SOLUTION
TROJAN HORSE
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Named after the Trojan Horse from the Trojan War, our solution delivers a "death dose" to cancer cells hidden inside its spherical casing.
*Drawings are not to scale
LIPOSOMAL CASING
At 4500 nanometers in diameter, the fusogenic liposomal casings of both first and second dose Trojan Horse molecules are small enough to fit in the human body's smallest capillaries. Their phospholipid bilayers have hydrophillic exteriors and hydrophobic interiors.
MOTILE FLAGELLUM
Cryopreserved sperm flagella are attached to the liposomal casings of first dose Trojan Horse molecules to increase motility. The flagellum is comprised of an axoneme (11 microtubules), a thin membrane, and a mitochondrial layer to power the appendage. The length of the flagellum is 50000 nanometers in length and 10 nanometers in diameter.
TUMOR-SPECIFIC ANTIBODIES
First dose Trojan Horse molecules contain tumor-specific-antibodies on their liposomal casings which recognize tumor-specific-antigens on cancer cells. The antibodies may be personalized for each patient, recognizing specific types of cancers to attack. This dose is also coated with its own set of antigens, providing a binding site for the second dose, which features the corresponding antibodies.
GENE EDITING
First dose Trojan Horse biomolecules contain Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) CRISPR-cas9 gene editing systems on their interiors. Once having attached to cancer cells' tumor-specific-antigens, inducing endocytosis, these CRISPR systems would be released from their liposomal casings to splice and deactivate the VEGF gene located on the sixth chromosome, which when normally expressed promotes angiogenesis (growth of blood vessels to tumors). Blood flow is critical for cancer growth and metastasis; thus, cutting VEGF would halt cancer growth.
APOPTOTIC PROMOTING FACTORS
The second component of the first dose's Trojan Horse interiors are apoptotic promoting factors. Cytochrome C, contained in the liposome, would be released in the same fashion as the CRISPR systems, and would then combine with free-floating Apaf-1 in the cytoplasm to form apoptosomes that recruit caspases, inducing cell death.
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2nd Dose Monitoring
After the first dose of Trojan horses is administered intravenously, a second dose would also be given. This second dose contains nearly identical Trojan Horse molecules. However, their surface antibodies would not be cancer specific, but rather TH1 (1st Dose Trojan Horse) antigen specific. These complimentary antigens and antibodies are only manufactured on Trojan Horses. When second dose Trojan Horses bind to those of the first dose, electromagnetic signals are sent through microchips to external devices (such as smartphone or smartwatch), giving real-time information about cancer spread and location. Such unprecedented level of real-time monitoring gives physicians and patients crucial insight for the next steps in treatment.