LIPID-BASED NANOCARRIER DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR BRAIN TARGETING THROUGH NASAL ROUTE: A REVIEW

The majority of the drugs that are available in the market which are intended for activity in the central nervous system, are not capable of being transported across the Blood-brain barrier. The nasal route of drug administration is one of the most promising routes of drug administration that can permeate the drug through BBB. The permeability of drugs across the BBB is depending on the physicochemical properties of the drugs. Drugs with molecular weight lesser than 600Daltons and partition coefficient (Log P) within the range of 1.5-2.7 might pass through the BBB. Nanocarriers are capable of getting drugs with higher molecular weight transported across the BBB. Incorporating the drug into these carriers can facilitate the transfer of drugs across BBB. SLNs and NLCs are the most prominent carrier of drugs that can be employed for the transfer of drugs to the CNS. The drugs, when administered through nasal route, are carried across the BBB mainly through two major pathways, they are olfactory pathway and trigeminal pathway. The main disadvantage of nano carrier-based drug delivery is increased toxicity level; this is mainly because these carriers might not be removed from the brain, and this will get accumulated and thereby can cause toxicity. This review is focusing on the mechanism of drug transfer to the brain through the nasal route, the pathways involved, the nature of BBB, features of SLNs and NLCs, commonly employed excipients for the preparation of both and drugs that are administered using these carriers.