Nanotechnological advances in direct nose-to-brain drug delivery for neurodegenerative disorders and other neuroailments

The treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders remains a challenge due to the limited access of drug molecules across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The BBB is the major hurdle for the delivery of therapeutics to brain, which leads to lesser brain drug concentrations, poor patient compliance, and failure of therapy. Nose-to-brain drug delivery provides a myriad of healthcare advances for the management of systemic, local, as well as CNS disorders due to suitable physiological conditions such as highly vascularized mucosa, large surface area, and porous endothelial membrane. The route involves trigeminal or olfactory nerve pathways, which commence in the brain and ends in the nasal cavity at the respiratory epithelium. The route also emerged as a reliable technique to bypass the BBB and avoiding the hepatic first-pass metabolism for the treatment of conditions like Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Prion’s disease (PrD), and other neuroailments. Noninvasive site-specific delivery makes this route more attractive for the direct delivery of small-drug molecule, proteins, and peptides to the brain. Emphasis is given on the prospective role of nanotechnology-based drug delivery through the nose-to-brain route for neurodegenerative diseases and other neuroailments. In particular, different nanoparticulate and nanovesicular carriers, as well as nanocrystals and nanogels, are analyzed for their in vivo therapeutic efficacy based on their physicochemical properties and composition. Nanotechnological advancements for neuroprotection and neuronal tissue regeneration are also analyzed. This chapter concludes highlighting the therapy of different neurodegenerative diseases and neuroailments by a nanocarrier-mediated drug delivery via the nose-to-brain route.