Dr Paul White
Dr Paul White is attached to the Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Monash University (MIPS) where he specialises in Functional Biology and Drug Action and Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Action.
In the area of nanotechnology Dr White is focused currently on two projects.
The first project is exploring siRNA (small or short interfering RNA) delivery using nanoparticles containing albumin. “RNA interference using short interfering RNA is one of the hottest areas in biological science. We are working on a delivery strategy using the common blood protein albumin to carry siRNA across the blood vessel wall.” Drug delivery scientists recognise that the delivery of these nucleic acid molecules to target cells in vivo is a huge challenge which they are seeking to overcome.
Secondly, Dr White’s team has used dense gas processing to produce vaccine nanoparticles composed of pure protein. They have demonstrated that these nanoparticles are able to generate a specific immune response without having to use adjuvant.
As Dr White is investigating the delivery of effective large molecule drugs, his work with nanoparticles is particularly significant. The use of nanoparticles allows the packaging of large drugs into particles that have very different properties within the body to drugs in solution. “We can also engineer the particles to have functional components as required – targeting particular cell types or escaping blood vessels to enter tissues.”
These projects will have an impact on both the prevention and the treatment of human disease. One of the biggest killers in the Western world is ischaemic heart disease. The siRNA project aims to produce a therapy to prevent this disease from occurring. The work with vaccine nanoparticles has positive implications for many infectious diseases. The advantage of working with microneedles is that it may provide an ‘easy to administer’ vaccination method in countries where access to health professionals is limited.
Dr White’s work on siRNA delivery is in collaboration with Professor Colin Pouton and Drs Ben Boyd and Bim Graham, based at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences. With respect to his work on the vaccine project, Dr White has collaborated with Dr Andrew Lew and Professor Bill Heath at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) at Parkville, and Nanotechnology Victoria.
In addition to these specific projects Dr White’s group is also exploring the delivery of gene therapy.
Publications
Nguyen, T.T. et al. (2006) Intravenous insulin-like growth factor-I receptor antisense treatment reduces angiotensin receptor expression and function in spontaneously hypertensive rats. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 318, 1171-1177
White, P.J. (2008) Barriers to successful delivery of short interfering RNA after systemic administration. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol 35, 1371-1376
White, P.J. et al. (2008) Generic construction of single component particles that elicit humoural and cellular immune responses without the need for adjuvants. Vaccine
Provisional, AU2007904475 "Vaccine composition, method for production and
using same". Priority date 20/8/07
Patents
Transdermal PCT WO 2007012114 "Microarray Device" Priority date, 25/7/05
PCT Application filed July 2006 (2006/001039) Inventors: P Binks, M
Critchley, B Irving, C Pouton, P White
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