Intracellular Drug Delivery: A Route to More Selective and Effective Treatments for Disease

The Neurokinin 1 receptor (NK1R) is widely expressed in humans and contributes to the regulation of inflammation, gastrointestinal function and pain transmission. Recent research has revealed new relationships between NK1R location and function, and has shown that intracellular NK1R populations are important for driving diseases such as chronic inflammation and pain. We proposed that the efficient and selective delivery of drugs to compartmentalised receptor populations in compartments known as endosomes, will therefore have important implications for drug discovery. This thesis explores novel drug delivery strategies and has demonstrated that drug-lipid modifications and nanoparticles can selectively target the signalling of the NK1R inside cells to improve disease outcomes.