DEVELOPMENT OF CARBONIC ANHYDRASE IX AND FOLATE TARGETED SMALL MOLECULE DRUG CONJUGATES FOR THE TREATMENT OF CANCER, SPINAL CORD INJURY AND INFLAMMATORY DISEASES

In the field of drug development, a major issue constantly preventing translation to the clinic is drug toxicity. With so many drugs failing phase 1 clinical trials for this reason, solutions need to be developed to overcome this obstacle. The content of this thesis includes three separate and distinct projects that utilized small molecule drug conjugate technology to maintain desired efficacy and circumvent the toxicities associated with the well-known drugs tubulysin B, hydralazine, and dexamethasone.