Abstract

Targeting drug molecules to brain is one of the most challenging research areas in pharmaceutical sciences. Drugs that are effective against diseases in the CNS and reach the brain via the blood compartment must pass the BBB. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) represents an insurmountable obstacle for a large number of drugs, including antibiotics, anti-neoplastic agents, and a variety of central nervous system (CNS)-active drugs. Therefore, various strategies have been proposed to improve the delivery of different drugs to this tissue which includes liposomes, colloidal drug carriers, micelles, chimeric peptide technology, intranasal and olfactory route of administration and nano technology. The discovery of liposome or lipid vesicle emerged from self forming enclosed lipid bi-layer upon hydration; liposome drug delivery systems have played a significant role in formulation of potent drug to improve therapeutics Liposomes have been investigated as carriers of various pharmacologically active agents such as antineoplastic, antimicrobial drugs, chelating agents, steroids, vaccines, and genetic materials. Liposomes provide an efficient drug delivery system because they can alter the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the entrapped drugs. Liposomes have been widely used for brain delivery in vivo. Nowadays, the nasal route for systemic drug delivery has gained great interest. It provides several advantages over other routes of drug administrations, which includes rapid absorption, avoids intestinal and hepatic presystemic disposition and high potential for drug transfer to the CSF. Moreover, the nasal route is a potential alternative route for systemic availability of drugs restricted to intravenous administration, viz. peptide and protein drugs and vaccines. As well, intranasal route has also been successfully exploited for bypassing the blood brain barrier [BBB] and subsequently delivering drug molecules to central nervous system [CNS].

Keywords

Nasal route, olfactory region, blood brain barrier, liposomes

Cite This Article

Trivedi, J.B., Upadhyay, P., Shah, S., Chauhan, N., Patel, A. (2012). Intranasal Liposomes: An Approach for Drug Delivery to Brain, International Journal for Pharmaceutical Research Scholars (IJPRS), 1(2), 79-91.