Dr ROBERT CAVANAGH's Outputs (29)

Enzymatic Synthesis of Functional PEGylated Adipate Copolymers (2025)
Journal Article
Axioti, E., Dixon, E. G., Jepras, T., Tin He, F., Hartman, P. J. V., Hopkins, B., Di Bari, V., Suksiriworapong, J., Cuzzucoli Crucitti, V., Galantini, L., Francolini, I., Cavanagh, R. J., & Taresco, V. (2025). Enzymatic Synthesis of Functional PEGylated Adipate Copolymers. ChemPlusChem, https://doi.org/10.1002/cplu.202400668

Many new active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) demonstrate high hydrophobicity and low water-solubility issues. In this regard, polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) have been extensively used as drug delivery carriers for the encapsulation of such APIs.... Read More about Enzymatic Synthesis of Functional PEGylated Adipate Copolymers.

Supramolecular hydrogels enable co-delivery of chemotherapeutics with synergistic efficacy against patient-derived glioblastoma cells and spheroids (2024)
Journal Article
Cavanagh, R. J., Baquain, S., Alexander, C., Scherman, O. A., & Rahman, R. (2024). Supramolecular hydrogels enable co-delivery of chemotherapeutics with synergistic efficacy against patient-derived glioblastoma cells and spheroids. RSC Advances, https://doi.org/10.1039/D4PM00177J

Drug combinations have been shown to be highly effective in many cancer therapies but the ratios of the individual drugs must be adjusted carefully and formulated appropriately to ensure synergistic action. Here we assessed combinations of doxorubici... Read More about Supramolecular hydrogels enable co-delivery of chemotherapeutics with synergistic efficacy against patient-derived glioblastoma cells and spheroids.

Multiple drug-delivery strategies to enhance the pharmacological and toxicological properties of Mefenamic acid (2024)
Journal Article
Cristiano, C., Cavanagh, R. J., Cuzzucoli Crucitti, V., Moloney, C., Axioti, E., Dixon, E., Jacob, P. L., Schiano, M. E., Cuozzo, M., Liguori, F. M., Rolando, B., Russo, R., Taresco, V., Sodano, F., & Rimoli, M. G. (2024). Multiple drug-delivery strategies to enhance the pharmacological and toxicological properties of Mefenamic acid. Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, 175, Article 116647. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2024.116647

Objective: To improve the biological and toxicological properties of Mefenamic acid (MA), the galactosylated prodrug of MA named MefeGAL was included in polymeric solid dispersions (PSs) composed of poly(glycerol adipate) (PGA) and Pluronic® F68 (Mef... Read More about Multiple drug-delivery strategies to enhance the pharmacological and toxicological properties of Mefenamic acid.

Glycerol- and diglycerol-based polyesters: Evaluation of backbone alterations upon nano-formulation performance (2024)
Journal Article
Axioti, E., Dixon, E. G., Reynolds-Green, M., Alexander, E. C., Brugnoli, B., Keddie, D. J., Couturaud, B., Suksiriworapong, J., Swainson, S. M., Francolini, I., Howdle, S. M., Jacob, P. L., Cavanagh, R. J., Chauhan, V. M., & Taresco, V. (2024). Glycerol- and diglycerol-based polyesters: Evaluation of backbone alterations upon nano-formulation performance. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 236, Article 113828. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfb.2024.113828

Despite the success of polyethylene glycol-based (PEGylated) polyesters in the drug delivery and biomedical fields, concerns have arisen regarding PEG's immunogenicity and limited biodegradability. In addition, inherent limitations, including limited... Read More about Glycerol- and diglycerol-based polyesters: Evaluation of backbone alterations upon nano-formulation performance.

Free drug and ROS-responsive nanoparticle delivery of synergistic doxorubicin and olaparib combinations to triple negative breast cancer models (2024)
Journal Article
Cavanagh, R. J., Monteiro, P. F., Moloney, C., Travanut, A., Mehradnia, F., Taresco, V., Rahman, R., Martin, S. G., Grabowska, A. M., Ashford, M. B., & Alexander, C. (2024). Free drug and ROS-responsive nanoparticle delivery of synergistic doxorubicin and olaparib combinations to triple negative breast cancer models. Biomaterials Science, 12(7), 1822-1840. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3bm01931d

Combinations of the topoisomerase II inhibitor doxorubicin and the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor olaparib offer potential drug-drug synergy for the treatment of triple negative breast cancers (TNBC). In this study we performed in vitro scree... Read More about Free drug and ROS-responsive nanoparticle delivery of synergistic doxorubicin and olaparib combinations to triple negative breast cancer models.

Glycerol-based sustainably sourced resin for volumetric printing (2024)
Journal Article
Krumins, E., Lentz, J. C., Sutcliffe, B., Sohaib, A., Jacob, P. L., Brugnoli, B., Cuzzucoli Crucitti, V., Cavanagh, R., Owen, R., Moloney, C., Ruiz-Cantu, L., Francolini, I., Howdle, S. M., Shusteff, M., Rose, F. R. A. J., Wildman, R. D., He, Y., & Taresco, V. (2024). Glycerol-based sustainably sourced resin for volumetric printing. Green Chemistry, 26(3), 1345-1355. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3gc03607c

Volumetric Additive Manufacturing (VAM) represents a revolutionary advancement in the field of Additive Manufacturing, as it allows for the creation of objects in a single, cohesive process, rather than in a layer-by-layer approach. This innovative t... Read More about Glycerol-based sustainably sourced resin for volumetric printing.

Chain-extension in hyperbranched polymers alters tissue distribution and cytotoxicity profiles in orthotopic models of triple negative breast cancers (2023)
Journal Article
Moloney, C., Mehradnia, F., Cavanagh, R. J., Ibrahim, A., Pearce, A. K., Ritchie, A. A., Clarke, P., Rahman, R., Grabowska, A. M., & Alexander, C. (2023). Chain-extension in hyperbranched polymers alters tissue distribution and cytotoxicity profiles in orthotopic models of triple negative breast cancers. Biomaterials Science, 11, 6545-6560. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3bm00609c

The therapeutic efficacy of nanomedicines is highly dependent on their access to target sites in the body, and this in turn is markedly affected by their size, shape and transport properties in tissue. Although there have been many studies in this ar... Read More about Chain-extension in hyperbranched polymers alters tissue distribution and cytotoxicity profiles in orthotopic models of triple negative breast cancers.

Synthesis of Multifunctional Polymersomes Prepared by Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly (2023)
Journal Article
Phan, H., Cavanagh, R., Jacob, P., Destouches, D., Vacherot, F., Brugnoli, B., Howdle, S., Taresco, V., & Couturaud, B. (2023). Synthesis of Multifunctional Polymersomes Prepared by Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly. Polymers, 15(14), Article 3070. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15143070

Polymersomes are an exciting modality for drug delivery due to their structural similarity to biological cells and their ability to encapsulate both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs. In this regard, the current work aimed to develop multifunctional... Read More about Synthesis of Multifunctional Polymersomes Prepared by Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly.

OptoRheo: Simultaneous in situ micro-mechanical sensing and imaging of live 3D biological systems (2023)
Journal Article
Mendonca, T., Lis-Slimak, K., Matheson, A. B., Smith, M. G., Anane-Adjei, A. B., Ashworth, J. C., Cavanagh, R., Paterson, L., Dalgarno, P. A., Alexander, C., Tassieri, M., Merry, C. L. R., & Wright, A. J. (2023). OptoRheo: Simultaneous in situ micro-mechanical sensing and imaging of live 3D biological systems. Communications Biology, 6, Article 463. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-04780-8

Biomechanical cues from the extracellular matrix (ECM) are essential for directing many cellular processes, from normal development and repair, to disease progression. To better understand cell-matrix interactions, we have developed a new instrument... Read More about OptoRheo: Simultaneous in situ micro-mechanical sensing and imaging of live 3D biological systems.

Poly (diglycerol adipate) variants as enhanced nanocarrier replacements in drug delivery applications (2023)
Journal Article
Jacob, P. L., Brugnoli, B., Del Giudice, A., Phan, H., Chauhan, V. M., Beckett, L., Gillis, R. B., Moloney, C., Cavanagh, R. J., Krumins, E., Reynolds-Green, M., Lentz, J. C., Conte, C., Cuzzucoli Crucitti, V., Couturaud, B., Galantini, L., Francolini, I., Howdle, S. M., & Taresco, V. (2023). Poly (diglycerol adipate) variants as enhanced nanocarrier replacements in drug delivery applications. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 641, 1043-1057. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2023.03.124

Sustainably derived poly(glycerol adipate) (PGA) has been deemed to deliver all the desirable features expected in a polymeric scaffold for drug-delivery, including biodegradability, biocompatibility, self-assembly into nanoparticles (NPs) and a func... Read More about Poly (diglycerol adipate) variants as enhanced nanocarrier replacements in drug delivery applications.

OptoRheo: Simultaneous in situ micro-mechanical sensing and 3D imaging of live cell cultures (2023)
Preprint / Working Paper
Mendonca, T., Lis-Slimak, K., Matheson, A. B., Smith, M. G., Anane-Adjei, A. B., Cavanagh, R., Paterson, L., Dalgarno, P. A., Alexander, C., Tassieri, M., Merry, C. L. R., & Wright, A. J. OptoRheo: Simultaneous in situ micro-mechanical sensing and 3D imaging of live cell cultures

Biomechanical cues from the extracellular matrix (ECM) are essential for directing many cellular processes, from normal development and repair, to disease progression. To better understand cell-matrix interactions, we have developed a new instrument... Read More about OptoRheo: Simultaneous in situ micro-mechanical sensing and 3D imaging of live cell cultures.

Histopathological impact of Redox-responsive methacrylamide based micellar nanoparticles on Orthotopic Models of Triple Negative Breast Cancers (2022)
Journal Article
Mehradnia, F., Moloney, C., Cavanagh, R., Pearce, A. K., Ritchie, A., Clarke, P., Rahman, R., Ibrahim, A., Grabowskab, A. M., & Alexander, C. (2022). Histopathological impact of Redox-responsive methacrylamide based micellar nanoparticles on Orthotopic Models of Triple Negative Breast Cancers. British Journal of Pharmacy, 7(2), https://doi.org/10.5920/bjpharm.1173

The therapeutic efficacy of anticancer nanocarriers ishighly dependent on their size, shape, targeting ability, and stimuli-responsiveness. Herein, we studied the in vivo therapeutic efficacy ofDoxorubicin (Dox) loaded redox responsive micellar-like... Read More about Histopathological impact of Redox-responsive methacrylamide based micellar nanoparticles on Orthotopic Models of Triple Negative Breast Cancers.

N-Hydroxyethyl acrylamide as a functional eROP initiator for the preparation of nanoparticles under “greener” reaction conditions (2022)
Journal Article
Lentz, J. C., Cavanagh, R., Moloney, C., Falcone Pin, B., Kortsen, K., Fowler, H. R., Jacob, P. L., Krumins, E., Clark, C., Machado, F., Breitkreuz, N., Cale, B., Goddard, A. R., Hirst, J. D., Taresco, V., & Howdle, S. M. (2022). N-Hydroxyethyl acrylamide as a functional eROP initiator for the preparation of nanoparticles under “greener” reaction conditions. Polymer Chemistry, 13(42), 6032-6045. https://doi.org/10.1039/d2py00849a

N-Hydroxyethyl acrylamide was used as a functional initiator for the enzymatic ring-opening polymerisation of ϵ-caprolactone and δ-valerolactone. N-Hydroxyethyl acrylamide was found not to undergo self-reaction in the presence of Lipase B from Candid... Read More about N-Hydroxyethyl acrylamide as a functional eROP initiator for the preparation of nanoparticles under “greener” reaction conditions.

Correction to “Facile Dye-Initiated Polymerization of Lactide−Glycolide Generates Highly Fluorescent Poly(lactic-coglycolic Acid) for Enhanced Characterization of Cellular Delivery” (2022)
Journal Article
Yousif, M. D., Al-Natour, M. A., Cavanagh, R., Abouselo, A., Apebende, E. A., Ghaemmaghami, A., Kim, D. H., Aylott, J. W., Taresco, V., Chauhan, V. M., & Alexander, C. (2022). Correction to “Facile Dye-Initiated Polymerization of Lactide−Glycolide Generates Highly Fluorescent Poly(lactic-coglycolic Acid) for Enhanced Characterization of Cellular Delivery”. ACS Macro Letters, 11, 1224. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmacrolett.2c00570

There is a change to the order of authorship for this published Letter. The author list should appear as it does in this Addition and Correction. All authors have agreed to this change.

Antimicrobial ‘inks’ for 3D printing: block copolymer-silver nanoparticle composites synthesised using supercritical CO2 (2022)
Journal Article
Larder, R. R., Krumins, E., Jacob, P. L., Kortsen, K., Cavanagh, R., Jiang, L., Vuotto, C., Francolini, I., Tuck, C., Taresco, V., & Howdle, S. M. (2022). Antimicrobial ‘inks’ for 3D printing: block copolymer-silver nanoparticle composites synthesised using supercritical CO2. Polymer Chemistry, 13(25), 3768-3779. https://doi.org/10.1039/d2py00398h

Silver nanoparticles (AgNP) are widely exploited for their effective antimicrobial activity against a range of pathogens. Their high efficacy in this regard has seen the global demand for AgNP in consumer products steadily increase in recent years, n... Read More about Antimicrobial ‘inks’ for 3D printing: block copolymer-silver nanoparticle composites synthesised using supercritical CO2.

Synthesis, characterisation and evaluation of hyperbranched N-(2-hydroxypropyl) methacrylamides for transport and delivery in pancreatic cell lines in vitro and in vivo (2022)
Journal Article
Anane-Adjei, A. B., Fletcher, N. L., Cavanagh, R. J., Houston, Z. H., Crawford, T., Pearce, A. K., Taresco, V., Ritchie, A. A., Clarke, P. A., Grabowska, A. M., Gellert, P. R., Ashford, M. B., Kellam, B., Thurecht, K. J., & Alexander, C. (2022). Synthesis, characterisation and evaluation of hyperbranched N-(2-hydroxypropyl) methacrylamides for transport and delivery in pancreatic cell lines in vitro and in vivo. Biomaterials Science, 10(9), 2328-2344. https://doi.org/10.1039/d1bm01548f

Hyperbranched polymers have many promising features for drug delivery, owing to their ease of synthesis, multiple functional group content, and potential for high drug loading with retention of solubility. Here we prepared hyperbranched N-(2-hydroxyp... Read More about Synthesis, characterisation and evaluation of hyperbranched N-(2-hydroxypropyl) methacrylamides for transport and delivery in pancreatic cell lines in vitro and in vivo.

Enhanced permeation by amphiphilic surfactant is spatially heterogenous at membrane and cell level (2022)
Journal Article
Cavanagh, R., Shubber, S., Vllasaliu, D., & Stolnik, S. (2022). Enhanced permeation by amphiphilic surfactant is spatially heterogenous at membrane and cell level. Journal of Controlled Release, 345, 734-743. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2022.03.053

In the context of increased interest in permeability enhancement technologies to achieve mucosal delivery of drugs and biologics, we report our study on effects of the amphiphilic surfactant at cell membrane and cell population levels. Our results sh... Read More about Enhanced permeation by amphiphilic surfactant is spatially heterogenous at membrane and cell level.

Polymer pro-drug nanoparticles for sustained release of cytotoxic drugs evaluated in patient-derived glioblastoma cell lines and in situ gelling formulations (2021)
Journal Article
Vasey, C. E., Cavanagh, R. J., Taresco, V., Moloney, C., Smith, S., Rahman, R., & Alexander, C. (2021). Polymer pro-drug nanoparticles for sustained release of cytotoxic drugs evaluated in patient-derived glioblastoma cell lines and in situ gelling formulations. Pharmaceutics, 13(2), Article 208. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics13020208

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common, malignant and aggressive brain tumour in adults. Despite the use of multimodal treatments, involving surgery, followed by concomitant radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the median survival for patients remains less... Read More about Polymer pro-drug nanoparticles for sustained release of cytotoxic drugs evaluated in patient-derived glioblastoma cell lines and in situ gelling formulations.

Effects of Polymer 3D Architecture, Size, and Chemistry on Biological Transport and Drug Delivery In Vitro and in Orthotopic Triple Negative Breast Cancer Models (2020)
Journal Article
Anane‐Adjei, A. B., Pearce, A. K., Anane-Adjei, A. B., Cavanagh, R. J., Monteiro, P. F., Bennett, T. M., Taresco, V., Clarke, P. A., Ritchie, A. A., Alexander, M. R., Grabowska, A. M., & Alexander, C. (2020). Effects of Polymer 3D Architecture, Size, and Chemistry on Biological Transport and Drug Delivery In Vitro and in Orthotopic Triple Negative Breast Cancer Models. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 9(22), Article 2000892. https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.202000892

© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH The size, shape, and underlying chemistries of drug delivery particles are key parameters which govern their ultimate performance in vivo. Responsive particles are desirable for triggered drug delivery, achievable through archit... Read More about Effects of Polymer 3D Architecture, Size, and Chemistry on Biological Transport and Drug Delivery In Vitro and in Orthotopic Triple Negative Breast Cancer Models.

Functionalized block co-polymer pro-drug nanoparticles with anti-cancer efficacy in 3D spheroids and in an orthotopic triple negative breast cancer model (2020)
Journal Article
Taresco, V., Abelha, T. F., Cavanagh, R. J., Vasey, C. E., Anane-Adjei, A. B., Pearce, A. K., Monteiro, P. F., Spriggs, K. A., Clarke, P., Ritchie, A., Martin, S., Rahman, R., Grabowska, A. M., Ashford, M. B., & Alexander, C. (2021). Functionalized block co-polymer pro-drug nanoparticles with anti-cancer efficacy in 3D spheroids and in an orthotopic triple negative breast cancer model. Advanced Therapeutics, 4(1), Article 2000103. https://doi.org/10.1002/adtp.202000103

Amphiphilic block co-polymers composed of poly(ethylene glycol)-co-poly(lactide)-co-poly(2-((tert-butoxycarbonyl)amino)-3-propyl carbonate) (PEG-pLA-pTBPC) are synthesized in monomer ratios and arrangements to enable assembly into nanoparticles with... Read More about Functionalized block co-polymer pro-drug nanoparticles with anti-cancer efficacy in 3D spheroids and in an orthotopic triple negative breast cancer model.