Research + Development @N.1 Labs
Welcome to N.1 Labs at the National University of Singapore
Under the direction of Principal Investigator Dean Ho, our multidisciplinary team is conducting multiple clinical trials using CURATE.AI to optimize clinical combination therapy for indications ranging from advanced cancer to post-transplant immunosuppression. We are also conducting clinical validation studies of nanodiamond-embedded biomaterials for wound healing applications.
About.CURATE.AI
Synergy vs. Optimization
In combination therapy, achieving drug synergy and global optimization are two very different outcomes. During the course of combination therapy, synergy can convert to antagonism in the same patient, and vice versa. This is a challenge that has confronted the fields of drug development, precision/personalized medicine, and other areas. Overcoming these barriers would require finding and maintaining the best possible drug interactions in a dynamic fashion.
We have successfully utilized CURATE.AI to overcome these major challenges, which resulted in markedly enhanced clinical outcomes compared to the standard of care.
More information about current clinical studies being conducted by N:1 Labs @NUS and our collaborators can be found in the Clinical Trials page.
Ho et al., Science Translational Medicine, 2016.
About.Nanodiamonds
Nanodiamond-Based Drug Delivery
One of our primary programs include the development of NDX, a nanodiamond-doxorubicin formulation, for clinical translation. We have also developed 2 nanodiamond-embedded biomaterial devices for wound healing indications that are approved for investigational clinical studies. For more information, please refer to our Clinical Trials page.
Courtesy: ACS/Chow Group
What's a Nanodiamond? The NDX project started with a vision that cancer treatment could be dramatically enhanced with a tiny carbon nanodiamond particle that is thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair (only 5 nanometers in diameter!).
Courtesy: RSC/Ho Group
Nanodiamonds are byproducts of mining and refining, meaning they are already created on a daily basis, and they are inexpensive! This makes them an ideal platform for sustainable nanomedicine.
Courtesy: Elsevier/Ho Group
Using simple cleaning procedures, they can be made safe for biomedical applications.
Their surface properties are unique and remarkable, and have redefined drug delivery and imaging.
Courtesy: AAAS/Wiley
Our discoveries have been highlighted in leading peer-reviewed journals.