B.S. Villanova University 2006

Pancreatic cancer is currently the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States with a five-year survival rate of only 5.0%, mostly because of late detection and low efficiency of current treatment.  Gemcitabine is the standard chemotherapeutic treatment for pancreatic cancer.  It has a short half-life and is cleared rapidly by renal filtration, thus limiting its therapeutic index.  Nanoparticles have the potential to deliver a significant payload of chemotherapeutic agents to the tumor as they have the property of passively targeting tumor sites due to their enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) effect.  My research project focuses on the synthesis of three types of derivatived poly(propylene imine) (PPI) dendrons (gemcitabine, transferrin and a gadolinium-based MRI agent) and combining them with gold nanoparticles to target advanced pancreatic cancer and increase the effectiveness of treatment.