A nanoparticle-based delivery system is being developed in the UK as a potential means of bypassing the blood brain barrier and improve the treatment of central nervous system diseases such as brain cancer.

In medicine the ability to create and manipulate nanoscale particles is beginning to revolutionize the production and delivery of drugs, particularly in terms of targeted therapeutics.

One example of such work is research being conducted by scientists at the University of Portsmouth, in the UK. The three-year project, which is funded by a £451,000 ($880,000) grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, is using polymer-based nanoparticles to modify a naturally occurring peptide capable of creating temporary openings in the blood-brain barrier, allowing for improved drug delivery.

Read more at in-Pharmatechnologist