Evaluation of poly(glycerol adipate) nanoparticle uptake in an in vitro 3-D brain tumor co-culture model

A nanoparticle drug delivery system designed for brain tumor therapy has shown promising tumor cell selectivity in a novel cell culture model devised by University of Nottingham scientists.

The results of this research, which was conducted by Martin Garnett, Ph.D., and colleagues, appear in the journal Experimental Biology and Medicine.

The nanoparticles used in this study were prepared from a novel biodegradable polymer poly(glycerol adipate). The polymer has been further modified to enhance incorporation of drugs and make the nanoparticles more effective.

To test the nanoparticles, the investigators developed a new in vitro system that should prove useful in a variety of brain cancer studies. "The interaction of tumor cells with brain cells varies between different tumors and different locations within the brain," explained Terence Parker, Ph.D., another investigator involved in this study. "Using three-dimensional culture models is therefore important in ensuring that the behavior of cells in culture is similar to that seen in real life."

Tumor cell aggregates have been used as cell culture models of cancer cells for many years. Similarly, thin brain slices from newborn rats can be cultured for weeks and are an important tool in brain biology. In the cell co-culture model now reported, these two techniques have been brought together for the first time. Brain tumor cell aggregates were labeled with fluorescent iron microparticles and grown on normal newborn rat brain tissue slices.

The double-cell labeling technique allowed investigation of tumor cell invasion into brain tissue by either fluorescence or electron microscopy from the same samples. Using these techniques, the tumor aggregates were found to invade the brain slices in a similar manner to tumors in the body.

This work is detailed in the paper, "Evaluation of poly(glycerol adipate) nanoparticle uptake in an in vitro 3-D brain tumor co-culture model." An abstract of this paper is available through PubMed. View abstract.