Recent Advances in Intranasal Delivery with Lipid Nanoparticles for Brain Targeting: A Review

Abstract

Psychological or behavioural tendencies that significantly impair one or more key areas of functioning or cause significant distress are considered psychological disorders. Psychological disorders exist in a wide variety, with their own set of signs and causes. Transport of drugs to brain takes place by one of the four methods namely, transport across blood brain barrier, nanoparticles, intracerebral implants and intranasal route. Using nanoparticles through intranasal route has shown great potential for targeted delivery to the brain. It is considered advantageous because of its as low dosing, biocompatibility and its versatility to encapsulate both hydrophobic and lipophilic drugs. Lipid based nanoparticles are prepared using two major components lipids and surfactants which aid in transport of drug to the brain. These particles can be categorised into liposomes and its modifications, solid-lipid nanoparticles and nanostructured lipid carriers. Each category has its own advantages which can be used for advancements in the drug delivery to the brain. This review focuses on the types of lipid-based nanoparticles and the recent research done on the same. More research and clinical trials are required to bring this novel method from laboratory to the market.

Keywords: Intranasal delivery; Lipid-based nanoparticles; Brain targeting; Nanostructured lipid carriers; Liposomes