Dagmara Słota

Cracow University of Technology

About Presenter
I am a young scientist working in the field of materials engineering and biomaterials. In the presented project, I am one of the two main contractors and co-author of the patent application.
Title of presentation
From Treatment to Tracking: Gold-Polymer Nanocarriers for Personalized Cancer Therapy
Focus Areas

Next-Gen Therapies: From Lab to Life

Objective: See how biotech, AI and digital health are accelerating the future of medicine.

Introduction: the Problem

Cancer remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, requiring more effective and patient-oriented therapeutic approaches. Conventional chemotherapy is often limited by poor selectivity, systemic toxicity, and lack of real-time treatment monitoring. To address these challenges, we have developed an innovative hybrid nanocarrier that combines polymeric matrices with gold nanoparticles to deliver the anticancer drug capecitabine directly to tumor sites. This multifunctional system not only provides localized and controlled drug release but also enables visualization of drug distribution using X-ray-based imaging techniques such as CT. The gold nanoparticles act as both drug carriers and contrast agents due to their high X-ray absorption capacity. Our approach aims to enhance treatment precision, minimize side effects, and allow real-time therapy monitoring, paving the way for truly personalized cancer therapy.

Collaboration Offer

We are a research team specializing in the design and characterization of materials for biomedical applications. We are seeking partners from both the scientific as well as industrial sectors, including R&D organizations, universities, hospitals, and pharmaceutical or biotech companies interested in developing and validating presented technology. Oone of our next step is to conduct in vivo studies to evaluate therapeutic efficiency and imaging performance, and we are open to joint research or technology transfer initiatives.

From our side, we offer our expertise in material synthesis, drug formulation, and polymer chemistry. At the same time, we are open to establishing new collaborations in other biomaterial-related fields. Together, we can accelerate the translation of this innovative platform into clinical and commercial applications, bringing advanced and sustainable cancer therapies closer to patients.