Title:Advances in Drug Delivery from Nose to Brain: An Overview
Volume: 13
Issue: 1
Author(s): Rajashree S. Hirlekar*Alfiha M. Momin
Affiliation:
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Vivekanand Education Society's College of Pharmacy, Hashu Advani, Memorial Complex, Behind Collector Colony, Chembur (E) Mumbai-400074, Maharashtra,India
Keywords:
Bioavailability, blood brain barrier, central nervous system, devices, nose to brain, olfactory
pathway.
Abstract: Brain targeting has always been challenging due to the presence of various
physiological barriers resulting in low bioavailability via the oral and parenteral route.
Altering the integrity of these barriers so as to permit the drugs to enter into the brain
could severely damage the Central Nervous System by also allowing the entrance of toxic
substances, bacteria and viruses into the brain. This problem can be tackled by delivering
drugs via the intranasal route which bypasses the blood brain barrier and reaches different
parts of the brain primarily via the olfactory and trigeminal neural pathways. This route
offers several advantages over the oral and parenteral route and has shown potential for
targeting drugs to the brain for treating various central nervous system disorders such as
Psychosis, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. In spite of several advantages, the intranasal
route faces many challenges. Hence, a complete understanding of every aspect related
to nose to brain delivery is of utmost importance. This article reviews the mechanism
of nose to brain drug transport, challenges and approaches for nose to brain drug
delivery, a few specialized olfactory delivery devices and some applications of this novel
route of brain targeting.
