Animal simulations facilitate smart drug design through prediction of nanomaterial transport to individual tissue cells

A state-of-the-art in vitro to in silico animal body simulation successfully predicts biodistribution with cellular resolution. Smart drug design for antibody and nanomaterial-based therapies allows optimization of drug efficacy and more efficient early-stage preclinical trials. The ideal drug must display maximum efficacy at target tissue sites, with transport from tissue vasculature to the cellular environment being critical. Biological simulations, when coupled with in vitro approaches, can predict this exposure in a rapid and efficient manner. As a result, it becomes possible to predict drug biodistribution within single cells of live animal tissue without the need for animal studies. Here, we successfully utilized an in vitro assay and a computational fluid dynamic model to translate in vitro cell kinetics (accounting for cell-induced degradation) to whole-body simulations for multiple species as well as nanomaterial types to predict drug distribution into individual tissue cells. We expect this work to assist in refining, reducing, and replacing animal testing, while providing scientists with a new perspective during the drug development process.