The National Institutes of Health (NIH) granted $2 million to a University of Maryland study advancing fundamental science that will drive targeted nanomedicine for a wide range of human health indications. 

The research will be led by Hannah Zierden, an assistant professor in the UMD Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and will focus on studying biological processes associated with the mucosal barrier in the human body—key to the development of specialized formulations that improve the efficacy of treatments with minimal side effects.  

“I’m excited to continue working in this area, and grateful for support from the NIH to improve mucosal drug delivery systems,” said Zierden. “If we can better understand how nanoparticles interact with mucus barriers, we can improve treatments for women’s health, lung diseases, and gastrointestinal indications.”

The five-year investigation will focus on understanding how the biomolecular corona—a collection of proteins, lipids, and other molecules present in bodily fluids that absorb in nanoparticle substances—occurs in mucus. Fundamental knowledge of the corona in the mucosal barrier will reveal insights of how it forms, which proteins and lipids are found, and how it influences drug delivery.

In the human body, local drug delivery means direct delivery via vaginally administered medicines, inhaled medicines, or orally administered medicines. 

Previous work by Zierden’s research group involved engineering nanotherapies that penetrate the mucosal barrier, which resulted in improved treatment efficacy for women’s health and inflammatory bowel disease. However, her team has identified the mucosal biomolecular corona as a key gap in improving the design of nanomedicines for local drug delivery. The goal is to advance treatments with increased drug concentration for higher efficacy, while reducing medication side effects. 

The project is funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA) for Early Stage Investigators, a program that supports the institutional goal of increasing the understanding of biological processes to lay the foundation for disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.