Development of nanoparticle loaded microneedles for drug delivery to a brain tumour resection site.

Systemic drug delivery to the central nervous system (CNS) has been historically impeded by the presence of the blood brain barrier rendering many therapies inefficacious to any cancer cells residing within the brain. Therefore, local drug delivery systems are being developed to overcome this shortfall. Here we have manufactured polymeric microneedle (MN) patches, which can be anchored within a resection cavity site following surgical removal of a tumour such as isocitrate dehydrogenase wild type glioblastoma (GBM).

Detection of Label-Free Drugs within Brain Tissue Using Orbitrap Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry as a Complement to Neuro-Oncological Drug Delivery.

Historically, pre-clinical neuro-oncological drug delivery studies have exhaustively relied upon overall animal survival as an exclusive measure of efficacy. However, with no adopted methodology to both image and quantitate brain parenchyma penetration of label-free drugs, an absence of efficacy typically hampers clinical translational potential, rather than encourage re-formulation of drug compounds using nanocarriers to achieve greater tissue penetration. OrbiSIMS, a next-generation analytical instrument for label-free imaging, combines the high resolving power of an OrbiTrapTM mass spectrometer with the relatively high spatial resolution of secondary ion mass spectrometry.

Etoposide and olaparib polymer-coated nanoparticles within a bioadhesive sprayable hydrogel for post-surgical localised delivery to brain tumours.

Glioblastoma is a malignant brain tumour with a median survival of 14.6 months from diagnosis. Despite maximal surgical resection and concurrent chemoradiotherapy, reoccurrence is inevitable.