Improving drug delivery to the brain and glioblastoma treatment using temperature.

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Nano_Brain (Improving drug delivery to the brain and glioblastoma treatment using temperature.)

Reporting period: 2019-07-01 to 2021-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Therapeutic drug delivery to the brain remains an unsolved challenge that limits the treatment of neurological and brain diseases, such as Glioblastoma, Parkinson’s and stroke1. The main limitation is in the ability of therapeutic drugs to cross the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB). The BBB consists of tightly interconnected endothelial cells that form the circumferential interior lining of the walls of the cerebral blood vessels. Generally, BBB’s tight regulation of permeability prevents the entrance of more than the 98% of small molecules including therapeutics.

Currently, the aforementioned limitation limits the treatment of neurological diseases such as Glioblastoma, Parkinson and Stroke. With the lifespan expectancy currently increasing, finding those age-related diseases will be an important achievement for the society.

The overall objective are the detailed studies and understanding of both the intracellular temperature of the BBB endothelial cells temperature needed for the BBB opening and (2) design and synthesis of the nanocomplex capable of generate the temperature needed for the opening and for simultaneously release “in real-time and on-demand” of therapeutic drugs for glioblastoma treatment in vivo.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

This summary covers three months of the fellowship due to its termination by the beneficiary. The beneficiary was awarded the RETOS national Spanish grant and now is the principal Investigator at IMDEA Nanoscience located in Madrid, SPAIN.

During these months, the nanoparticle necessary for the project has been designed and obtained. This nanoparticle has the capability of generating and measuring heat simultaneously. Thus, the nanoparticle is capable of opening the BBB and after future modification, it will be capable of release on demand anti-cancer drugs.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Expected results until the end of the project (24 months)
- In vitro intracellular temperature measurements for BBB opening
- Translation to in vivo model
- Design the GNR nano-complex for glioblastoma treatment