Title:Nanowired Drug Delivery Across the Blood-Brain Barrier in Central Nervous System Injury and Repair
VOLUME: 15 ISSUE: 9
Author(s):Aruna Sharma, Preeti Menon, Dafin F. Muresanu, Asya Ozkizilcik, Z. Ryan Tian, José V. Lafuente and Hari S. Sharma
Affiliation:Department of Surgical Sciences, Anesthesiology & Intensive Care Medicine, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala University, SE-75185 Uppsala, Sweden.
Keywords:Alzheimer disease, blood-brain barrier, brain edema, central nervous system injury, ischemic insult, nanowired
drug delivery, neuroproetction, Parkinson disease, traumatic brain injury.
Abstract:The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a physiological regulator of transport of
essential items from blood to brain for the maintenance of homeostasis of the central
nervous system (CNS) within narrow limits. The BBB is also responsible for export
of harmful or metabolic products from brain to blood to keep the CNS fluid
microenvironment healthy. However, noxious insults to the brain caused by trauma,
ischemia or environmental/chemical toxins alter the BBB function to small as well
as large molecules e.g., proteins. When proteins enter the CNS fluid
microenvironment, development of brain edema occurs due to altered osmotic
balance between blood and brain. On the other hand, almost all neurodegenerative
diseases and traumatic insults to the CNS and subsequent BBB dysfunction lead to
edema formation and cell injury. To treat these brain disorders suitable drug therapy reaching their brain
targets is needed. However, due to edema formation or only a focal disruption of the BBB e.g., around
brain tumors, many drugs are unable to reach their CNS targets in sufficient quantity. This results in
poor therapeutic outcome. Thus, new technology such as nanodelivery is needed for drugs to reach their
CNS targets and be effective. In this review, use of nanowires as a possible novel tool to enhance drug
delivery into the CNS in various disease models is discussed based on our investigations. These data
show that nanowired delivery of drugs may have superior neuroprotective ability to treat several CNS
diseases effectively indicating their role in future therapeutic strategies.
