Nanoparticle- and Liposome-carried Drugs: New Strategies for Active Targeting and Drug Delivery Across Blood-brain Barrier

Title:Nanoparticle- and Liposome-carried Drugs: New Strategies for Active Targeting and Drug Delivery Across Blood-brain Barrier

Volume: 14 Issue: 6

Author(s): Martha Leonor Pinzon-Daza, Ivana Campia, Joanna Kopecka, Ruth Garzon, Dario Ghigo and Chiara Rigant

Affiliation:

Keywords: ATP-binding cassette transporters, blood-brain barrier, central nervous system, drug delivery, nanoparticles, liposomes.

Abstract: The blood-brain barrier (BBB), the unusual microvascular endothelial interface between the central nervous system (CNS) and the circulatory system, is a major hindrance to drug delivery in the brain parenchyma. Besides the absence of fenestrations and the abundance of tight junctions, ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters critically reduce drug entry within the CNS, as they carry many drugs back into the bloodstream. Nanoparticle- and liposome-carried drugs, because of their increased cellular uptake and reduced efflux through ABC transporters, have been developed in recent times to circumvent the low drug permeability of the BBB.

This review discusses the role of ABC transporters in controlling drug penetration into the brain parenchyma, the rationale for using nanoparticle- and liposome-based strategies to increase drug delivery across the BBB and new therapeutic strategies for using nanoparticle- and liposome-carried drugs in different conditions, ranging from CNS tumors and neurodegenerative diseases to viral infections and epilepsy.

Cite this article as:

Pinzon-Daza Leonor Martha, Campia Ivana, Kopecka Joanna, Garzon Ruth, Ghigo Dario and Rigant Chiara, Nanoparticle- and Liposome-carried Drugs: New Strategies for Active Targeting and Drug Delivery Across Blood-brain Barrier, Current Drug Metabolism 2013; 14 (6) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1389200211314060001