Repurposed Chemo, Wrapped in Old Nanoparticles, Reaches Brain Tumors in Mice

University of Manchester researchers used cheap, off-patent liposomes to carry doxorubicin past the blood-brain barrier after glioblastoma surgery.

Researchers at the University of Manchester loaded doxorubicin, a chemotherapy drug that normally cannot cross into the brain, into liposome nanoparticles and gave it intravenously to mice as soon as 15 minutes after glioblastoma tumor removal. The drug accumulated at the tumor margin and stayed there for up to 72 hours. The study, published in Science Translational Medicine on July 29, 2026, lists Kostas Kostarelos and Thomas Kisby as co-corresponding authors.

The mechanism turns on timing. The team attributes the uptake to acute disruption of the blood-brain barrier caused by the surgery itself. Nanoparticles given between 15 minutes and 72 hours after resection reached the tumor site; by 7 days the window had closed and no accumulation was detectable. Deliberately, the researchers chose established, out-of-patent liposomes rather than sophisticated custom particles.

Glioblastoma is the deadliest primary brain tumor in adults, with recurrence close to 100% after surgery. A delivery method built from cheap, already-available components matters here: it points toward a treatment that could be affordable and manufacturable rather than a boutique therapy few can reach. Making an existing drug work where it previously could not extends the reach of medicine we already have.

The important caveat is stage. This is a preclinical mouse study, not a human trial, and human trials have not begun. The team hopes to move toward trials and partner with biotech companies, and suggests the surgical window might also carry cell or antibody therapies, though that remains untested.

Source: Fierce Biotech