title: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering School of Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, 401 West Main Street, P.O. Box 843067, Richmond, Virginia 23284, USA. hyang2@vcu.edu
authors.forename: Hu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018916:Blood-Aqueous Barrier / Q000378:metabolism*; D002493:Central Nervous System Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D050091:Dendrimers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000633:toxicity; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000633:toxicity; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D005290:Ferric Compounds / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000633:toxicity; D006801:Humans; D008081:Liposomes; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage; D045663:Quantum Dots; D057900:Transcytosis / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D050091:Dendrimers; D004337:Drug Carriers; D005290:Ferric Compounds; D008081:Liposomes; C104700:PAMAM Starburst; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; C000499:ferric oxide