How to cross the blood-brain barrier is a challenge for drug developers. Now, after a new drug delivery test on locusts, a team of engineers showed how aerosol nasal sprays containing nanogold provide a non-invasive and fast way to deliver drugs to the brain.

An article by the research team from Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) published in the journal Science Report details this proof-of-concept study.

For the normal functioning of brain functions, it must be ensured that it operates in a tightly controlled chemical environment, making it less susceptible to fluctuations in other parts of the body.

This relatively stable local environment is maintained by the blood-brain barrier, which includes specialized layers of cells in the inner layers of small blood vessels in the brain and spinal cord.

The blood-brain barrier prevents toxins from entering the brain and spinal cord tissues. Unfortunately, its barriers are too good to keep many drugs out, such as those used to kill cancer cells.

One way to overcome this is to inject the drug into the brain. However, researchers point out that such invasive methods are risky because they have the potential to damage tissues and have little control over the distribution of drugs at the injection site.

So, in order to find an effective and low-risk alternative, the Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) research team decided to develop a drug delivery method that uses nanoparticles to carry drugs into the brain through the nasal cavity.

Many new nanomaterials have been used to deliver drugs to specific targeted sites in organs and tissues. This approach seems to maximize the effectiveness of the drug, while Black is able to minimize its side effects.

Co-author Barani Raman, associate professor of biomedical engineering, says the nasal cavity is the shortest-and probably the easiest-route to the brain.

He and his colleagues point out that in various studies, it can be seen that nanogold has become the material of choice for drug delivery. They are relatively easy to synthesize and customize, and have good biocompatibility.

The research team developed a new aerosol diffusion method that deposits gold nanoparticles in the upper area of the nasal cavity. The nanoparticles they produce have a controlled shape, size, and surface charge, and are labeled with fluorescence so they can be tracked.

Researchers tested the effectiveness of nanoparticle aerosols on locusts. Because their blood-brain barrier has many similarities to humans-especially when passing through the nasal passages.

Professor Raman explained that in humans, to reach the brain through the nasal cavity, nanoparticles must pass through the olfactory bulb and the olfactory cortex, and "the brain cortex can be reached after two exchanges," he said.

The researchers said that the next phase of the study would be to load nanoparticles of different drugs and use ultrasound to accurately calculate the dose of the drug to reach specific areas in the brain. This approach could have a big impact on the treatment of brain tumors.

"The blood-brain barrier protects the brain from foreign substances in the blood. However, when we need to inject something into the brain, it is extremely difficult and invasive to pass through this barrier. Our non-invasive Sexual technology can deliver drugs through nanoparticles, so the risk is less and the time is shorter, "said Professor Barani Raman.