Delivery of antiangiogenic agents for cancer gene therapy

Current strategies for targeted delivery of bio-active drug molecules in the treatment of brain tumor

Brain tumor is one of the most challenging diseases to treat. The major obstacle in the specific drug delivery to brain is blood-brain barrier (BBB). Mostly available anti-cancer drugs are large hydrophobic molecules which have limited permeability via BBB. Therefore, it is clear that the protective barriers confining the passage of the foreign particles into the brain are the main impediment for the brain drug delivery. Hence, the major challenge in drug development and delivery for the neurological diseases is to design non-invasive nanocarrier systems that can assist controlled and targeted drug delivery to the specific regions of the brain. In this review article, our major focus to treat brain tumor by study numerous strategies includes intracerebral implants, BBB disruption, intraventricular infusion, convection-enhanced delivery, intra-arterial drug delivery, intrathecal drug delivery, injection, catheters, pumps, microdialysis, RNA interference, antisense therapy, gene therapy, monoclonal/cationic antibodies conjugate, endogenous transporters, lipophilic analogues, prodrugs, efflux transporters, direct conjugation of antitumor drugs, direct targeting of liposomes, nanoparticles, solid-lipid nanoparticles, polymeric micelles, dendrimers and albumin-based drug carriers.

Nanotherapeutics in angiogenesis: synthesis and in vivo assessment of drug efficacy and biocompatibility in zebrafish embryos

BACKGROUND

Carbon nanotubes have shown broad potential in biomedical applications, given their unique mechanical, optical, and chemical properties. In this pilot study, carbon nanotubes have been explored as multimodal drug delivery vectors that facilitate antiangiogenic therapy in zebrafish embryos.

METHODS

Three different agents, ie, an antiangiogenic binding site (cyclic arginine-glycin-easpartic acid), an antiangiogenic drug (thalidomide), and a tracking dye (rhodamine), were conjugated onto single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT). The biodistribution, efficacy, and biocompatibility of these triple functionalized SWCNT were tested in mammalian cells and validated in transparent zebrafish embryos.

RESULTS

Accumulation of SWCNT-associated nanoconjugates in blastoderm cells facilitated drug delivery applications. Mammalian cell xenograft assays demonstrated that these antiangiogenic SWCNT nanoconjugates specifically inhibited ectopic angiogenesis in the engrafted zebrafish embryos.

CONCLUSION

This study highlights the potential of using SWCNT for generating efficient nanotherapeutics.