Penetration through the blood-brain barrier (BBB) ??is a serious problem for drug developers.

Now, after successful experiments on the locust, American scientists are ready to solve this problem with a nasal spray, charged with nanoparticles-carriers of drug molecules.

Details about the promising technology staff of the University of Washington in St. Louis (WUSTL) shared on the pages of the journal Scientific Reports.

Recall that the BBB is a reliable protective shell, separating the chemical environment of the brain from the rest of the body. For the normal functioning of the central nervous system, the BBB must protect it well from any vibrations occurring in other parts of the body. But this prevents the delivery of drugs to the brain.

Sometimes for the introduction of antineoplastic and other drugs resort to injections directly into the brain and even to install special reservoirs. This approach is very risky and complex, so scientists do not abandon attempts to overcome the blood-brain barrier by non-invasive methods.

Nanoparticles deliver drugs to the brain.

Interest in nanotechnology in the world of medicine is growing, and scientists are inventing new particles for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Professor Barani Raman (Barani Raman) proposed the shortest and most rational way of delivering drug molecules to the brain - through the nasal passages.

To do this, scientists have adapted gold nanoparticles as a carrier of large molecules. They are easy to manufacture, safe, have excellent biocompatibility.

To deliver nanoparticles-carriers through the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a special nasal spray. Tests of the drug with fluorescent markers confirmed: the drug particles successfully reach the CNS and are evenly distributed there.

An unusual model of the human blood-brain barrier (BBB).

Tests of "nanospray" were carried out on an unusual model of GEB-locust. The authors say that the blood-brain barrier of these insects is very similar to the human, especially when it comes to the nose-brain route.

In the human body, nanoparticles must rise through the olfactory bulbs to the olfactory cortex to act on the central nervous system. Although the locust system is much more primitive, the molecular barriers are very similar.

The carriers successfully reached the brain of the locust, without adversely affecting the work of the nervous system. This was confirmed by electrophysiological tests conducted a few hours after the use of the experimental drug.

If further experiments on large animals are successful, the clinical trials and the emergence of a whole generation of "nanospres" in pharmacies for the safe and comfortable treatment of diseases of the nervous system.

medbe. en.

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