Development of a Bifunctional Aptamer Targeting the Transferrin Receptor and Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule (EpCAM) for the Treatment of Brain Cancer Metastases.

The treatment of brain disorders is greatly hindered by the presence of the blood-brain barrier, which restricts the overwhelming majority of small molecules from entering the brain. A novel approach by which to overcome this barrier is to target receptor mediated transport mechanisms present on the endothelial cell membranes. Therefore, we fused an aptamer that binds to epithelial cell adhesion molecule-expressing cancer cells to an aptamer targeting the transferrin receptor.