Tumor-Targeted Nanodrugs for the Treatment of Primary Brain Tumors

Malignant primary brain tumors are notorious for being tumors with high recurrence rates, poor prognosis, and exceedingly difficult to treat. The blood–brain barrier (BBB) poses a significant challenge in treating brain tumors, as it is difficult for chemotherapeutic drugs to bypass it. Nanoparticles can overcome the BBB due to their small size and hydrophilic shell and deliver therapies to specific sites by binding ligand substrates to their shell. Strategies for nanodrug delivery include passive and active mechanisms with the addition of the recently developed magnetic targeting. Cancer therapy involving nanoparticles includes many different aspects ranging from the transport of chemotherapeutic drugs like doxorubicin in nanodrug carriers, the use of magnetic and metallic nanoparticles, inducing new forms of cell death such as ferroptosis in tumor cells using nanoparticles, etc. Lastly, ongoing clinical trials of nanotechnology targeting cancers will be discussed.