ABSTRACT
Glioblastoma is considered as the most aggressive type of gliomas. Its invasive character involves adjacent tissues and hinders the treatment procedure. Although surgical resection followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy have been the standard therapeutic protocol, the incompetency of detection methods to delineate the exact tumor margins results in recurrence of the tumor. NKCC1 [Sodium-Potassium-Chloride Cotransporter] is a transmembrane channel, which overexpress in pathological conditions like glioma and helps the tumor cells to change their shape for easier migration. Such a channel can play the role of a specific marker for infiltrating tumor cells and using a paired moiety against this transporter may possibly improve the precision of detection methods including Magnetic Resonance Imaging [MRI] contrast agents like SPNs [Superparamagnetic nanoparticles]. Bumetanide, under the trade name of Bumex, is a diuretic drug that can block NKCC1. It has been demonstrated that in in-vivo context, bumetanide have the potency to decrease the migration of glioma cells. We have hypothesized that bumetanide can pair with NKCC1 and accumulate around the glioma cells. Hence, it seems that MRI contrast agents loaded with bumex on their surface can be proposed for more accurate tumor margins detection whilst providing additional therapeutic effects. The proposed theranostic nanostructure may further be improved and tested both in-vitro and in-vivo to prove its applicability