Synthesis of Double Interfering Biodegradable Nano-MgO Micelle Composites and Their Effect on Parkinson's Disease

Neuronanomedicine for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease: Current progress and a guide to improve clinical translation

Neuronanomedicine is an emerging multidisciplinary field that aims to create innovative nanotechnologies to treat major neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). A key component of neuronanomedicine are nanoparticles, which can improve drug properties and demonstrate enhanced safety and delivery across the blood-brain barrier, a major improvement on existing therapeutic approaches. In this review, we critically analyze the latest nanoparticle-based strategies to modify underlying disease pathology to slow or halt AD/PD progression. We find that a major roadblock for neuronanomedicine translation to date is a poor understanding of how nanoparticles interact with biological systems (i.e., bio-nano interactions), which is partly due to inconsistent reporting in published works. Accordingly, this review makes a set of specific recommendations to help guide researchers to harness the unique properties of nanoparticles and thus realise breakthrough treatments for AD/PD.

Nanotechnology-empowered therapeutics targeting neurodegenerative diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases are posing pressing health issues due to the high prevalence among aging populations in the 21st century. They are evidenced by the progressive loss of neuronal function, often associated with neuronal necrosis and many related devastating complications. Nevertheless, effective therapeutical strategies to treat neurodegenerative diseases remain a tremendous challenge due to the multisystemic nature and limited drug delivery to the central nervous system. As a result, there is a pressing need to develop effective alternative therapeutics to manage the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. By utilizing the functional reconstructive materials and technologies with specific targeting ability at the nanoscale level, nanotechnology-empowered medicines can transform the therapeutic paradigms of neurodegenerative diseases with minimal systemic side effects. This review outlines the current applications and progresses of the nanotechnology-enabled drug delivery systems to enhance the therapeutic efficacy in treating neurodegenerative diseases. This article is categorized under: Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Neurological Disease Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies.

Modulation of engineered nanomaterial interactions with organ barriers for enhanced drug transport

The biomedical use of nanoparticles (NPs) has been the focus of intense research for over a decade. As most NPs are explored as carriers to alter the biodistribution, pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of associated drugs, the delivery of these NPs to the tissues of interest remains an important topic. To date, the majority of NP delivery studies have used tumor models as their tool of interest, and the limitations concerning tumor targeting of systemically administered NPs have been well studied. In recent years, the focus has also shifted to other organs, each presenting their own unique delivery challenges to overcome. In this review, we discuss the recent advances in leveraging NPs to overcome four major biological barriers including the lung mucus, the gastrointestinal mucus, the placental barrier, and the blood-brain barrier. We define the specific properties of these biological barriers, discuss the challenges related to NP transport across them, and provide an overview of recent advances in the field. We discuss the strengths and shortcomings of different strategies to facilitate NP transport across the barriers and highlight some key findings that can stimulate further advances in this field.

Biomaterial-based gene therapy

Gene therapy, a medical approach that involves the correction or replacement of defective and abnormal genes, plays an essential role in the treatment of complex and refractory diseases, such as hereditary diseases, cancer, and rheumatic immune diseases. Nucleic acids alone do not easily enter the target cells due to their easy degradation in vivo and the structure of the target cell membranes. The introduction of genes into biological cells is often dependent on gene delivery vectors, such as adenoviral vectors, which are commonly used in gene therapy. However, traditional viral vectors have strong immunogenicity while also presenting a potential infection risk. Recently, biomaterials have attracted attention for use as efficient gene delivery vehicles, because they can avoid the drawbacks associated with viral vectors. Biomaterials can improve the biological stability of nucleic acids and the efficiency of intracellular gene delivery. This review is focused on biomaterial-based delivery systems in gene therapy and disease treatment. Herein, we review the recent developments and modalities of gene therapy. Additionally, we discuss nucleic acid delivery strategies, with a focus on biomaterial-based gene delivery systems. Furthermore, the current applications of biomaterial-based gene therapy are summarized.

The blood-brain barrier: structure, regulation, and drug delivery

Blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a natural protective membrane that prevents central nervous system (CNS) from toxins and pathogens in blood. However, the presence of BBB complicates the pharmacotherapy for CNS disorders as the most chemical drugs and biopharmaceuticals have been impeded to enter the brain. Insufficient drug delivery into the brain leads to low therapeutic efficacy as well as aggravated side effects due to the accumulation in other organs and tissues. Recent breakthrough in materials science and nanotechnology provides a library of advanced materials with customized structure and property serving as a powerful toolkit for targeted drug delivery. In-depth research in the field of anatomical and pathological study on brain and BBB further facilitates the development of brain-targeted strategies for enhanced BBB crossing. In this review, the physiological structure and different cells contributing to this barrier are summarized. Various emerging strategies for permeability regulation and BBB crossing including passive transcytosis, intranasal administration, ligands conjugation, membrane coating, stimuli-triggered BBB disruption, and other strategies to overcome BBB obstacle are highlighted. Versatile drug delivery systems ranging from organic, inorganic, and biologics-derived materials with their synthesis procedures and unique physio-chemical properties are summarized and analyzed. This review aims to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive guideline for researchers in diverse fields, offering perspectives on further development of brain-targeted drug delivery system.

NIR-Assisted MgO-Based Polydopamine Nanoparticles for Targeted Treatment of Parkinson's Disease through the Blood-Brain Barrier

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a major limiting factor that prevents the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). In the present study, MgOp@PPLP nanoparticles are explored by using MgO nanoparticles as a substrate, polydopamine as a shell, wrapping anti-SNCA plasmid inside, and modifying polyethylene glycol, lactoferrin, and puerarin on the surface to improve the hydrophilicity, brain targeting and antioxidant properties of the particles, respectively. MgOp@PPLP exhibits superior near-infrared radiation (NIR) response. Under the guidance of photothermal effect, these MgOp@PPLP particles are capable of penetrating the BBB and be taken up by neuronal cells to exert gene therapy and antioxidant therapy. In both in vivo and in vitro models of PD, MgOp@PPLP exhibits good neuroprotective effects. Therefore, combined with noninvasive NIR radiation, MgOp@PPLP nanoplatform with good biocompatibility becomes an ideal material to combat neurodegenerative diseases.

Human tau fibrillization and neurotoxicity in the presence of magnesium oxide nanoparticle fabricated through laser ablation method

In this study, the acceleratory effect of magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO NPs) on the amyloid fibrillization of human tau protein, a major protein involved in the onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD) was investigated. The MgO NPs were fabricated through laser ablation synthesis in solution (LASiS), well-characterized, and explored further for tau aggregation and relevant neurotoxicity by different assays. The results showed that the MgO NPs have a size of around 30 nm, a hydrodynamic radius of 57.09 nm, and a zeta potential of -18.06 mV. The data from ThT and ANS fluorescence-based assays along with circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy clearly indicated that MgO NPs could significantly promote tau fibrillization, concentration-dependently. Considering the acceleratory effect of MgO NPs against tau fibrillization, cellular assays including cell viability, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and caspase-3 assays indicated that the neurotoxicity of tau amyloid fibrils formed with MgO NPs was higher than that of tau samples aged alone against N2a neuron-like cells. Therefore, it was concluded that the interaction of MgO NPs with tau can lead to acceleration of tau aggregation and underlying neurotoxicity. This study, then can provide useful information about the direct effect of MgO NPs against memory proteins and subsequent adverse effects.

Brain-targeting drug delivery systems

Brain diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, acute ischemic stroke and brain tumors, have become a major health problem and a huge burden on society with high morbidity and mortality. However, most of the current therapeutic drugs can only relieve the symptoms of brain diseases, and it is difficult to achieve satisfactory therapeutic effects fundamentally. Extensive studies have shown that the therapeutic effects of brain diseases are mainly affected by two factors: the conservation of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the complexity of the brain micro-environment. Brain-targeting drug delivery systems provide new possibilities for overcoming these barriers with versatility. In this review, it provides an overview of BBB alteration and discusses targeting delivery strategies for brain diseases therapy. Furthermore, delivery systems which are designed to modulate the brain micro-environment with synergistic effects were also highlighted. This article is categorized under: Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies.