PLGA-Based Nanoparticles for Neuroprotective Drug Delivery in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Abstract

Treatment of neurodegenerative diseases has become one of the most challenging topics of the last decades due to their prevalence and increasing societal cost. The crucial point of the non-invasive therapeutic strategy for neurological disorder treatment relies on the drugs’ passage through the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Indeed, this biological barrier is involved in cerebral vascular homeostasis by its tight junctions, for example. One way to overcome this limit and deliver neuroprotective substances in the brain relies on nanotechnology-based approaches. Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles (PLGA NPs) are biocompatible, non-toxic, and provide many benefits, including improved drug solubility, protection against enzymatic digestion, increased targeting efficiency, and enhanced cellular internalization. This review will present an overview of the latest findings and advances in the PLGA NP-based approach for neuroprotective drug delivery in the case of neurodegenerative disease treatment (i.e., Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s diseases, Amyotrophic Lateral, and Multiple Sclerosis).

The Effect of Oxidative Stress and Memantine-Incorporated Reactive Oxygen Species-Sensitive Nanoparticles on the Expression of N-Methyl-d-aspartate Receptor Subunit 1 in Brain Cancer Cells for Alzheimer’s Disease Application

“…The physiological state of the brain is quite different to that of other organs because the BBB is a primary obstacle for drug delivery to the brain [25,26]. For this reason, various delivery platforms have been investigated to improve the penetration and/or transport of bioactive agents [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][41][42][43][44][45][46][47]. For example, surfactants such as polysorbate 80 have been used to allow nanoparticles or drug carriers to penetrate the BBB [41][42][43][44][45][46].…”

“…Nano-dimensional carriers are characterized by small particle sizes, diversity of customized form, ease of lipophilic drug encapsulation, increased half lives in the body, and targeting of the drug to specific sites of action [31]. In particular, nanoparticles are considered as a promising device to treat neuro-degenerative disease through enhanced drug delivery across the BBB [32][33][34][35]. Liu et al reported that zeolitic imidazolate framework 8-coated Prussian blue nanocomposite could penetrate the BBB and then released quercetin [34].…”

Targeting Cancer Cell Tight Junctions Enhances PLGA-Based Photothermal Sensitizers’ Performance In Vitro and In Vivo

“…Nanoparticles of poly-lactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) loaded with magnesium phthalocyanine were synthesized by the microemulsion "oil-in-water" method. The use of PLGA as a drug carrier, attracts the attention of researchers in modern biomedicine, since it provides a stable and controlled release of the compound, thereby reducing side effects [16][17][18][19][20]. PLGA degrades by hydrolysis of its ester linkages in the presence of water and the by-products, lactic acid and glycolic acid, are non-toxic, biocompatible, and rapidly metabolized in the human body.…”

Nucleolipid Acid-Based Nanocarriers Restore Neuronal Lysosomal Acidification Defects

“…Polymeric or lipid nanoparticles (NPs) were developed to exhibit specific characteristics allowing the uptake into CNS. Mainly, PLGA polyester nanoparticles (diameter∼100 nm) are used to target CNS ( Cunha et al, 2021 ). This pH and enzyme-sensitive polymer releases lactic and glycolic acid residues in a mild acid aqueous environment and has been reported to decrease lysosomal pH efficiently ( Bourdenx et al, 2016 ), ( Zeng et al, 2019 ).…”