Nanoparticles Seek and Destroy Glioblastoma in Mice

MCDB scientist in collaboration with Sanford-Burnham and Salk Institute scientists combine tumor-targeting peptides and nanoparticles to eliminate glioblastoma in a previously untreatable mouse model. In a study published the week of October 3 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, a team of scientists led by Dr. Ruoslahti, combined a tumor-homing peptide, a cell-killing peptide, and a nanoparticle. When administered to mice with glioblastoma that could not otherwise be treated, this new nanosystem eradicated most tumors in one model and significantly delayed tumor development in another.

Erkki Ruoslahti, M.D., Ph.D., distinguished professor in both Sanford-Burnham’s NCI-designated Cancer Center in La Jolla and the Center for Nanomedicine, a Sanford-Burnham collaboration with the University of California, Santa Barbara.