ABSTRACT
Aim Targeted drug delivery in the brain is the necessary way for the treatment of brain diseases. In our study, a new peptide derived from the rabies vi-rus glycoprotein ( RVG-derived peptide, RDP ) was used as a targeted carrier to modify the curcumin stealth liposomes, and their characteristics and brain targeting effect were studied. Methods The curcumin liposomes were prepared by thin film dispersion. The release test in vitro was conducted to investigate their drug release. Curcumin distribution in several organs of mice was investigated by caudal vein injection of curcumin suspension liquid ( CUR ) , curcumin lipo-somes ( CUR-L) , RDP modified curcumin stealth lipo-somes ( RDP-CUR-L) via HPLC assay at different time points. Results The prepared stealth nano liposomes had a size of around 100 nm, and also had a good dis-persion and reproducibility. The entrapment efficiency was larger than 85%. After caudal vein injection of CUR, CUR-L and RDP-CUR-L in mice respectively, no curcumin was detected in brain of CUR group, and only a little was detected in CUR-L group. Neverthe-less, high concentration of curcumin was detected in RDP-CUR-L group. Conclusion RDP can deliver li-posome into the brain, which may provide a new meth-od for the treatment of brain diseases.