Neurodegenerative disorders are primarily characterized by neuron loss. The most common neurodegenerative disorders include Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Although there are several medicines currently approved for managing neurodegenerative disorders, a large majority of them only help with associated symptoms. This lack of pathogenesis-targeting therapies is primarily due to the restrictive effects of the blood–brain barrier (BBB), which keeps close to 99% of all “foreign substances” out of the brain. Since their discovery, nanoparticles have been successfully used for targeted delivery into many organs, including the brain. This review briefly describes the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and their current management approaches. We then highlight the major challenges of brain-drug delivery, followed by the role of nanotherapeutics for the diagnosis and treatment of various neurological disorders.

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/3/1851/pdf?version=1644304034

A Review of the Common Neurodegenerative Disorders: Current Therapeutic Approaches and the Potential Role of Nanotherapeutics

Advances in nanomedicines for diagnosis of central nervous system disorders.

Recent advances in technology are expected to increase our current understanding of neuroscience. Nanotechnology and nanomaterials can alter and control neural functionality in both in vitro and in vivo experimental setups. The intersection between neuroscience and nanoscience may generate long-term neural interfaces adapted at the molecular level. Owing to their intrinsic physicochemical characteristics, gold nanostructures (GNSs) have received much attention in neuroscience, especially for combined diagnostic and therapeutic (theragnostic) purposes. GNSs have been successfully employed to stimulate and monitor neurophysiological signals. Hence, GNSs could provide a promising solution for the regeneration and recovery of neural tissue, novel neuroprotective strategies, and integrated implantable materials. This review covers the broad range of neurological applications of GNS-based materials to improve clinical diagnosis and therapy. Sub-topics include neurotoxicity, targeted delivery of therapeutics to the central nervous system (CNS), neurochemical sensing, neuromodulation, neuroimaging, neurotherapy, tissue engineering, and neural regeneration. It focuses on core concepts of GNSs in neurology, to circumvent the limitations and significant obstacles of innovative approaches in neurobiology and neurochemistry, including theragnostics. We will discuss recent advances in the use of GNSs to overcome current bottlenecks and tackle technical and conceptual challenges.

Gold nanostructures: synthesis, properties, and neurological applications.

Biomaterials in treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

The Raman and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra of the C-terminal peptide of pigeon cytochrome C (PCC87–104), were recorded. This peptide is widely used to study the immune response in vivo. Hydrophobicity and net charge parameters of PCC87–104, allowed prediction of the nature of its interaction with colloidal nanostructured silver surfaces. The SERS spectrum provided information about the organization and orientation of PCC87–104 on the surface of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The batch to batch reproducible SERS spectra were obtained by adding the colloidal AgNPs solution onto the dried eywords:

Interaction of the C-terminal peptide from pigeon cytochrome C with silver nanoparticles. A Raman, SERS and theoretical study

The early detection of the amyloid beta peptide aggregates involved in Alzheimer's disease is crucial to test new potential treatments. In this research, we improved the detection of amyloid beta peptide aggregates in vitro and ex vivo by fluorescence combining the use of CRANAD-2 and gold nanorods (GNRs) by the surface enhancement fluorescence effect. We synthetized GNRs and modified their surface with HS-PEG-OMe and HS-PEG-COOH and functionalized them with the D1 peptide, which has the capability to selectively bind to amyloid beta peptide. For an in vitro detection of amyloid beta peptide, we co-incubated amyloid beta peptide aggregates with the probe CRANAD-2 and GNR-PEG-D1 observing an increase in the intensity of the fluorescence signal attributed to surface enhancement fluorescence. Furthermore, the surface enhancement fluorescence effect was observed in brain slices of transgenic mice with Alzheimer´s disease co-incubated with CRANAD-2 and GNR-PEG-D1. An increase in the fluorescence signal was observed allowing the detection of aggregates that cannot be detected with the single use of CRANAD-2. Gold nanoparticles allowed an improvement in the detection of the amyloid aggregated by fluorescence in vitro and ex vivo.

https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/10/4/690/pdf

Nicole Parra-Muñoz

Papers

Gold Nanoparticles Mediate Improved Detection of β-amyloid Aggregates by Fluorescence.

Covalent functionalization of MXenes for tribological purposes - a critical review.

Surface Enhanced Fluorescence Effect Improve the in Vivo Detection of Amyloid Aggregates

Surface enhanced fluorescence effect improves the in vivo detection of amyloid aggregates.