Brain-targeted Nano-architectures for Efficient Drug Delivery and Sensitization in Glioblastoma

Due to ineffective diagnosis and analysis, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is still the most aggressive form of all cancers. Standard therapy for GBM comprises resection surgery following chemo and radiotherapy, which offers less efficacious treatment to the malignant nature of glioma. Several treatment strategies involving gene therapy, immunotherapy, and angiogenesis inhibition have been employed recently as alternative therapeutics. The main drawback of chemotherapy is resistance, which is mainly due to the enzymes involved in the therapeutic pathways. Our objective is to provide a clear insight into various nano-architectures used in the sensitization of GBM and their importance in drug delivery and bioavailability. This review includes the overview and summary of articles from Pubmed and Scopus search engines. The present era's synthetic and natural drugs used in the treatment of GBM are facing poor Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) permeability issues due to greater particle size. This problem can be resolved by using the nanostructures that showcase high specificity to cross the BBB with their nano-scale size and broader surface area. Nano-architectures act as promising tools for effective brain-targeted drug delivery at a concentration well below the final dose of free drug, thus resulting in safe therapeutic effects and reversal of chemoresistance. The present review focuses on the mechanisms involved in the resistance of glioma cells to chemotherapeutic agents, nano-pharmacokinetics, diverse types of nano-architectures used for potent delivery of the medicine and sensitization in GBM, their recent clinical advances, potential challenges, and future perspective.

Automated summary

Due to ineffective diagnosis and analysis, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remains the most aggressive form of cancer. Standard therapy for GBM is not very effective in treating the malignant nature of glioma. Recent treatment strategies, such as gene therapy, immunotherapy, and angiogenesis inhibition, show promise as alternative therapeutics. The main drawback of chemotherapy is resistance, which is mainly due to the enzymes involved in the therapeutic pathways.