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Topic: Brain tumor cell invasion and metastasis: anatomical, biological and clinical considerations

Tailored nanocarriers and bioconjugates for combating glioblastoma and
other brain tumors

Fatema ELAmrawy , Amr A. Othman , Chris Adkins , Aliaa Helmy , Mohamed I. Nounou 1,3
1
1
1
2
1 Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21521, Egypt.
2 Department of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, Health Sciences Center, School of Pharmacy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA.
3 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Appalachian College of Pharmacy, Oakwood, VA 24631, USA.
Correspondence to: Dr. Mohamed I. Nounou, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Appalachian College of Pharmacy, Oakwood, VA 24631, USA.
E-mail: nounou@acp.edu

Dr. Mohamed I. Nounou serves the Appalachian College of Pharmacy (Oakwood, VA, USA) as an assistant
professor of pharmaceutical sciences. His current research is focused on brain drug delivery, non-viral gene
delivery, weight loss management, topical and transdermal drug delivery and quality of pharmaceuticals,
nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals.

A B S T R AC T
Worldwide, the incidence of primary brain tumors is on the rise. Unfortunately, noninvasive drug therapy is hampered by poor access
of most drugs to the brain due to the insurmountable blood-brain barrier (BBB). Nanotechnology holds great promise for noninvasive
therapy of severe brain diseases. Furthermore, recent bioconjugation strategies have enabled the invasion of the BBB via tailored-designed
bioconjugates either with targeting moieties or alterations in the physicochemical and/or the pharmacokinetic parameters of central
nervous system (CNS) active pharmaceutical ingredients. Multifunctional systems and new entities are being developed to target brain
cells and tumor cells to resist the progression of brain tumors. Direct conjugation of an FDA-approved drug with a targeting moiety,
diagnostic moiety, or pharmacokinetic-modifying moiety represents another current approach in combating brain tumors and metastases.
Finally, genetic engineering, stem cells, and vaccinations are innovative nontraditional approaches described in different patents for the
management of brain tumors and metastases. This review summarizes the recent technologies and patent applications in the past five years
for the noninvasive treatment of glioblastoma and other brain tumors. Till now, there has been no optimal strategy to deliver therapeutic
agents to the CNS for the treatment of brain tumors and metastases. Intensive research efforts are ongoing to bring novel CNS delivery
systems to potential clinical application.
Key words: Glioblastoma；brain delivery；blood-brain barrier；nanotechnology；novel treatment

INTRODUCTION “karkinos,” a Greek word for “crab/cancer,” because he noted
that these tumors had tentacles reminiscent of the legs of a crab.
[4]
The central nervous system (CNS) was first described in the
Edwin Smith papyrus about 3,600 years ago. Tumors and According to GLOBOCAN 2012, the number of new cases
[1,2]
cancer were described in this papyrus, as well as in the Ebers diagnosed with brain tumors were 256,000 for both sexes, out of
papyrus, dating back to 1,300 BC. [1-3] Hippocrates, the father 14.1 million total cancer cases. The incidence of brain tumors
[5]
of Western Medicine, was the first to use the terminology is higher in men than in women. The highest incidence rates
[5]
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How to cite this article: ELAmrawy F, Othman A, Adkins C, Helmy
A, Nounou M. Tailored nanocarriers and bioconjugates for combating
glioblastoma and other brain tumors. J Cancer Metastasis Treat
DOI: 2016;2:112-22.
10.20517/2394-4722.2015.78
Received: 17-10-2015; Accepted: 15-12-2015.

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