FUSF Funded Research Projects
Delivery of Brain Tumor Penetrating Nanoparticles Across the Blood-Brain Barrier with MRgFUS
Principal Investigator: Richard Price, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia
Co-Investigators: G. Wilson Miller, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Radiology, University of Virginia; Justin Hanes, Ph.D., Professor, Johns Hopkins University
Award: $100,000
Funding Period: April 1, 2011 – December 31, 2012
Abstract: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) has a 5-year survival rate of only 12%, due primarily to the
inability of chemotherapeutic drugs to cross the blood brain barrier (BBB). The goal of this proposal is
to improve GBM therapy by coupling MR-guided BBB opening via focused ultrasound (FUS) and
microbubbles (MBs) with drug-loaded nanoparticles that efficiently penetrate brain tissue. Here, we
will first define FUS pressure thresholds for safe and reversible BBB opening to an MR contrast agent
(gadolinium) in invasive intracranial brain tumors. Next, we will determine optimal conditions for
delivering brain penetrating nanoparticle (BPN) formulations. Once completed, these studies will have
provided the foundation for future studies in which therapeutic BPNs are delivered across the BBB to
inhibit tumor growth and improve animal survival.
Progress Reports: 6-month progress report
