Download MEDIA RELEASE IBN Develops Green Tea

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Media Contacts:
Elena Tan (Tel: 65 6824 7032 or Email: [email protected])
Nidyah Sani (Tel: 65 6824 7005 or Email: [email protected])
MEDIA RELEASE
IBN Develops Green Tea-Based ‘Missiles’ to Kill Cancer Cells More Effectively
Singapore, October 6, 2014 – Green tea has long been known for its anti-oxidant, anticancer, anti-aging and anti-microbial properties. A group of researchers from the
Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) of A*STAR has taken the health
benefits of green tea to the next level by using one of its ingredients to develop a drug
delivery system, which kills cancer cells more efficiently.
A key ingredient in green tea, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), is an antioxidant which is
known to have therapeutic applications in the treatment of many disorders including
cancer.
Using EGCG, IBN researchers have successfully engineered nanocarriers that can
deliver drugs and kill cancer cells more efficiently. Their work was published recently in
the leading journal Nature Nanotechnology.
“The numerous health benefits of green tea have inspired us to utilize it in drug delivery
systems. This is the first time that green tea has been used as a material to encapsulate
and deliver drugs to cancer cells. Our green tea nanocarrier not only delivered protein
drugs more effectively to the cancer cells, the combination of carrier and drug also
dramatically reduced tumor growth compared with the drug alone. This is an exciting
breakthrough in nanomedicine,” said IBN Executive Director, Professor Jackie Y. Ying.
A key challenge in chemotherapy is ensuring that the drugs are delivered only to the
tumor in order to avoid harming the surrounding healthy tissues and organs. To address
this, researchers have focused their efforts on developing more effective drug carriers.
When injected into the body, these carriers act like homing missiles, traveling through
the body to zoom in on the target cells where they will release the cancer-destroying
drugs.
A major stumbling block in designing more effective carriers for drugs has been the
drug-to-carrier ratio. Specifically, the capacity of a particular carrier limits the amount of
drug that it can deliver. Effective therapy would typically require the administration of
substantial amounts of drug-encapsulating vessels into the body. Unfortunately, existing
carriers are made of materials that have no therapeutic effect, and they may even cause
side effects if used in large quantities.
To solve this problem, IBN has designed a therapeutic nanocarrier for drug delivery
using novel compounds derived from EGCG. The core of this carrier is made of an
oligomer of EGCG (OEGCG), which can encapsulate drugs and proteins, such as
Herceptin, a protein drug currently used to treat breast cancer. Polyethylene glycol
A*STAR Outstanding Publications Award 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014
A*STAR Patent Power Award 2009 and 2010
Singapore HEALTH Award (Platinum) 2012, (Gold) 2008 and 2010
A member of A*STAR’s Biomedical Sciences Institutes (Co. Reg. No. 199702109N)
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(PEG)-EGCG was used to form the shell of this carrier. This novel compound is
constituted of PEG, which is a known ‘stealth’ molecule that acts to camouflage the
carrier, preventing it from being detected and filtered out of the body by the immune
system before it reaches the tumor. Micellar nanocomplexes of less than 100
nanometers in dimension are formed from the OEGCG core and PEG-EGCG shell,
protecting the protein drug from rapid proteolysis and renal clearance, while providing for
tumor targeting.
The research team conducted animal studies to evaluate the performance of IBN’s
green tea-based protein delivery system. The study revealed that IBN’s green tea
nanocomplex loaded with Herceptin reduced tumor growth much more effectively when
compared to administering Herceptin on its own. Using the new nanocarrier, twice as
much drug accumulated in the cancer cells, indicating an improved tumor targeting
ability. At the same time, the drug accumulation in the other organs was lowered
substantially, by 70% in the liver and kidney, and by 40% in the lung.
“We have developed a green tea-based carrier, in which the carrier itself displayed anticancer effect, and can boost cancer treatment when used together with the protein drug.
Unlike conventional therapy, our green tea carrier can eradicate more cancer cells, and
accumulate significantly less drugs in vital organs where they could cause adverse side
effects. This invention could pave the way for a better drug delivery system to fight
cancer,” said Dr Motoichi Kurisawa, IBN Principal Research Scientist and Team Leader.
IBN has filed a patent on their green tea nanocarrier and is developing this technology
for clinical applications. The green tea-based micellar complexes are also being
examined for the delivery of active ingredients in personal care and nutritional products.
END
Reference:
1. J. E. Chung, S. Tan, S. J. Gao, N. Yongvongsoontorn, S. H. Kim, J. H. Lee, H. S.
Choi, H. Yano, L. Zhuo, M. Kurisawa and J. Y. Ying, “Self-Assembled Micellar
Nanocomplexes Comprising Green Tea Catechin Derivatives and Protein Drugs for
Cancer Therapy”, Nature Nanotechnology, 2014, DOI:10.1038/nnano.2014.208.
Images Available on Request:
Image 1: A schematic diagram of the two-step assembly process of the core-shell
structure of the green tea drug carrier. The core of this carrier is made of OEGCG and
Herceptin, a protein drug currently used to treat breast cancer. Surrounding the EGCGHerceptin core is a shell containing PEG-EGCG.
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Image 2: The IBN research team (from right to left): Dr Susi Tan, Dr Motoichi Kurisawa,
Prof Jackie Y. Ying, Dr Shujun Gao, Dr Joo Eun Chung and Ms Nunnarpas
Yongvongsoontorn.
Media Contacts:
Elena Tan
Phone: 65 6824 7032
Email: [email protected]
Nidyah Sani
Phone: 65 6824 7005
Email: [email protected]
About the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
Established in 2003, the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) is the
world’s first bioengineering and nanotechnology research institute. IBN’s mission is to
conduct multidisciplinary research across science, engineering, and medicine for
breakthroughs to improve healthcare and quality of life.
IBN’s research activities are focused in the following areas:

Nanomedicine, where functionalized polymers, hydrogels and biologics are
developed as therapeutics and carriers for the controlled release and targeted
delivery of therapeutics to diseased cells and organs.

Cell and Tissue Engineering, where biomimicking materials, stem cell technology,
microfluidic systems and bioimaging tools are combined to develop novel
approaches to regenerative medicine and artificial organs.

Biodevices and Diagnostics, which involve nanotechnology and microfabricated
platforms for high-throughput biomarker and drug screening, automated biologics
synthesis, and rapid disease diagnosis.

Green Chemistry and Energy, which encompass the green synthesis of chemicals
and pharmaceuticals, catalytic conversion of biomass, utilization of carbon dioxide,
and new nanocomposite materials for energy applications.
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Scientific Impact
 More than 970 papers published in leading scientific journals
 Over 1,000 seminars and presentations at international conferences, including over
670 invited, keynote and plenary lectures
 Organized premier scientific meetings such as the International Conference on
Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, Nano Today Conference, and the IBN
International Symposium
Technological and Commercialization Impact
 500 active patents and patent applications
 Over 80 licensed patents and patent applications
 7 spin-off companies
 141 active research collaborations with industrial, clinical and academic partners
Nurturing Future Research Talents
 Trained 106 PhD students
 Over 77,300 students and teachers from 290 local and overseas schools/universities
have participated in IBN’s Youth Research Program
 More than 2,000 students and teachers have completed research attachments at
IBN
www.ibn.a-star.edu.sg
About the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is Singapore's lead public
sector agency that fosters world-class scientific research and talent to drive economic
growth and transform Singapore into a vibrant knowledge-based and innovation driven
economy.
In line with its mission-oriented mandate, A*STAR spearheads research and
development in fields that are essential to growing Singapore’s manufacturing sector
and catalysing new growth industries. A*STAR supports these economic clusters by
providing intellectual, human and industrial capital to its partners in industry.
A*STAR oversees 18 biomedical sciences and physical sciences and engineering
research entities, located in Biopolis and Fusionopolis, as well as their vicinity. These
two R&D hubs house a bustling and diverse community of local and international
research scientists and engineers from A*STAR’s research entities as well as a growing
number of corporate laboratories.
Please visit www.a-star.edu.sg.
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