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Purpose: Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) has the potential to become a viable cancer treatment modality, but its clinical translation requires sufficient tumor boron delivery while minimizing nonspecific accumulation., Methods: Thermal sensitive liposomes (TSLs) were designed to have a stable drug payload at physiological temperatures but engineered to have high permeability under mild hyperthermia., Results: We found that TSLs improved the tumor-specific delivery of boronophenylalanine (BPA) and boronated 2-nitroimidazole derivative B-381 in D54 glioma cells. Uniquely, the 2-nitroimidazole moiety extended the tumor retention of boron content compared to BPA., Conclusion: This is the first study to show the delivery of boronated compounds using TSLs for BNCT, and these results will provide the basis of future clinical trials using TSLs for BNCT.

Purpose: Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) has the potential to become a viable cancer treatment modality, but its clinical translation has been limited by the poor tumor selectivity of agents. To address this unmet need, a boronated 2-nitroimidazole derivative (B-381) was synthesized and evaluated for its capability of targeting hypoxic glioma cells., Methods: B-381 has been synthesized from a 1-step reaction. Using D54 and U87 glioma cell lines, the in vitro cytotoxicity and cellular accumulation of B-381 has been evaluated under normoxic and hypoxic conditions compared to L-boronophenylalanine (BPA). Furthermore, tumor retention of B-381 was evaluated in vivo., Results: B-381 had low cytotoxicity in normal and cancer cells. Unlike BPA, B-381 illustrated preferential retention in hypoxic glioma cells compared to normoxic glioma cells and normal tissues in vitro. In vivo, B-381 illustrated significantly higher long-term tumor retention compared to BPA, with 9.5-fold and 6.5-fold higher boron levels at 24 and 48 h, respectively., Conclusions: B-381 represents a new class of BNCT agents in which their selectivity to tumors is based on hypoxic tumor metabolism. Further studies are warranted to evaluate B-381 and similar compounds as preclinical candidates for future BNCT clinical trials for the treatment of glioma.

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a promising cancer therapy modality that utilizes the nuclear capture reaction of epithermal neutrons by boron-10 resulting in a localized nuclear fission reaction and subsequent cell death. Since cellular destruction is limited to approximately the diameter of a single cell, primarily only cells in the neutron field with significant boron accumulation will be damaged. However, the emergence of BNCT as a prominent therapy has in large part been hindered by a paucity of tumor selective boron containing agents. While L-boronophenylalanine and sodium borocaptate are the most commonly investigated clinical agents, new agents are desperately needed due to their suboptimal tumor selectivity. This review will highlight the various strategies to improve tumor boron delivery including: nucleoside and carbohydrate analogs, unnatural amino acids, porphyrins, antibody-dendrimer conjugates, cationic polymers, cell-membrane penetrating peptides, liposomes and nanoparticles.