak bonds with the drug molecules and only a moderately delayed release.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous coordination polymers with potential for use as a matrix for drug encapsulation and delayed release. Aluminum MOFs, or Al-MOFs, have low toxicity, high porosity, and specific bonding to drug molecules which results in a substantially delayed release. The use of Al-MOFs in targeted implants thus offers a promising alternative to traditional chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer, potentially resulting in fewer side effects and greater effectiveness.

In this research project, Dr. Samokhvalov will study Al-MOFs as a new matrix for encapsulation and prolonged release of gemcitabine. Dr. Samokhvalov has been studying Al-MOFs and is the author of a book "Adsorption on Mesoporous Metal-Organic Frameworks in Solution for Clean Energy, Environment and Healthcare." The project will include studies of chemical properties of complexes of Al-MOFs with gemcitabine, kinetics of its delayed release, and toxicity to pancreatic cancer cells.