Nanoparticle assisted small molecule delivery to target prostate cancer metabolism

Prostate cancer is the second most diagnosed and cause of cancer-related death in Australian men. Resistance to treatment and non-specificity of the drugs is a major bottleneck for prostate cancer. Recently, nano-formulated drugs are being developed for targeted drug delivery into the cancer cells. Prostate cancer cells use aerobic glycolysis promoted by the pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase-1 (PDK1) gene for energy production. We targeted PDK1 using nano-formulations selective for prostate cancer cells and tested these using in vitro and in vivo models. Nano-conjugated Radicicol was identified as most promising drug and potential useful co-therapy agent with inhibitory effect on tumour development.