Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 30, 2026

In Vitro Permeation of FITC-loaded Ferritins Across a Rat Blood-brain Barrier: a Model to Study the Delivery of Nanoformulated Molecules
Published on: August 22, 2016
Transferrin- and transferrin-receptor-antibody-modified nanoparticles enable drug delivery across the blood-brain
Karsten Ulbrich1, Telli Hekmatara, Elisabeth Herbert
1Institute for Pharmaceutical Technology, Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany.
Abstract:
Human serum albumin (HSA) nanoparticles were manufactured by desolvation. Transferrin or transferrin receptor monoclonal antibodies (OX26 or R17217) were covalently coupled to the HSA nanoparticles using the NHS-PEG-MAL-5000 crosslinker. Loperamide was used as a model drug since it normally does not cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and was bound to the nanoparticles by adsorption. Loperamide-loaded HSA nanoparticles with covalently bound transferrin or the OX26 or R17217 antibodies induced significant anti-nociceptive effects in the tail-flick test in ICR (CD-1) mice after intravenous injection, demonstrating that transferrin or these antibodies covalently coupled to HSA nanoparticles are able to transport loperamide and possibly other drugs across the BBB. Control loperamide-loaded HSA nanoparticles with IgG2a antibodies yielded only marginal effects.
Related Concept Videos
The Blood-brain Barrier
Physiological Barriers
The blood endothelial barrier is the most porous of these. It allows all small ionized, un-ionized, and lipophilic molecules to pass through the endothelial lining into the interstitial space...
Factors Affecting Drug Distribution: Physiological Barriers
The capillary endothelial barrier allows only smaller molecules below 600 Da (Daltons) to pass through. It also restricts drugs like heparin that are bound to blood components, limiting their movement within the bloodstream.
The...
Modified-Release Drug Delivery Systems: Site-Targeted
The Early Endosome: Endocytosis of Transferrin

