Nanocarriers Call the Last Shot in the Treatment of Brain Cancers

Our brain is protected by physio-biological barriers. The blood–brain barrier (BBB) main mechanism of protection relates to the abundance of tight junctions (TJs) and efflux pumps. Although BBB is crucial for healthy brain protection against toxins, it also leads to failure in a devastating disease...

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Published in:Technology in Cancer Research & Treatment 2022-03, Vol.21, p.15330338221080974-15330338221080974
Main Authors: Mehrabian, Amin, Mashreghi, Mohammad, Dadpour, Saba, Badiee, Ali, Arabi, Leila, Hoda Alavizadeh, Seyedeh, Alia Moosavian, Seyedeh, Reza Jaafari, Mahmoud
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Blood-brain barrier
Brain - metabolism
Brain cancer
Brain Neoplasms - drug therapy
Brain Neoplasms - metabolism
Brain tumors
Clinical trials
Drug Delivery Systems - methods
Humans
Lipophilic
Liposomes - metabolism
Nanoparticles
Nanoparticles - chemistry
Protein transport
Review
Tight junctions
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Summary:Our brain is protected by physio-biological barriers. The blood–brain barrier (BBB) main mechanism of protection relates to the abundance of tight junctions (TJs) and efflux pumps. Although BBB is crucial for healthy brain protection against toxins, it also leads to failure in a devastating disease like brain cancer. Recently, nanocarriers have been shown to pass through the BBB and improve patients’ survival rates, thus becoming promising treatment strategies. Among nanocarriers, inorganic nanocarriers, solid lipid nanoparticles, liposomes, polymers, micelles, and dendrimers have reached clinical trials after delivering promising results in preclinical investigations. The size of these nanocarriers is between 10 and 1000 nm and is modified by surface attachment of proteins, peptides, antibodies, or surfactants. Multiple research groups have reported transcellular entrance as the main mechanism allowing for these nanocarriers to cross BBB. Transport proteins and transcellular lipophilic pathways exist in BBB for small and lipophilic molecules. Nanocarriers cannot enter via the paracellular route, which is limited to water-soluble agents due to the TJs and their small pore size. There are currently several nanocarriers in clinical trials for the treatment of brain cancer. This article reviews challenges as well as fitting attributes of nanocarriers for brain tumor treatment in preclinical and clinical studies.
ISSN:1533-0346
1533-0338
DOI:10.1177/15330338221080974