Preparation of Antioxidant-Loaded Polymeric Nanoparticles towards a novel Therapeutic Strategy for Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

Nanotechnology is nowadays an encouraging technology for novel therapies on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer or Alzheimer (AD). Current treatments for these diseases lack efficiency, mostly due to sluggish passage of the drugs through the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Development of biocompatible nanoparticles has allowed improved drug delivery systems with very low toxicities, great BBB permeabilities and enhanced delivery of poorly water-soluble drugs. Although AD pathological pathways are still not fully comprehended, it has been noted that molecules that account for high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities reduce AD’s progress. Among these substances we can find ferulic acid (FA), an abundant hydroxycinnamic acid present in cell wall complexes of plants that has been proven to hold neuroprotective capacities that alter amyloid-β (Aβ) fibril formation and protect the brain from Aβ neurotoxicity. Aβ fibril accumulation and Aβ plaque formation are thought to be one of the major causes of AD, thus strategies targeting its disaggregation are crucial in the development of the latest treatments. During this work carried out at the IQAC Colloidal and Interfacial Chemistry group led by Dr.Carlos Rodríguez, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) FA-loaded NPs were prepared and optimised by nano-emulsion templating to evaluate the NPs capacities for AD therapies. A variety of techniques were used to assess nanoparticle’s properties, including hydrodynamic diameter, surface charge, FA’s release, cytotoxicity, antioxidant effects and interactions with Aβ peptide