Drug Delivery across the Blood–Brain Barrier

A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Pharmaceutical Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 February 2025 | Viewed by 1029

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Reader In Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
Interests: fast-dissolving oral films; three-dimensional printing; fused deposition modelling; inkjet method; nanofibers; liposomes; natural products
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Brain diseases, disorders, and injuries involve damage to the neurons, with devastating outcomes and a considerable societal and economic impact of over USD 1.06tn. Brain diseases include multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, motor neuron disease, ischemic stroke, haemorrhagic stroke, and cancer. Several medicines and interventions have been developed for the treatment of brain diseases, improving the clinical outcomes. However, we are far from the desired therapeutic targets. Brain remyelination and resolving brain inflammation are unmet needs which require researcher’s attention. Although multiple investigations have been conducted in this field, due to complex nature of brain diseases, brain physiology, and anatomy, progress is slow. Therefore, further research on drug delivery to the brain is needed, and drug delivery systems must be optimised on a continuous basis.

This Special Issue will delve into novel drug delivery systems for the treatment of brain diseases, disorders, and injuries, including those that cross the blood–brain barrier and deliver cargo. Novel approaches for the treatment of neuroinflammation and remyelination will also be presented.

The following approaches will also be considered:

  • Nose-to-brain drug delivery;
  • Pharmaceutical approaches to normalising blood–brain barrier function;
  • Use of nanoparticles and ICV injections for drug delivery to the brain;
  • Employing magnetically guided nanoparticles as drug carriers;
  • The use of biomimetic nanoparticles to target inflammation in the brain;
  • The use of peptide-based self-assembled nanoparticles;
  • Employing solid lipid nanoparticles for the delivery of siRNA to brain neurons;
  • Nanoparticles to promote remyelination in the brain;
  • Nanoparticles for the treatment of traumatic brain injury.

Dr. Touraj Ehtezazi
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • blood–brain barrier
  • drug delivery
  • brain diseases
  • neuroinflammation
  • remyelination

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

25 pages, 13480 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Drug Delivery Systems with Different Types of Nanoparticles in Terms of Cellular Uptake and Responses in Human Endothelial Cells, Pericytes, and Astrocytes
by Hakan Sahin, Oguz Yucel, Paul Holloway, Eren Yildirim, Serkan Emik, Gulten Gurdag, Gamze Tanriverdi and Gozde Erkanli Senturk
Pharmaceuticals 2024, 17(12), 1567; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph17121567 - 22 Nov 2024
Viewed by 555
Abstract
Background/Objectives: The key components of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) are endothelial cells, pericytes, astrocytes, and the capillary basement membrane. The BBB serves as the main barrier for drug delivery to the brain and is the most restrictive endothelial barrier in the body. [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: The key components of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) are endothelial cells, pericytes, astrocytes, and the capillary basement membrane. The BBB serves as the main barrier for drug delivery to the brain and is the most restrictive endothelial barrier in the body. Nearly all large therapeutic molecules and over 90% of small-molecule drugs cannot cross the BBB. To overcome this challenge, nanotechnology, particularly drug delivery systems such as nanoparticles (NPs), have gained significant attention. Methods: Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and albumin-based NPs (bovine/human), with or without transferrin (Tf) ligands (BSA, HSA, BSA-Tf, HSA-Tf), and nanolipid carriers (NLC) were synthesized. The interactions of these NPs with human brain microvascular endothelial cells (hBMECs), human brain vascular pericytes (hBVPs), and human astrocytes (hASTROs) were analyzed. Results: At doses of 15.62 µg/mL, 31.25 µg/mL, and 62.5 µg/mL, none of the NPs caused toxic effects on hBMECs, hBVPs, or hASTROs after 3 h of incubation. All NPs were internalized by the cells, but BSA-Tf and HSA-Tf showed significantly higher uptake in hBMECs in a dose-dependent manner. Ultrastructural analysis revealed notable differences between NP formulation and cell type. Conclusions: Our findings underscore the potential of ligand-targeted NPs to selectively interact with BBB endothelial cells. Ultrastructural analysis reveals distinct cellular processing pathways for various NP formulations across BBB-associated cell types, with autophagy emerging as a crucial mechanism for NP handling in pericytes and astrocytes. Changes in NP chemical properties upon biological exposure present significant challenges for nanomedicine design, emphasizing the need for further investigation into NP interactions at the cellular and subcellular levels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Drug Delivery across the Blood–Brain Barrier)
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