Summary
Malignant brain tumors, whether arising within the brain or invading the brain from other tissues, are difficult to treat. Conventional chemotherapy drugs do not reach therapeutic levels in brain tumor tissue, and do not remain in brain tumor tissue for long enough to enter brain tumor cells and kill them. As a consequence, these chemotherapy drugs are not effective at treating malignant brain tumors growing in patients, even though these drugs are effective at killing brain tumor cells growing in culture.
This invention claims that intravenously administered functionalized polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers of certain sizes can selectively cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) of malignant brain tumors, and can accumulate over time within individual brain tumor cells. Gadolinium and fluorescent probe conjugated dendrimers with these properties can be used for simultaneous magnetic resonance and fluorescence imaging of brain tumor cells. Since these nanoparticles possess numerous additional surface functional groups, in addition to being useful for multi-modality imaging, functionalized dendrimers can also be useful for the simultaneous delivery of cytotoxic drugs and inhibitors of tumor cell metabolic or migratory pathways.
Market:
In 2008, it is estimated that malignant tumors of the brain and spinal cord will account for about 1.5% of all cancers and 2.3% of all expected cancer-related deaths.
Feb. 1, 2012
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