Team Engineers New Way to Get Medication Past Blood-Brain Barrier
upstart writes:
Getting medication past the brain's unique and protective blood vessels, known as the blood-brain barrier, is one of the biggest challenges in treating brain and central nervous system diseases, said Dr. Zhenpeng Qin, associate professor of mechanical engineering at UT Dallas and co-corresponding author of the study that describes the method. The technique uses light and nanoparticles to pry open temporarily these barriers -- called tight junctions -- to allow medication to reach its target.
Researchers synthesized gold nanoparticles to target the tight junction specifically and demonstrated that transcranial picosecond laser stimulation of the nanoparticles post-intravenous injection increases the permeability of the blood-brain barrier. (Illustration credit: Nano Letters)
[...] The technique involves injecting gold nanoparticles, which absorb light, into the bloodstream to target the blood-brain barrier. Researchers apply picosecond (one-trillionth of a second) laser pulses externally to activate the gold nanoparticles.
"The action produces a tiny mechanical force that temporarily breaks the barrier open so a drug can enter the blood flow into the brain," Li said.
The study demonstrated that the technique did not damage the blood-brain barrier or the constriction and dilation of blood vessels, called vasomotion.
Journal Reference:
Xiaoqing Li, Vamsidhara Vemireddy, Qi Cai, et al. Reversibly Modulating the Blood-Brain Barrier by Laser Stimulation of Molecular-Targeted Nanoparticles, Nano Letters (DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c02996)
Read more of this story at SoylentNews.