Exploring intranasal drug delivery via nanocarriers: A promising glioblastoma therapy

Glioblastoma is one of the most recurring types of glioma, having the highest mortality rate among all other gliomas. Traditionally, the standard course of treatment for glioblastoma involved maximum surgical resection, followed by chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Nanocarriers have recently focused on enhancing the chemotherapeutic administration to the brain to satisfy unmet therapeutic requirements for treating brain-related disorders. Due to the significant drawbacks and high recurrence rates of gliomas, intranasal administration of nanocarrier systems presents several advantages. These include low toxicity, non-invasiveness, and the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. By customizing their size, encasing them with mucoadhesive agents, or undergoing surface modification that encourages movement over the nose's mucosa, we can exceptionally engineer nanocarriers for intranasal administration. Olfactory and trigeminal nerves absorb drugs administered nasally and transport them to the brain, serving as the primary delivery mechanism for nose-to-brain administration. This review sums up the latest developments in chemotherapeutic nanocarriers, such as metallic nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles, nanogels, nano vesicular carriers, genetic material-based nanocarriers, and polymeric micelles. These nanocarriers have demonstrated efficient drug delivery from the nose to the brain, effectively overcoming mucociliary clearance. However, challenges persist, such as limitations in targeted chemotherapy and restricted drug loading capacity for intranasal administration. Additionally, the review addresses regulatory considerations and prospects for these innovative drug delivery systems.