---
title: "Drug Delivery Systems"
description: "The TRAP-cage opens and closes on command. That single property is what makes it a delivery system rather than another nanoparticle, enabling therapeutic cargo to be loaded, protected and released in a controlled manner to support more precise and effective drug delivery across a range of disease settings."
url: https://www.ncage.org/en/drug-delivery-systems
language: en
site: nCage Therapeutics
---

# Drug Delivery Systems

The TRAP-cage opens and closes on command. That single property is what makes it a delivery system rather than another nanoparticle, enabling therapeutic cargo to be loaded, protected and released in a controlled manner to support more precise and effective drug delivery across a range of disease settings.

## What the cage can do

- **Formed** — Our synthetic VLPs are formed by triggered assembly of modified protein.
- **Modifiable** — Both the exterior and the interior surfaces of the cage structure are easily modified, which is where most of the platform's potential sits.
- **Encapsulation** — The cage encapsulates many different therapeutic molecules — proteins, oligonucleotides and small molecules — then transports them and targets them precisely in vivo.
- **Superior** — We believe these structures offer modification and engineering capabilities beyond current lipid or dendrimer technologies, and expect improved biodistribution, targeting and pharmacokinetics against available delivery platforms.
- **Programmable** — nCage's platform is the only artificial protein cage or synthetic VLP with programmable opening, releasing biological cargo in response to an external stimulus — for example, breaking apart on addition of cellular reducing agents.

## Three approaches to delivering drugs

The same cage, aimed at three delivery problems that current platforms fail to address.

### TRAP Cage Conjugates (TCC)

Targeting with antibodies or nanobodies.

### Small Molecule DDS

Targeted delivery of small molecules.

### Nucleotide Delivery

RNA delivery outside of the liver.

## Partner with us on delivery

If your program is limited by payload stability, off-target exposure or tissue reach, we would like to hear about it.