SBIR/STTR Award attributes
Currently, NASA uses dietary countermeasures for astronauts to aid in radiation exposure as foods can act as radioprotectors and/or mitigators. Drugs that can be used as radioprotectors and/or mitigators are not currently used because when administered to astronauts at effective concentrations, they are accompanied by side effects such as weakness, fatigue, nausea, and hypotension. These drugs will remain inadequate until a proper drug delivery technology is developed that can deliver them with appropriate biodistribution, while maintaining safety in vivo. As it stands now, there are no drug delivery systems that meet the need for delivering an effective concentration of a radioprotector and mitigator drug for GCR to astronauts.nbsp;In order to address this critical need, ChromoLogic LLC (CL) has developed a multilamellar vesicle (MLV) drug delivery platform capable of encapsulating high concentrations of the hydrophobic radioprotector and mitigator drug, JP4-039. The MLV nanoparticles can be administered intravenously where they provide sustained release of the therapeutic. The particles are stable in lyophilized form, allowing the drug to be stored for prolonged periods of time before being reconstituted and injected. This strategy for therapeutic drug delivery, facilitates the use of hydrophobic therapeutics that are otherwise nonviable due to their poor solubility.
