Abstract
Drug delivery to the brain has been one of the toughest challenges researchers have faced to develop effective treatments for brain diseases. Owing to the blood–brain barrier (BBB), only a small portion of administered drug can reach the brain. A consequence of that is the need to administer a higher dose of the drug, which, expectedly, leads to a variety of unwanted side effects. Research in a variety of different fields has been underway for the past couple of decades to address this very serious and frequently lethal problem. One area of research that has produced optimistic results in recent years is nanomedicine. Nanomedicine is the science birthed by fusing the fields of nanotechnology, chemistry and medicine into one. Many different types of nanomedicine-based drug-delivery systems are currently being studied for the sole purpose of improved drug delivery to the brain. This review puts together and briefly summarizes some of the major breakthroughs in this crusade. Inorganic nanoparticle-based drug-delivery systems, such as gold nanoparticles and magnetic nanoparticles, are discussed, as well as some organic nanoparticulate systems. Amongst the organic drug-delivery nanosystems, polymeric micelles and dendrimers are discussed briefly and solid polymeric nanoparticles are explored in detail.
Highlights
Introduction and BackgroundNaturally occurring products have been used to remedy various diseases and illnesses throughout history [1]
Another study published in 2018 by Abourehab et al showed that the drug Dapoxetine (DPX) loaded in polymeric micelles formed from the PEG-PLGA block copolymer had a higher bioavailability in the brain compared to just the drug alone
Nanotechnology-based drug-delivery systems have been at the forefront of a large portion of such research studies
Summary
Occurring products have been used to remedy various diseases and illnesses throughout history [1]. The delivery of drugs orally has been at the forefront of research in the field of drug delivery due to the ease and convenience of administration This is especially true for treatments of chronic conditions involving continuous medication for extended periods of time. One of the major challenges for oral administration of conventional drugs is the harsh acidic conditions of the gastrointestinal tract and first-pass metabolism These issues could theoretically be resolved using pH-resistant drug-delivery systems able to carry the drug and releasing only once it has reached the systemic bloodstream [8,9]. Nano-delivery systems offer certain advantages over traditional drug-delivery methods They may be able to deliver drugs to treat a number of diseases and target a variety of tissues within the body with high specificity. A direct consequence of the reduction in unwanted drug interactions would lead to a lower dosage of the drug being required to treat the condition, leading to an overall decrease in costs [12,13,14]
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