BIODEGRADABLE PHOSPHORUS POLYMERS

MRI scans make the invisible visible. However, due to the heavy metals used in the contrast agents, this method is far from perfect. The metals can accumulate in the brain and MRI scans are not suitable for all patients. A different contrast agent could provide a solution. UT spin-off Phos4nova, led by Olga Koshkina, created biodegradable polymers for biochemical solutions, such as the MRI contrast agent. They aim to advance medical care and medicine with their unique polymers.

To increase the contrast in the visual created by an MRI scan, patients are often administered a contrast agent. The heavy metals in it improve the image but have many negative side effects. They’re not suitable for all patients, such as pregnant women or kidney patients. Furthermore, these metals are now also found in drinking water, which causes both health and environmental issues. Together with Timo Rheinberger and Frederik Wurm, Olga Koshkina developed polymers that are stable, biodegradable, and trackable in the body.

Phosphorus for imaging

The field of polymers is vastly different than that of MRI, so they don’t cross paths often. Olga, however, had worked in both fields, and that’s where the vision came from. Together with Timo and Frederik, she came up with different design approaches. After the first results, they started collaborating with Ulrich Flögel from Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf. Olga: “At first, he told us to forget about it, because phosphorus is usually not great for imagining purposes. But now, we have created materials with properties that make imaging possible with phosphorus.” After the first trial with vials, Anton Windfelder from Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology provided them with the animal-friendly caterpillar model they could use for first in vivo testing. “Sometimes people call you crazy, but sometimes it actually works. It was a great team effort and we knew we had to bring it to the market. The Take Off grant and TTT helped us with that.”

Replacement of PEG

The application of these new polymers stretches beyond the MRI rooms. “It can have a tremendous impact on how we develop medical treatments,” says Olga. “Aside from the MRI agent, we want to focus on replacing PEG, a polymer that is also used in vaccines and many medicines. In fact, it’s used in so many medicines and other products, such as cosmetics, that most of the Western population has antibodies against PEG. That’s not necessarily a problem, as long as you don’t need to take another medicine that contains this molecule. By replacing it with our polymers, we can make these medicines more efficient.”

Making impact in the medical field

Considering these applications, it was the right time to launch Phos4nova. Olga: “It was also the right place because the available support at the UT and Novel-T helped us get the right mindset. I find it more exciting to build a company than a research group, which was my original plan when I started at the UT. I remember when I started my PhD and nanotechnology was the hype. People set out to cure cancer, but ten years later, there is still no cure on the market, despite all the progress made. Yet, the majority keep doing research without taking it outside the university walls. With Phos4nova, I want to help patients by providing materials that can be used in the medical field. Whether it’s for MRI or medicines, or even for tissue regeneration in the future: I want to make an impact. It’s a long journey, but we’re feeling hopeful.”

With Phos4nova, Olga won the science-based pitch competition during Enschede Slush’D and received a ticket to Slush in Helsinki as a prize. 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40089-0