Technology Licensing View

Researchers at the University of South Florida have developed a novel method which delivers genes or small interfering RNA into the brain by nasal insufflations using nanoparticles.

The current method of delivering therapeutic genes or viral vectors into the brain is by minimally invasive neurosurgical injection. For diseases like Huntington’s Disease that involve the entire brain, injection of a viral vector into multiple brain regions over time is not feasible. Furthermore, an additional problem with current methods is the reliance on viral vectors to deliver the gene of interest. Applying these vectors to humans carries a certain amount of risk that can be obviated by using other vehicles for gene delivery such as nanoparticles designed to target specific tissues.