Abstract

RECENT ADVANCEMENT IN DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR BRAIN: AN OVERVIEW

Kazal Sharma* and S.L. Harikumar

ABSTRACT

The brain is one of the most complex and magnificent organs in the human body. It is the organ that controls most of the activities of the body. The central nervous system [CNS], efficiently isolated from the systemic circulation by the presence of two barrier systems: the blood brain barrier [BBB] and the blood cerebrospinal fluid barrier [BCSFB]. These two barrier shielded the brain against potentially toxic substances. Unfortunately, the same mechanisms that protect it against intrusive chemicals can also frustrate therapeutic interventions. Therefore drug delivery to the Central Nervous System [CNS] in treatment of CNS related disorders is very complicated and challenging. Although some neuropharmaceutical agents have great potential for treating CNS disorders, major challenge to CNS drug delivery is the Blood Brain Barrier [BBB], which limits the access of drugs to the brain. Progress in brain drug delivery has lagged behind other areas because of the restrictions posed by the BBB. Only a small class of drugs—small molecules with high lipid solubility and a low molecular mass of < 400–500 Daltons [Da]—actually cross the BBB. However, there are only a few diseases of the brain that consistently respond to this category of small molecules. This review encompasses detailed discussion of some of the recent drug delivery systems like Dendrimers, Polyanhydrides, Lipoplexes, Polyplexes, Scaffolds, Convection-enhanced delivery, and Modified nanoparticles for targeting drugs to the brain.

Keywords: Blood Brain Barrier, Targeted Drug Delivery System, Recent Advancements.