Transport Mechanism in the Nose-to-Brain Drug Delivery and Role of Nanosystems

Abstract

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is limited to deliver drugs to the brain after systemic administration. Intranasal route offers several advantages over the oral and parenteral route and has shown potential for targeting drugs to the brain for treatment of various central nervous system (CNS) disor ders. Drug delivery via the intranasal route bypasses the BBB and reaches different parts of the brain primarily via the olfactory and trigeminal neural pathways. Therefore, intranasal administration has at tracted as a non-invasive and simple administration route that can deliver a therapeutic agent for CNS disease directly to the brain. The delivery of nanosystems from the nose to the brain has shown poten tial for enhancing drug targeting to the brain and reducing systemic side effects. This article reviews and various transport mechanisms involved in drug absorption from intranasal, drug delivery from the nose to the brain, and the role of nanosystems in intranasal drug delivery including our recent findings.