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Review
. 2020 Jun 1;5(22):12583-12595.
doi: 10.1021/acsomega.0c01592. eCollection 2020 Jun 9.

Nanocarriers as Potential Drug Delivery Candidates for Overcoming the Blood-Brain Barrier: Challenges and Possibilities

Jyoti Ahlawat  1 , Gileydis Guillama Barroso  2 , Shima Masoudi Asil  1 , Melinda Alvarado  1 , Isabela Armendariz  1 , Jose Bernal  1 , Ximena Carabaza  1 , Stephanie Chavez  1 , Paulina Cruz  1 , Vassti Escalante  1 , Savana Estorga  1 , Daniel Fernandez  1 , Carolina Lozano  1 , Martin Marrufo  1 , Nabeel Ahmad  3 , Sergio Negrete  1 , Karyme Olvera  1 , Ximena Parada  1 , Brianna Portillo  1 , Andrea Ramirez  1 , Raul Ramos  1 , Veronica Rodriguez  1 , Paola Rojas  1 , Jessica Romero  1 , David Suarez  1 , Graciela Urueta  1 , Stephanie Viel  1 , Mahesh Narayan  1
Affiliations
Review

Nanocarriers as Potential Drug Delivery Candidates for Overcoming the Blood-Brain Barrier: Challenges and Possibilities

Jyoti Ahlawat et al. ACS Omega. .

Abstract

The design of a drug that successfully overcomes the constraints imposed by the blood-brain barrier (BBB, which acts as a gatekeeper to the entry of substances into the brain) requires an understanding of the biological firewall. It is also of utmost importance to understand the physicochemical properties of the said drug and how it engages the BBB to avoid undesired side effects. Since fewer than 5% of the tested molecules can pass through the BBB, drug development pertaining to brain-related disorders takes inordinately long to develop. Furthermore, in most cases it is also unsuccessful for allied reasons. Several drug delivery systems (DDSs) have shown excellent potential in drug delivery across the BBB while demonstrating minimal side effects. This mini-review summarizes key features of the BBB, recapitulates recent advances in our understanding of the BBB, and highlights existing strategies for the delivery of drug to the brain parenchyma.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of the BBB.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic representation of tight junctions and adherence junctions between endothelial cells.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Schematic diagram of the different mechanisms for crossing the BBB.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Schematic representation of the Pgp.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Schematic representation of the BCB.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Schematic diagram of diseased and healthy BBB.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Schematic representation of (A) viral vectors, (B) polymeric nanoparticles, (C) liposomes, (D), dendrimers, (E) micelles, (F) carbon nanotubes, (G) carbon dots, and (H) carbon nano-onions.
Figure 8
Figure 8
(A and B) Localization of the nanoformulation (G6-Cy5) in macrophages (Iba-1-positive) and neurons (TUJ1-positive) after 72 h of HCA. The images are from ref (18) and are reproduced after copyright permission from Elsiever.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Schematic diagram of the size-dependent hypsochromic shift in the emission of CQDs.
Figure 10
Figure 10
(a) High-resolution TEM image, (b) analysis of hydrodynamic size, and (c) secondary structure analysis of Cu(II)-induced amyloid-β aggregation in the absence and presence of OPCDs. The image is from ref (24) and is reproduced after copyright permission from the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Existing obstacles or requirements for the clinical translation of a drug.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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