Polymer & Lipid
Excipients

As functional excipients in the development of nanoparticles, polymers and lipids can protect from degradation, enhance distribution and permeation, as well as stabilize nucleic acids and other therapeutic molecules. Curapath holds expertise in the production of a wide variety of synthetic lipids and biocompatible polymers based on poly amino acids (polypeptides and polypeptoids), polyoxazolines and poly(β-amino esters) among others, for gene delivery, bio-conjugation and other applications. We manufacture custom lipids and polymers upon request. After meticulous synthetic route optimization, we ensure the greatest yield and highest purity.

Ionizable Lipids

WHAT ARE Ionizable Lipids?

Ionizable lipids are a type of lipid that contain ionizable groups, gaining or losing protons in response to environmental pH changes. These lipids are often used in the design of lipid nanoparticles, which are employed in drug delivery systems, particularly in the field of nucleic acid delivery.

how It Works

This lipid plays a vital role in encapsulating nucleic acids and facilitating the endosomal escape mechanism, allowing the release of nucleic acids into the cytosol. Moreover, it significantly influences the internal structural features of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), potentially enhancing their tolerability and reducing immunogenic properties.

With its pH-responsive behavior, ionizable lipids play an essential role in efficient and controlled delivery of therapeutic payloads, making them a key component in the development of advanced drug delivery systems.

Guidance Through Manufacturing

Curapath offers both commercially available and customized ionizable lipids, ranging from gram to kilogram scale, at R&D and GMP quality grades. Our team of expert organic chemists specializes in multi-step synthetic routes and a wide range of chemo-selective reactions.

We provide versatile preparative purification including chromatography at various scales within our R&D, process development laboratories, and GMP suites. Additionally, we possess robust analytical capabilities to precisely characterize all synthetic steps and intermediates.

Shielding Lipids

WHAT ARE Shielding Lipids?

Shielding lipids are key components in nanoparticle formulations, as they influence key properties of LNPs, which impact directly on LNPs circulation time and bioavailability. These lipids can be linked to the nano particle via post-synthesis functionalization or along the formulation process itself.

how It Works

Although shielding lipids constitute the smallest molar percentage in LNPs, they influence LNP size, dispersity, minimize aggregation, and consequently, increase particle stability during preparation, storage as well as stability in blood circulation. They also drastically reduce the opsonization process and reticuloendothelial clearance produced by interaction with components of the bloodstream. Without shielding lipids, nanoparticles are readily recognized by the body’s defense system and cleared from the systemic circulation, thus losing efficacy.

Traditionally, PEGylated lipids have been used for this purpose, however, Curapath now offers innovative alternatives such as polysarcosine lipids among others, providing enhanced performance, reduced immunogenicity and reactogenicity, and new possibilities for your formulations.

Guidance Through Manufacturing

At the interface of polymer and lipid chemistry, Curapath leverages decades of expertise to offer seamless development and GMP manufacturing of shielding lipids. We provide a diverse range of shielding lipids, from milligram to multi-kilogram scales, including both commercially available PEG-lipids and proprietary alternatives based on innovative stealth polymers such as polysarcosine and polyglutamic acid.

Curapath’s shielding lipids exhibit excellent non-immunogenic properties compared to traditional PEGylated lipids. Our innovative alternatives, based on polysarcosine and polyglutamic acid amongst others, not only enhance the safety and efficiency of LNP formulations but also open new possibilities for optimizing drug delivery systems. Partner with us to revolutionize your therapeutic solutions.

Ionizable Cationic Polymers

WHAT ARE Ionizable CATIONIC Polymers?

Cationic complexing polymers are versatile agents used to enhance nucleic acid delivery by forming stable polyplexes through electrostatic interactions. These polymers facilitate the efficient and targeted transfer of genetic material, playing a crucial role in advancing gene therapy applications. In the bioproduction field, cationic complexing polymers help improve the delivery process, contributing to more effective biologic manufacturing.

Curapath’s product developers have designed and produced a library of hundreds of proprietary cationic poly aspartic acid derivatives specifically designed to interact adequately with negatively charged drugs such as nucleic acids.

how It Works

In nucleic acid delivery, cationic polymers play a crucial role in facilitating the transportation of nucleic acids such as DNA or RNA into cells by forming stable complexes through electrostatic interactions. These complexes protect the nucleic acids from degradation and promote cellular uptake, overcoming barriers such as the cell membrane and endosomal escape.

Additionally, cationic polymers can be precisely engineered to include ionizable moieties, allowing for pH-responsive drug release tailored to the physiological conditions of targeted tissues or cells. In the bioproduction field, cationic polymers serve as valuable tools for enhancing protein expression and production yields. By promoting efficient transfection of host cells with gene vectors encoding desired proteins, cationic polymers enable the scalable production of recombinant proteins, antibodies, and other biopharmaceuticals.

Guidance Through Manufacturing

Curapath excels in Polymer Chemistry, CMC development, and manufacturing of novel functional polymer excipients. Whether your project begins at the discovery stage for screening, design, and selection of polymer components for preclinical testing, or requires scaling up your polymer excipient prototype with appropriate analytical controls for clinical trials, Curapath is your CDMO partner of choice. With a proven track record of producing over 3,000 different polymers through various chemistries, including ring-opening, radical, and ionic polymerizations, we ensure the highest standards in polymer development.

Additionally, we offer an extensive library of proprietary cationic polyaspartic acid derivatives that are available at R&D and GMP quality grades. Our proprietary polymers offer unique benefits, including enhanced stability, targeting specificity, and reduced toxicity, significantly improving the therapeutic profile of nucleic acid delivery systems. Our team has significant expertise in synthesizing and scaling up cationic poly amino acid-based polymers, which can be precisely engineered to include ionizable moieties, allowing them to respond to changes in the local pH environment.

Partner with Curapath to harness the full potential of these innovative solutions for your therapeutic needs.

Shielding Polymers

WHAT ARE Shielding Polymers?

Shielding polymers are polymers that are used to coat or shield nanoparticles, often for the purpose of enhancing their stability, biocompatibility, and circulation time in the bloodstream.

how It Works

The use of shielding polymers is a common strategy in the design of nanoparticle drug delivery systems to enhance their stability, biocompatibility and optimize therapeutic outcomes.

The term “shielding” implies providing a protective layer around the nanoparticles to minimize interactions with biological components and reduce clearance by the immune system.

Guidance Through Manufacturing

We deliver a wide variety of in-house synthesized shielding polymers from milligram to multi kg scale. These shielding polymers are polypeptide based, thereby showing excellent non-immunogenic properties when compared with commercially available polymers like PEG. Since they are composed of natural amino acids they are 100% biodegradable.

Polymer- Conjugates

WHAT ARE Polymer- Conjugates?

Polymer-drug conjugates are composed of an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) including small molecules, peptides, proteins, antibodies, bound to a polymeric carrier. The conjugation of bioactive molecules to polymers can enhance the properties and functionalities of the original molecules, offering several advantages in various biomedical applications, including drug delivery, diagnostics, and therapeutics.

how It Works

Polymer-conjugates have been successfully employed to improve the solubility, stability, and bioavailability of therapeutic molecules. This conjugation can employ stimuli-responsive linkers that enable controlled release and targeted delivery to specific cells or tissues, enhancing therapeutic efficacy while minimizing side effects. The polymers facilitate cellular uptake and protect therapeutic molecules from degradation while reducing off-target effect, making treatments more effective.

Guidance Through Manufacturing

Our team at Curapath offers a diverse portfolio of functionalized polymers based on polyamino acids, such as polysarcosine, polyglutamic acid, and polyoxazolines, as promising alternatives to polyethylene glycol (PEG) in bioconjugation applications.

With extensive experience in the synthesis and characterization of functionalized polymers and linking chemistry, our talented staff produces reliable polymers to conjugate any API candidate. Our expertise includes designing linkers and performing selective and quantitative end-capping with various functionalities.

For each project, we explore all available options, identify the best course of action, and customize the right solution. Once a solution is identified, we devise a scalable synthetic approach along with the necessary analytical methods to ensure optimal process control and product characterization of bioconjugates.

Polymer & Lipid Excipients

Ionizable Lipids

Shielding Lipids

Ionizable Cationic Polymers

Shielding Polymers

Polymer- Conjugates

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Polymer & Lipid
Excipients