Mutingwende Fadzai P, Kondiah Pierre P D, Ubanako Philemon, Marimuthu Thashree, Choonara Yahya E
Wits Advanced Drug Delivery Platform Research Unit, Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, School of Therapeutic Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Parktown, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa.
Polymers (Basel). 2021 Apr 29;13(9):1431. doi: 10.3390/polym13091431.
Nanotechnology has aided in the advancement of drug delivery for the treatment of several neurological disorders including depression. Depression is a relatively common mental disorder which is characterized by a severe imbalance of neurotransmitters. Several current therapeutic regimens against depression display drawbacks which include low bioavailability, delayed therapeutic outcome, undesirable side effects and drug toxicity due to high doses. The blood-brain barrier limits the entry of the drugs into the brain matrix, resulting in low bioavailability and tissue damage due to drug accumulation. Due to their size and physico-chemical properties, nanotechnological drug delivery systems present a promising strategy to enhance the delivery of nanomedicines into the brain matrix, thereby improving bioavailability and limiting toxicity. Furthermore, ligand-complexed nanocarriers can improve drug specificity and antidepressant efficacy and reduce drug toxicity. Biopolymers and nanocarriers can also be employed to enhance controlled drug release and reduce the hepatic first-pass effect, hence reducing the dosing frequency. This manuscript reviews recent advances in different biopolymers, such as polysaccharides and other nanocarriers, for targeted antidepressant drug delivery to the brain. It probes nano-based strategies that can be employed to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of antidepressants through the oral, intranasal, and parenteral routes of administration.
纳米技术有助于推进药物递送，用于治疗包括抑郁症在内的多种神经疾病。抑郁症是一种相对常见的精神疾病，其特征是神经递质严重失衡。目前几种治疗抑郁症的方案存在缺点，包括生物利用度低、治疗效果延迟、不良副作用以及高剂量导致的药物毒性。血脑屏障限制药物进入脑基质，导致生物利用度低以及由于药物积累造成的组织损伤。由于其尺寸和物理化学性质，纳米技术药物递送系统是一种很有前景的策略，可增强纳米药物向脑基质的递送，从而提高生物利用度并限制毒性。此外，配体复合纳米载体可提高药物特异性和抗抑郁疗效，并降低药物毒性。生物聚合物和纳米载体也可用于增强药物控释并减少肝脏首过效应，从而降低给药频率。本文综述了不同生物聚合物（如多糖）和其他纳米载体在靶向抗抑郁药物递送至脑方面的最新进展。它探讨了可用于通过口服、鼻内和肠胃外给药途径提高抗抑郁药治疗效果的基于纳米的策略。
