Diagnostics for Targeted Drug Delivery in the Gastrointestinal Tract

Colon-specific drug delivery systems are considered effective strategies for the treatment of colon diseases such as colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, and irritable bowel syndrome. These systems are also beneficial for the oral delivery of labile molecules such as proteins and peptides into the colon. In this thesis, we have been working on developing a new colon drug delivery system with improved site-specificity based on cyclization-activated prodrug designs. We succeeded in synthesising a new chemical probe that was able to protect 60% of the payload from being released in the pH conditions simulating the upper gastrointestinal tract. We also investigated the potential use of those prodrug designs to develop a long-acting subcutaneous injection for treating chronic diseases.