Mathematical modeling of a genetically engineered bacteria for targeted drug delivery in tumor tissue

In this paper, a mathematical model is proposed to describe the spatiotemporal dynamics of engineered bacterial communities in tumor tissue that incorporates pertinent biologic phenomena such as bacterial chemotaxis, cell growth, drug release kinetics, and interaction with the immune systems. With a partial differential equation model, we model the distribution of therapeutic payload and bacteria and evaluate drug delivery efficacy across various tumor microenvironments. Equilibria stability analysis provides information on optimal bacterial colonization strategies, while numerical simulations explain how bacterial motility, nutrient gradient, and immune response influence treatment efficacy. Our results show that engineered bacteria can achieve local drug levels sufficient to cause tumor regression with a decrease in systemic toxicity.