Research Projects

Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) are the most aggressive subtype, accounting for about 15% of all breast cancers. TNBC has a high prevalence in central India, accounting for 43% of all breast cancers. Doxorubicin is the most effective chemotherapeutic for TNBC treatment, but it has shown inadequate response, toxicity, and drug resistance. Nanotechnology, particularly liposome-based drug delivery systems, can improve drug pharmacokinetics and reduce toxicity. Pegylated liposomal Doxil has shown clinical success, but its anti-cancer efficacy has not improved significantly. Monotherapy treatment approach has compromising effectiveness due to tumor cell heterogeneity, acquired chemo-resistance, and relapse. Combining two or more drugs with different modes of action is considered more effective. Recently, immunotherapy is gaining interest alongside chemotherapy, with tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) playing a major barrier in the tumor microenvironment. Targeted liposome nanocarrier-based strategies can address these issues by targeting tumor cells and M2 TAMs. This project aims to synthesize mannose-conjugated lipids, develop and characterize mannose-modified liposomes for DOX and resiquimod, investigate drug-loaded liposome-mediated cellular uptake, macrophage repolarization, and anti-tumor efficacy, and evaluate targeted liposomal formulations for reduced cardiotoxicity and systemic cytokine release.