Recent development of contrast agents for magnetic resonance and multimodal imaging of glioblastoma

Abstract

Glioblastoma (GBM) as the most common primary malignant brain tumor exhibits a high incidence and degree of malignancy as well as poor prognosis. Due to the existence of formidable blood–brain barrier (BBB) and the aggressive growth and infiltrating nature of GBM, timely diagnosis and treatment of GBM is still very challenging. Among different imaging modalities, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with merits including high soft tissue resolution, non-invasiveness and non-limited penetration depth has become the preferred tool for GBM diagnosis. Furthermore, multimodal imaging with combination of MRI and other imaging modalities would not only synergistically integrate the pros, but also overcome the certain limitation in each imaging modality, offering more accurate morphological and pathophysiological information of brain tumors. Since contrast agents contribute to amplify imaging signal output for unambiguous pin-pointing of tumors, tremendous efforts have been devoted to advances of contrast agents for MRI and multimodal imaging. Herein, we put special focus on summary of the most recent advances of not only MRI contrast agents including iron oxide-, manganese (Mn)-, gadolinium (Gd)-, 19F- and copper (Cu)-incorporated nanoplatforms for GBM imaging, but also dual-modal or triple-modal nanoprobes. Furthermore, potential obstacles and perspectives for future research and clinical translation of these contrast agents are discussed. We hope this review provides insights for scientists and students with interest in this area. Graphical abstract

Mechanisms of Resistance and Current Treatment Options for Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM)

“…However, multimodal imaging in combination with MRI with other modalities synergistically integrates these results, overcoming the difficulties of each technique, and offering enhanced morphological and pathophysiological information on GBM tumors. Further, in addition to current MRI probes, double- or triple-modal nanoprobes may be utilized in multimodal imaging to improve imaging of the brain GBM sites to enhance GBM therapy and increase the survival of patients [ 223 ].…”

Emerging extracellular vesicle-based carriers for glioblastoma diagnosis and therapy

“…29 A recent study revealed that EVs injected intranasally succeeded at delivering curcumin to the inflammatory site of the brain, offering an effective method for the treatment of brain inflammatory illnesses. 32 Taken together, EVs are emerging and efficient carriers to deliver drugs to the brain and hold great promise for translation to the clinic.…”

Progress and Challenges in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Brain Cancer Using Nanotechnology

“…Therefore, multifunctional nanocomposites in cores can be employed to target tumors using the cell membrane as a “tactical shell” to achieve multimodal imaging. Multimodal imaging, also called multiplexed imaging, is the process of producing signals for more than one imaging method simultaneously. , Multimodal imaging enables the simultaneous examination of multiple molecules, allowing cellular events to be examined simultaneously or their progression to be tracked in real time . In a recent work based on the above idea, bio-orthogonally labeled brain tumor cell membrane-coated nanocomposites were made to diagnose GBM.…”