Title:Nanotechnology and Antioxidant Therapy: An Emerging Approach for Neurodegenerative Diseases
VOLUME: 21 ISSUE: 38
Author(s):Carlos Fernandes, Catarina Oliveira, Sofia Benfeito, Pedro Soares, Jorge Garrido and Fernanda Borges
Affiliation:Departamento de Quimica e Bioquimica, Faculdade de Ciencias, Universidade do Porto, Portugal.
Keywords:dietary antioxidants, nanocarriers, neurodegenerative diseases, oxidative-stress related diseases.
Abstract:The efficacy, cellular uptake and specific transport of dietary antioxidants to target organs, tissues and cells remains
the most important setback for their application in the treatment of oxidative-stress related disorders and in particular
in neurodegenerative diseases, as brain targeting remains a still unsolved challenge. Nanotechnology based delivery
systems can be a solution for the above mentioned problems, specifically in the case of targeting dietary antioxidants with
neuroprotective activity. Nanotechnology-based delivery systems can protect antioxidants from degradation, improve their
physicochemical drug-like properties and in turn their bioavailability.
The impact of nanomedicine in the improvement of the performance of dietary antioxidants, as protective agents in oxidative-
stress events, specifically through the use of drug delivery systems, is highlighted in this review as well as the type of
nanomaterials regularly used for drug delivery purposes.
From the data one can conclude that the research combining (dietary) antioxidants and nanotechnology, namely as a
therapeutic solution for neurodegenerative diseases, is still in a very early stage. So, a huge research area remains to be
explored that hopefully will yield new and effective neuroprotective therapeutic agents in a foreseeable future.
