Nanotechnology: A Promising Approach for Delivery of Neuroprotective Drugs

Abstract

Central nervous system (CNS) disorders especially neurodegenerative disorders are the major challenge for public health and demand the great attention of researchers to protect people against them. In past few decades, different treatment strategies have been adopted, but their therapeutic efficacy are not enough and have only shown partial mitigation of symptoms. Blood-brain barrier (BBB) and blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BSCFB) guard the CNS from harmful substances and pose as the major challenges in delivering drugs into CNS for treatment of CNS complications such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Huntington's disease (HD), stroke, epilepsy, brain tumors, multiple sclerosis (MS), and encephalitis, etc. Nanotechnology has come out as an exciting and promising new platform of treating neurological disorders and has shown great potential to overcome problems related to the conventional treatment approaches. Molecules can be nanoengineered to carry out multiple specific functions such as to cross the BBB, target specific cell or signaling pathway, respond to endogenous stimuli, and act as a vehicle for gene delivery, support nerve regeneration and cell survival. In present review, the role of nanocarrier systems such as liposomes, micelles, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNPs), dendrimers, and nanoemulsions for delivery of various neurotherapeutic agents has been discussed, besides this, their mechanism of action, and nanoformulation of different neuroprotective agents like curcumin, edaravone, nerve growth factors in CNS disorders like Alzheimer's, Parkinsonism, epilepsy, stroke, and brain tumors has been reviewed.

Intranasal drug delivery: opportunities and toxicologic challenges during drug development

“…They facilitate a more targeted and efficient brain delivery and reduce side effects at the same time [223]. The advantage of using nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems has been shown for different CNS indications, such as epilepsy, psychosis-related disorders and glioma [152,[223][224][225][226][227].…”

Role of Extracellular Vesicles in Autoimmune Pathogenesis

“…Conversely, EVs can cross the BBB to affect the migration of immune cells, which, in turn, promotes disease progression in MS. For example, microglia, astrocytes, and platelets shed exosomes containing metalloproteinases and caspase-1 in response to stimulation by proinflammatory cytokines, such as TNF. It is well-known that these enzymes are able to induce BBB disruption and promote lymphocyte and myeloid cell migration into the CNS (48,49). Meanwhile, in MS patients, Barry et al, found that EVs released from activated T cells can promote monocyte recruitment and upregulate intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in endothelial cells as well as macrophage-1 antigen (Mac-1) expression in monocytes.…”

Formulation of Quaternized Aminated Chitosan Nanoparticles for Efficient Encapsulation and Slow Release of Curcumin

“…These nano-sized systems have a remarkable aptitude for the targeted delivery of a specific drug dose to specific cells (such as cancer cells), without disturbing the physiology of the normal cells [ 9 ]. In addition, the targeted nano systems are able to ameliorate poor drug diffusion/release profiles, improve drug solubility, and boost bio-distribution and immunogenicity [ 10 ].…”