H2020Individual fellowship2019–2021

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

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2019-07-01 → 2021-06-30
EU contribution
€147,815
Participants
1
Scheme
MSCA-IF

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

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

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.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Therapeutic drug delivery to the brain remains an unsolved challenge that limits the treatment of neurological and brain diseases, such as Glioblastoma, Parkinson and stroke. The main limitation is in the ability of the therapeutic drugs to cross the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB). To overcome this limitation, scientists present hyperthermia as an approach to overcome this limitation. Although this approach show promising results, the studies were not focused on understanding and combining the temperature raise during the BBB opening. Thus, the possibility of using this temperature rise to both improve the BBB opening performance and to exploit it to treat brain diseases is not used. For the aforementioned to be actualized, this project will bring the latest advances in intracellular temperature and nano-thermometry to a deeper understanding of the role of temperature in the BBB opening and its possible utilization in the treatment of brain diseases, such as glioblastoma. Thus, with the effort of the host organization (world leader in develop of nanomedicine platforms) and the experienced researcher (expert in nano-thermometry), two important objectives will be achieved under this Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship: (1) detailed studies and understanding of both the intracellular temperature and extracellular temperature needed for the BBB opening and (2) design and synthesis of the nano-complex for simultaneously BBB opening and the release “in real time and on demand” of therapeutic drugs for glioblastoma treatment in vivo. The outcome of this proposal will represent an important step forward in the field of brain drug delivery, that will not only improve the applications of nanotechnology in glioblastoma treatment, but will also facilitate the overcoming of the actual limitations in the treatment of different brain diseases.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • CENTRO DE NEUROCIENCIAS E BIOLOGIACELULAR ASSOCIACAO · COIMBRACoordinatorPortugal

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union