Programmable graphene-polyglycerol-chiral carbon dot composite for combined photothermal and cancer immunotherapy

• Project/Area Number: 26K03266
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 90110:Biomedical engineering-related
• Research Institution: Okayama University
• Principal Investigator: 鄒 亜娟 岡山大学, 先鋭研究領域, 特任助教 (80934588)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 仁科 勇太 岡山大学, 先鋭研究領域, 教授 (50585940)
• Project Period (FY): 2026-04-01 – 2029-03-31
• Project Status: Granted (Fiscal Year 2026)
• Budget Amount: ¥18,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥14,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥4,200,000); Fiscal Year 2028: ¥7,150,000 (Direct Cost: ¥5,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,650,000); Fiscal Year 2027: ¥5,590,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,290,000); Fiscal Year 2026: ¥5,460,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,260,000)
• Keywords: Graphene / Polyglrcerol / Carbon dot / Immunotherapy

Outline of Research at the Start

This research explores the chirality of carbon dots (CDs) for dendritic cell-targeted cancer immunotherapy.To overcome the size-dilemma of chiral CDs for systemic delivery,these chiral CDs will be conjugated to polyglycerol-grafted graphene via thermolabile linkers. Upon laser irradiation, the
photothermal effect of graphene-based materials will trigger on-demand release of chiral CDs, permitting precise targeting to intra-tumoral dendritic cells. Meanwhile, cancer cells can also be killed by photothermal effect, further strengthening the therapeutic effects.