Abstract
The treatment of brain tumours is often a challenging task due to the low
permeability of drugs through the blood-brain barrier and their poor penetration into
the tumour tissues. Liposomes enhance the delivery of chemotherapeutics to the brain
without using any invasive approach. Liposomes are biomimetic nanocarriers that
exhibit good biocompatibility, high loading capacity, and the ability to reduce the
amount of encapsulated drugs. It is a promising candidate performing a dual function
of both drug delivery and diagnosis. This approach helps to locate the tumour tissue
with appropriate biodistribution of liposomes. The theranostic liposomes provide a
platform for imaging tumour cells for early diagnosis and simultaneously, delivery to
the brain enhances the targeting delivery. Fluorescent dyes, magnetic resonance
imaging, and nuclear imaging are the few approaches used in the diagnosis of tumour
cells. A new approach involving semi-conductor-based quantum dots has emerged as
an imaging reagent for brain tissues. The theranostic application of liposomes provides
the real-time monitoring of the administered drug, reducing the risk of under-or overdosing and allowing for more customized therapy regimens. This chapter highlights the
techniques for directing liposomes to solid tumours in-depth, potential targets in cancer
cells, such as extracellular and intracellular targets, and targets in the tumour
microenvironment or vasculature. Additionally, this chapter also concludes recent
efforts for improving anticancer drug delivery at the tumour site using surface
functionalization techniques, and the different contrast agents which help in diagnosis
are discussed.
Keywords: Liposomes, MRI, Nuclear Imaging, Surface Modification, Theranostics.