Combination of photothermal therapy and nanoparticle-mediated chemotherapy for the treatment of glioblastoma.

• Grant number: 24/16469-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2024
• End date: November 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics
• Principal Investigator: Valtencir Zucolotto
• Grantee: Ana Julia Renuncio Bodanese
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física de São Carlos (IFSC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most advanced and aggressive form of primary brain tumor, and finding effective therapies remains a pharmaceutical challenge and an unmet medical need. In this context, the combination of medicine and nanotechnology offers stimulating potential for more efficient approaches against GBM, due to the adjustable physicochemical properties of nanoparticles, such as composition, size distribution, and surface modification. These parameters can be designed to sort therapeutic functionality, such as the conjugation of various therapeutic agents, either covalently or non-covalently, enhancing systemic circulation and biocompatibility, as well as employing passive and active targeting mechanisms to tumor tissues. Furthermore, given the inherent disadvantages of monotherapy for tumor eradication, an increasing number of researchers have utilized photothermal therapy (PTT) in combination with chemotherapy. In this project, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) of Fe3O4 coated with chitosan will be synthesized and loaded with the anticancer drug temozolomide (TMZ) for concomitant delivery to GBM cells. Fe3O4 MNPs exhibit exceptional properties for PTT, generating heat under near-infrared (NIR) radiation and inducing cell death. The resulting nanosystems will be characterized for their physicochemical properties and studied for their biological performance using in vitro protocols.