Predicting In Vivo Payloads Delivery using a Blood-brain Tumor-barrier in a Dish.

Highly selective by nature, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is essential for the brain homeostasis in physiological conditions. However, in the context of brain tumors, the molecular selectivity of BBB also shields the neoplastic cells by blocking the delivery of peripherally administered chemotherapies. The development of novel drugs (including nanoparticles) targeting malignant brain tumors ideally requires the use of preclinical animal models to study the drug's transcytosis and antitumor efficacy.

Multifunctional porous silicon nanoparticles for cancer theranostics.

Nanomaterials provide a unique platform for the development of theranostic systems that combine diagnostic imaging modalities with a therapeutic payload in a single probe. In this work, dual-labeled iRGD-modified multifunctional porous silicon nanoparticles (PSi NPs) were prepared from dibenzocyclooctyl (DBCO) modified PSi NPs by strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC) click chemistry. Hydrophobic antiangiogenic drug, sorafenib, was loaded into the modified PSi NPs to enhance the drug dissolution rate and improve cancer therapy.

Tumour homing peptide-functionalized porous silicon nanovectors for cancer therapy.

Tumour targeting nanoparticles (NPs) have demonstrated great potential for enhancing anticancer drug delivery to tumour sites and for reducing the side effects of chemotherapy. However, many nanoparticulate delivery systems still lack efficient tumour accumulation. In this work, we present a porous silicon (PSi) nanovector functionalized with a tumour-homing peptide, which targets the mammary-derived growth inhibitor (MDGI) expressing cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo, thereby enhancing the accumulation of the NPs in the tumours.