Keywords

cancer, glioblastoma, blood-brain barrier, liposomes, targeted drug delivery, transferrin

Abstract

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly aggressive brain tumor, and its treatment is further complicated by the high selectivity of the blood–brain barrier (BBB). The scientific community is urgently seeking innovative and effective therapeutic solutions. Liposomes are a promising new tool that has shown potential in addressing the limitations of chemotherapy, such as poor bioavailability and toxicity to healthy cells. However, passive targeting strategies based solely on the physicochemical properties of liposomes have proven ineffective due to a lack of tissue specificity. Accordingly, the upregulation of transferrin receptors (TfRs) in brain tissue has led to the development of TfR-targeted anticancer therapeutics. Currently, one of the most widely adopted methods for improving drug delivery in the treatment of GBM and other neurological disorders is the utilization of active targeting strategies that specifically target this receptor. In this review, we discuss the role of Tf-conjugated liposomes in GBM therapy and present some recent studies investigating the drug delivery efficiency of Tf-liposomes; in addition, we address some challenges currently facing this approach to treatment and present some potential improvement possibilities.

Original Publication Citation

Kawak, P., Sawaftah, N. M. A., Pitt, W. G., & Husseini, G. A. (2023). Transferrin-Targeted Liposomes in Glioblastoma Therapy: A Review. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(17), 13262. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241713262

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2023-08-26

Publisher

MDPI

Language

English

College

Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering

Department

Chemical Engineering

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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