Team:Imperial College London/Project Overview

=The Problem=

The inspiration behind The E.ncapsulator was the inherent difficulty in delivering protein pharmaceuticals to the gut. Due to the delicate nature of proteins and the highly acidic environment present in the stomach, protein molecules are readily broken down - making oral drug delivery of protein pharmaceuticals very difficult .

There are several diseases that are treated using oral delivery of peptides. Among these are: Malnutrition (world hunger) and Phenylketonuria (PKU), a disease associated with mental retardation due to insufficient ability to metabolise phenylalanine.

In this project, we chose several different potential applications to illustrate the versatility of The E.ncapsulator. Firstly, we chose to synthesise phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH), an enzyme responsible for metabolism of phenylalanine - and an enzyme that is deficient in PKU patients. Secondly we chose to synthesise the enzyme cellulase, in order to derive better nutritional value from food consumed to aleviate malnutrition around the world. Finally we chose to synthesise a small bioactive pentapeptide, opiorphin. This small molecule acts very efficiently as a pain killer and anti-depressant, whilst due to its mechanism of action, remaining non-addictive. 'The E.ncapsulator'' system is a generic drug production and delivery platform. The project great offers potential for any problem that requires the delivery of polypeptide biopharmaceuticals to the lower GI tract.'''

Some statistics
In the table below we have provided some statistics of disorders requiring administration of polypeptide drugs. This highlights the need for a cost-effective and implementable solution, which is what we is offered by The E.ncapsulator.

Project specifications

 * Synthesis: The system is generic and potentially able to manufacture any type of polypeptide.
 * Purification: In The E.ncapsulator, protein production (module 1) and encapsulation (module 2) of the cells occur in the same place. This dual production and delivery platform means that there is no need for expensive downstream purification processes.
 * Storage: Freeze drying in the encapsulation phase and secondary encapsulation allow for storage of The E.ncapsulator.
 * Quality Control: If one cell fails to produce the protein or polypeptide of interest, it will have minimal impact on the whole system.
 * Safety: In order to reduce risks associated with our product, we have chosen a GRAS (generally recognised as safe) chassis. Furthermore, all the genetic material is destroyed prior ingestion to prevent any risks of horizontal gene transfer after colonisation by the cell.

=Our Solution= The E.ncapsulator is a novel protein manufacture and delivery platform designed to overcome these difficulties. Hover over the different parts of the image below, to learn more about each module of the system:

Project Tour


 

These links may be useful to browse our results and achievements: 

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