Targeting of nanoparticles to tumours with hyaluronidase

Nanoparticles are gaining interest as a tool to improve the delivery of anticancer drugs to tumours, while reducing side-effects at the same time. However, currently, only a small fraction of nanoparticles reaches the tumour, due to overexpression of certain components in the tumour microenvironment. Specifically, hyaluronan is identified as a major barrier in delivery and penetration of nanoparticles to tumours. This thesis therefore explores how enzymatic removal of hyaluronan with hyaluronidase can improve the delivery of nanoparticles to tumours with the purpose of increasing their anticancer activity.