Nanoparticles for direct nose-to-brain drug delivery: Implications of targeting approaches

Abstract The use of nanocarriers for pharmaceutical and clinical applications is a well-established archetype since long time. These nanoparticulate carriers are expected to stay in blood for long time, accumulate at target site in desired extent, and facilitate the targeted drug delivery via target-specific drug-ligand complexes or conjugates in poorly reachable regions of the body. Talking more specifically about brain targeting, the highly dense blood-brain barrier (BBB) restricts the entry of variety of small and macromolecules to the brain regions, thereby put a great challenge to treat central nervous system (CNS) disorders. This fact urges the need of BBB-bypass drug delivery approach, so called direct nose-to-brain drug delivery. In order to improve the therapeutic effectiveness, the delivery strategies are focused on using the nanoparticulate carriers to conquer the BBB and directly targeting the diseased cells in the brain. This review entry highlights the various types of targeting strategies developed for direct nose-to-brain delivery using nanoparticles (NPs) as neurotherapeutic carriers. We hope this chapter containing comprehensive study reports would be a unique cluster of evidences for researchers exploring the direct nose-to-brain targeted drug delivery and would certainly benefit the physicians in improving the therapy for CNS disorders.