Current therapy for glioblastoma multiforme is insufficient, with nearly universal recurrence. Available drug therapies are unsuccessful because they fail to penetrate through the region of the brain containing tumor cells and they fail to kill the cells most responsible for tumor development and therapy resistance, brain cancer stem cells (BCSCs). To address these challenges, we combined two major advances in technology: ( i ) brain-penetrating polymeric nanoparticles that can be loaded with drugs and are optimized for intracranial convection-enhanced delivery and ( ii ) repurposed compounds, previously used in Food and Drug Administration-approved products, which were identified through library screening to target BCSCs. Using fluorescence imaging and positron emission tomography, we demonstrate that brain-penetrating nanoparticles can be delivered to large intracranial volumes in both rats and pigs. We identified several agents (from Food and Drug Administration-approved products) that potently inhibit proliferation and self-renewal of BCSCs. When loaded into brain-penetrating nanoparticles and administered by convection-enhanced delivery, one of these agents, dithiazanine iodide, significantly increased survival in rats bearing BCSC-derived xenografts. This unique approach to controlled delivery in the brain should have a significant impact on treatment of glioblastoma multiforme and suggests previously undescribed routes for drug and gene delivery to treat other diseases of the central nervous system.

No abstract

The avidin–biotin interaction permits rapid and nearly irreversible noncovalent linkage between biotinylated molecules and avidin-modified substrates. We designed a biotinylated radioligand intended for use in the detection of avidin-modified polymer nanoparticles in tissue with positron emission tomography (PET). Using an F-18 labeled prosthetic group, [18F]4-fluorobenzylamine, and a commercially available biotin derivate, NHS-PEG4-biotin, [18F]-fluorobenzylamide-poly(ethylene glycol)4-biotin ([18F]NPB4) was prepared with high purity and specific activity. The attachment of the [18F]NPB4 radioligand to avidin-modified poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles was tested by using PET imaging to measure the kinetics of convection-enhanced delivery (CED) of nanoparticles of varying size to the rat brain. PET imaging enabled the direct observation of nanoparticle delivery by measurement of the spatial volume of distribution of radiolabeled nanoparticles as a function of time, both during and after the infusion. This work thus validates new methods for radiolabeling PEG-biotin derivatives and also provides insight into the fate of nanoparticles that have been infused directly into the brain.

Recently, near-infrared phosphors that can be applied in many fields such as night vision, agriculture, and bio-applications have attracted considerable interest in the research field worldwide. Herein, a multi-functional and...

Energy barriers of the key annealing reactions of neutral and charged point defects in SiC are calculated with ab initio density functional theory methods. In order to effectively search for the lowest energy migration paths the preliminary path is first established based on ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations. The energy barrier of each hop is then calculated via climbing image nudged elastic band methods for paths guided by the AIMD simulations. The final paths and barriers are determined by comparing different pathways. The annealing reactions have important implications in understanding the amorphization, recovery, and other aspects of the radiation response of SiC. The results are compared with the literature data and experimental results on SiC recovery and amorphization. We propose that the C interstitial and Si antisite annealing reaction may provide a critical barrier that governs both the recovery stage III and amorphization processes.