Comparison of five different targeting ligands to enhance accumulation of liposomes into the brain

In many different studies nanocarriers modified with targeting ligands have been used to target to the brain. Many ligands have been successful, but it is difficult to compare results from different studies to determine which targeting ligand is the best. Therefore, we selected five targeting ligands (transferrin, RI7217, COG133, angiopep-2, and CRM197) and compared their ability to target liposomes to the brain in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, only CRM197-modified liposomes were able to bind to murine endothelial cells (bEnd.3). Both CRM197 and RI7217-modified liposomes associated with human endothelial cells (hCMEC/D3). In vivo, uptake of targeted liposomes was tested at 12h after iv injection. For some of the ligands, additional time points of 1 and 6h were tested. Only the RI7217 was able to significantly enhance brain uptake in vivo at all time points. Uptake in the brain capillaries was up to 10 times higher compared to untargeted liposomes, and uptake in the brain parenchyma was up to 4.3 times higher. Additionally, these results show that many targeting ligands that have been described for brain targeting, do not target to the brain in vivo when coupled to a liposomal delivery vehicle.