MOLECULAR REBAR DESIGN LLC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: DHA211-010

Description

Currently, there is no vaccine or cure for HIV available. However, one novel approach for the treatment and prevention of HIV that has shown promise in recent years is the use of HIV-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs)Currently, there is no vaccine or cure for HIV available. However, one novel approach for the treatment and prevention of HIV that has shown promise in recent years is the use of HIV-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). While the delivery of mAbs presents certain obstacles, one way to minimize the deficiencies in using mAbs as a therapeutic is to produce them in vivo via DNA encoding. However, the use of DNA encoding introduces a new set of problems for use in therapeutics. Molecular Rebar Design, LLC (MRD) intends to solve this problem with a carbon nanotube-based biomedically compatible nanoparticle. Carbon nanotubes are capable of safely delivering a range of biomolecules across the cell membrane and to the nucleus by both passive diffusion and endocytosis. Medical Grade Molecular Rebar (MGMR) is a specialized form of sterilized, oxidized, and purified discrete carbon nanotubes with unique attributes for intracellular trafficking that may address most, if not all, of the issues associated with the internalization of biomolecular cargo. MGMR can enter cells through both endocytosis and passive diffusion and is inert, non-biologic, non-toxic, cargo agnostic, non-mutagenic, and scalable. MGMR can be modified to accept different payloads (including proteins, mRNA, and others) for transport into the cell by adjusting the surface functionalization or physisorbing different surfactants to the tube surface.