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Glioblastoma is a malignant brain tumor and leads to death in most patients. Chemotherapy is a common method for brain cancer in clinics. However, the recent advancements in the chemotherapy of brain tumors have not been efficient enough. With the advancement of nanotechnology, the used drugs can enhance chemotherapy efficiency and increase the access to brain cancers. Combination of therapeutic agents has been recently attracted great attention for glioblastoma chemotherapy. One of the early benefits of combination therapies is the high potential to provide synergistic effects and decrease adverse side effects associated with high doses of single anticancer drugs. Therefore, brain tumor treatments with combination drugs can be considered as a crucial approach for avoiding tumor growth. This review investigates current progress in nano-mediated co-delivery of therapeutic agents with focus on glioblastoma chemotherapy prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to improve the therapeutic index of chemotherapeutic drugs on glioblastoma cells through an improved co-drug delivery system. Methotrexate (MTX) and paclitaxel (PTX) were co-loaded into poly (lactic- co -glycolic acid) nanoparticles (PLGA NPs) coated with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and Poloxamer188 (P188). The mean size of the NPs was about 212 nm, with a zeta potential of about −15.7 mV. Encapsulation efficiency (EE%) and drug loading (DL%) were determined to be 72% and 4% for MTX and 85% and 4.9% for PTX, respectively. The prepared NPs were characterized by differential thermal analysis (DTA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Moreover, an in vitro sustained release profile was observed for both drug loaded PLGA NPs. Glioblastoma cellular uptake of the NPs was confirmed by fluorescence microscopy and cell survival rate was investigated through the 3-(4,5-dimethyl thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) method after 48 h of incubation showing IC 50 values of 24.5 μg·mL−1 for PTX and 9.5 μg·mL−1 for MTX for the MTX/PTX co-loaded PLGA nanoparticles coated with PVA/P188 (Co-2 NPs). Apoptosis and necrosis were also studied via flow cytometry, the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay and the amount of anti-apoptotic protein (Bcl-2) expression. Blood compatibility of the co-delivery of PTX and MTX loaded PLGA NPs was investigated using a hemolysis method as well. The co-delivery of PTX and MTX loaded PLGA NPs is promising for the treatment of glioblastoma compared to their respective free drug formulations and, thus, should be further investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]