Multifunctional lipidic nanocarriers for effective therapy of glioblastoma: recent advances in stimuli-responsive, receptor and subcellular targeted approaches

Abstract

Background Glioblastoma, or glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), remains a fatal cancer type despite the remarkable progress in understanding the genesis and propagation of the tumor. Current treatment modalities, comprising mainly of surgery followed by adjuvant chemoradiation, are insufficient for improving patients' survival owing to existing hurdles, including the blood–brain barrier (BBB). In contemporary practice, the prospect of long-term survival or cure continues to be a challenge for patients suffering from GBM. This review provides an insight into the drug delivery strategies and the significant efforts made in lipid-based nanoplatform research to circumvent the challenges in optimal drug delivery in GBM. Area covered Owing to the unique properties of lipid-based nanoplatforms and advancements in clinical translation, this article describes the application of various stimuli-responsive lipid nanocarriers and tumor subcellular organelle-targeted therapy to give an idea about the strategies that can be applied to enhance site-specific drug delivery for GBM. Furthermore, active targeting of drugs via surface-modified lipid-based nanostructures and recent findings in alternative therapeutic platforms such as gene therapy, immunotherapy, and multimodal therapy have also been overviewed. Expert opinion Lipid-based nanoparticles stand out among the other nanocarriers explored for GBM drug delivery, as they support both passive and active drug targeting by crossing/bypassing the BBB at the same time minimizing toxicity and projects better pharmacological parameters. Although these nanocarriers could be a plausible choice for treating GBM, in-depth research is essential to advance neuro-oncology research and enhance outcomes in patients with brain tumors.

Lipid-Based Nanoparticles as a Pivotal Delivery Approach in Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) Therapy

“…As a result, the off-target side effects were reduced. It was also observed from various studies that for the treatment of brain cancer, LNPs were administered by oral, intravenous as well as intranasal delivery [ 156 ]. The cellular uptake of LNPs by the oral route was already mentioned in Section 2 .…”

“…Similar route and the associated approaches were employed for targeting breast, pancreas, and prostate cancer cells [ 24 , 158 ]. During intranasal administration for brain targeting, the LNPs binds with the mucus layer, which were then taken up by the neurons and translocated in the nerve axons to enter into brain cells, where the LNPs get degraded by the enzymes and drugs get released [ 156 ]. LNPs also ensure distinct drug delivery to the lesion site of the colon and rectum for the treatment of colorectal cancer.…”

Current perspectives of artificial oxygen carriers as red blood cell substitutes: a review of old to cutting-edge technologies using in vitro and in vivo assessments

“…Hb vesicles are composed of cholesterol, neo-red cells, neohemocytes, or phospholipids (liposomes). Liposomes are deliberated first-generation nanoparticles, which are lipid-based (Hegde et al 2022 ) and developed to produce nano-size liposome-encapsulated Hb. Moreover, sub-micron-sized (100–200 nm diameter) liposomes were surface modified with PEG to decline opsonization and increase its circulation lifetime to 60 h, thus resulting in shortened scavenging of NO due to an additional encapsulate component.…”

New phase therapeutic pursuits for targeted drug delivery in glioblastoma multiforme

“…Liposome-based nanoformulations, amphiphilic micelles, dendrimers, and polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) have all been created in an attempt to overcome major challenges in GB therapy [ 66 ]. Despite the fact that they have a high drug loading capacity, low toxic behaviour, biocompatibility, controlled release behaviour, resistance to drug degradation, stability, and flexibility for drug delivery via a variety of routes, lipid-based or lipidic nano-carriers are still a popular choice for drug delivery systems [ 67 ].…”