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Nanotherapeutics and the Brain.

Andrea Joseph1, Elizabeth Nance2

  • 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA;

Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
|March 23, 2022
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Nanotherapeutics offer a promising approach to overcome brain drug delivery challenges for neurological disorders. Further research is essential to enhance nanotherapeutic translation for clinical applications in treating brain diseases.

Keywords:
blood–brain barrierbrain deliverybrain distributionbrain parenchymananomedicine

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience and Pharmacology
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Drug Delivery Systems

Background:

  • Brain diseases pose a significant global health and economic burden.
  • High failure rates in translating neurological therapeutics to clinical practice.
  • Nanotherapeutics show promise for improving drug bioavailability and brain delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore challenges in brain drug delivery.
  • To elucidate how nanotherapeutics can overcome these challenges.
  • To provide recommendations for advancing nanotherapeutics in neurological disease treatment.

Main Methods:

  • Exploration of existing literature on nanotherapeutics for brain delivery.
  • Summary of general design principles for nanotherapeutic brain uptake and penetration.
  • Identification of limitations hindering clinical translation of nanotherapeutics.

Main Results:

  • Nanotherapeutics can potentially improve drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier.
  • Key design principles for effective brain-penetrating nanotherapeutics are outlined.
  • Significant questions remain regarding the clinical translation of nanomedicine for neurological disorders.

Conclusions:

  • Continued research is critical for developing effective nanotherapeutics for neurological disorders.
  • Addressing current limitations in nanotherapeutic design and preclinical testing is necessary.
  • Strategic preclinical research recommendations are provided to improve clinical success rates.