Enginneering environment-responsive nanogels for the treatment of rare dermal diseases

Gaurav Sadhnani – PhD student, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin; Maria Orellano – Postdoc, POLYMAT - Basque Center for Macromolecular Design and Engineering; Alfonso Arguello – PhD student, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Montréal; Rakesh Kumar – PhD student, POLYMAT - Basque Center for Macromolecular Design and Engineering; Ana Beloqui – Professor, POLYMAT - Basque Center for Macromolecular Design and Engineering; Davide Brambilla – Professor, 3. Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Montréal; Sarah Hedtrich – Professor, 1. Berlin Institute of Health, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin

Introduction:

Therapeutic treatment of severe skin diseases often alleviates symptoms without addressing the underlying cause. Genetic skin diseases, resulting from mutations that reduce or eliminate protein synthesis, could benefit from the local substitution of the missing protein.¹ However, biomacromolecules are excluded from topical applications due to their high molecular weight and hydrophilicity, requiring specific carrier systems. Here, we report polymeric nanogels (NGs) capable of encapsulating and transporting biomacromolecules into the skin, releasing them upon an environmental trigger.^2-3