Department of Pharmaceutical and Toxicological Chemistry, University of Napoli Federico II, Napoli, Italy.
Curr Drug Metab. 2012 Jan;13(1):61-9. doi: 10.2174/138920012798356943.
The possibility to treat central nervous system (CNS) disorders is strongly limited by the poor access of many therapeutic agent to the target tissues. This is mainly due to the presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), formed by a complex interplay of endothelial cells, astrocyte and pericytes, through which only selected molecules can passively diffuse to reach CNS. Drug pharmacokinetics and biodistribution can be changed by using nanotechnology, in order to improve drug accumulation into the action site and to limit the drug release in the healthy tissues. When the CNS diseases are characterised by BBB altered permeability, an enhanced drug delivery into the brain can be achieved by using nanocarriers. Moreover, modification of nanocarrier surface with specific endogenous or exogenous ligands can promote enhanced BBB crossing, also in case of unaltered endothelium. This review summarizes the most meaningful advances in the field of nanotechnology for brain delivery of therapeutics.
治疗中枢神经系统（CNS）疾病的可能性受到很大限制，因为许多治疗药物很难进入靶组织。这主要是由于血脑屏障（BBB）的存在，它是由内皮细胞、星形胶质细胞和周细胞通过复杂的相互作用形成的，只有选定的分子才能被动扩散进入 CNS。通过纳米技术可以改变药物的药代动力学和生物分布，以提高药物在作用部位的积累，并限制药物在健康组织中的释放。当 CNS 疾病的特征是 BBB 通透性改变时，可以通过使用纳米载体来实现更有效的药物递送到大脑。此外，通过使用特定的内源性或外源性配体修饰纳米载体的表面，可以促进增强 BBB 的穿透，即使内皮细胞没有改变也是如此。本文综述了纳米技术在治疗药物脑递送上的最新进展。
