Nanoparticle-Mediated Brain-Specific Drug Delivery, Imaging, and Diagnosis

Abstract

Central nervous system (CNS) diseases represent the largest and fastest-growing area of unmet medical need. Nanotechnology plays a unique instrumental role in the revolutionary development of brain-specific drug delivery, imaging, and diagnosis. With the aid of nanoparticles of high specificity and multifunctionality, such as dendrimers and quantum dots, therapeutics, imaging agents, and diagnostic molecules can be delivered to the brain across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), enabling considerable progress in the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of CNS diseases. Nanoparticles used in the CNS for drug delivery, imaging, and diagnosis are reviewed, as well as their administration routes, toxicity, and routes to cross the BBB. Future directions and major challenges are outlined.

Department(s)

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering

Comments

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health (R21NS063200).

Keywords and Phrases

BBB; diagnosis; drug delivery; imaging; nanoparticles

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0724-8741; 1573-904X

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Sep 2010

PubMed ID

20593303

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