• HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
Sunday, February 28, 2021
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

Bringing drugs to the brain with nanoparticles to treat neurodegenerative diseases

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
November 9, 2020
in Health
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Nanoparticles could cross the blood-brain barrier to deliver drugs to the brain

IMAGE

Credit: Jean-Michel Rabanel

Researchers from the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) have shown that nanoparticles could be used to deliver drugs to the brain to treat neurodegenerative diseases.

The blood-brain barrier is the main obstacle in treating neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer and Parkinson. According to a recent study conducted by Jean-Michel Rabanel, a postdoctoral researcher under the supervision of Professor Charles Ramassamy, nanoparticles with specific properties could cross this barrier and be captured by neuronal cells. Researchers are confident that these results will open important prospects for releasing drugs directly to the brain. This breakthrough finding would enable improved treatment for neurodegenerative diseases affecting more than 565,000 Canadians, including 141,000 Quebecers.

“The blood-brain barrier filters out harmful substances to prevent them from freely reaching the brain. But this same barrier also blocks the passage of drugs,” explains the pharmacologist Charles Ramassamy. Typically, high doses are required to get a small amount of the drug into the brain. What remains in the bloodstream has significant side effects. Often, this discomfort leads the patient to stop the treatment. ?The use of nanoparticles, which encapsulate the drugs, would result in fewer collateral side effects while increasing brain efficiency.?

Efficient on an animal model

To prove the effectiveness of this method, the research team first tested it on cultured cells, then on zebrafish. “This species offers several advantages. Its blood-brain barrier is similar to that of humans and its transparent skin makes it possible to see nanoparticles’ distribution almost in real time,” says Professor Ramassamy, Chairholder of the Louise and André Charron Research Chair on Alzheimer’s disease, from the Fondation Armand-Frappier.

Using in vivo tests, researchers were able to observe the crossing of the blood-brain barrier. They also confirmed the absence of toxicity in the library of selected nanoparticles. “We made the particles with polylactic acid (PLA), a biocompatible material that is easily eliminated by the body. A layer of polyethylene glycol (PEG) covers these nanoparticles and makes them invisible to the immune system, so they can longer circulate in the bloodstream,” he explains. After several years of research on effective and safe nanoparticles, the research team will continue laboratory testing, targeting the delivery of active ingredients to other animal models with ultimate clinical applications.

###

About this study

The article “Transport of PEGylated-PLA nanoparticles across a blood brain barrier model, entry into neuronal cells and in vivo brain bioavailability” was published in September 2020 in the renowned Journal of Controllled Release. The research team received financial support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies (FRQNT), the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS), the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and the Fondation Armand-Frappier (Louise and André Charron Research Chair in Alzheimer’s Disease). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2020.09.042

About INRS

INRS is a university dedicated exclusively to graduate level research and training. Since its creation in 1969, INRS has played an active role in Quebec’s economic, social, and cultural development and is ranked first for research intensity in Quebec and second in Canada. INRS is made up of four interdisciplinary research and training centres in Quebec City, Montreal, Laval, and Varennes, with expertise in strategic sectors: Eau Terre Environnement, Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications, Urbanisation Culture Société, and Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie. The INRS community includes more than 1,400 students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty members, and staff.

Source

Audrey-Maude Vézina

Service des communications de l’INRS

418 254-2156

[email protected]

Media Contact
Audrey-Maude Vezina
[email protected]

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2020.09.042

Tags: AlzheimerAtomic/Molecular/Particle PhysicsBiologyBiomedical/Environmental/Chemical EngineeringMedicine/Healthneurobiology
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

IMAGE

UTA researcher explores effects of trauma at the cellular, tissue levels of the brain

February 26, 2021
IMAGE

Picture books can boost physical activity for youth with autism

February 26, 2021

Oahu marine protected areas offer limited protection of coral reef herbivorous fishes

February 26, 2021

Sensing robot healthcare helpers being developed at SFU

February 26, 2021

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

POPULAR NEWS

  • IMAGE

    Terahertz accelerates beyond 5G towards 6G

    644 shares
    Share 258 Tweet 161
  • People living with HIV face premature heart disease and barriers to care

    82 shares
    Share 33 Tweet 21
  • Global analysis suggests COVID-19 is seasonal

    38 shares
    Share 15 Tweet 10
  • HIV: an innovative therapeutic breakthrough to optimize the immune system

    35 shares
    Share 14 Tweet 9

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Tags

Public HealthCell BiologyGeneticsMaterialsChemistry/Physics/Materials SciencesBiologyEcology/EnvironmentTechnology/Engineering/Computer SciencecancerMedicine/HealthClimate ChangeInfectious/Emerging Diseases

Recent Posts

  • Sensing suns
  • Predicts the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) using deep learning-based Splice-AI
  • When foams collapse (and when they don’t)
  • UTA researcher explores effects of trauma at the cellular, tissue levels of the brain
  • Contact Us

© 2019 Bioengineer.org - Biotechnology news by Science Magazine - Scienmag.

No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

© 2019 Bioengineer.org - Biotechnology news by Science Magazine - Scienmag.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In