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Researchers all over the world strive to improve the effectiveness of drugs. Emergent strategies such as "Targeted drug delivery" allow a more precise and localized administration of drugs. The aim of this method is to increase drug concentration in a specific location (e.g. a tumor); yet decreasing secondary effects on healthy tissues. This method reduces the frequency and dose of drug administration.

EPFL team’s goal this year is to suggest a drug delivery strategy. The key word of this project is “adaptability”. Our motivation is to explore a way of using E.Coli as a drug carrier in a way that is highly modular; thereby suiting several applications and possibilities of disease treatment.

Using the principles of synthetic biology we will bond nanoparticles containing a drug to E.coli using the biotin-streptavidin interaction. The engineered E.coli will target the site where the drug is required. Upon stimuli it starts to release a protease degrading the nanoparticles and hence delivers the drug.

Taxi.Coli: smart drug delivery EPF_Lausanne’s team is proud to participate to iGEM 2013 and excited to present their project: Taxi.Coli: smart drug delivery. The team’s vision is to build a biosynthetic drug delivery concept. The key word of this project is “adaptability”. Our goal is to explore a way of using E.Coli as a highly modular carrier, opening the gate to several applications and alternatives in disease treatments. Using the principles of synthetic biology, we engineered a gelatinase secreting E. Coli able to bind gelatin nanoparticles using a biotin-streptavidin interaction and release them in a corresponding location. The drug delivery system is built in three parts: 1) the nanoparticle binding and 2) the environment sensing that 3) triggers the gelatinase release of the engineered E. Coli, liberating the content of the nanoparticle. The nanoparticles made of gelatin are able to carry any type of organic compound leading to a wide range of applications.