Browsing by Subject "Parkinson’s"

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder characterised by motor symptoms such as bradykinesia, rigidity, tremor, and postural instability. Current treatments only relieve symptoms but do not stop disease progression. Neurotrophic factors (NTFs) are promising drug candidates for the treatment of PD: cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF) and mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF) are proteins with neurotrophic properties that protect and restore dopamine neurons in animal models of PD. However, a major limitation of NTFs and CDNF and MANF is the need for direct delivery into the brain. Drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a key unmet need in neurological drug development. Nanoparticles (NPs) can be used for non-invasive delivery of drugs into the brain. Due to the customizability of size, charge, and surface chemistry, NPs display advantages as drug delivery systems posing high drug loading capacity, permeability through biological barriers, and the ability to deliver drugs to specific body parts. Several studies have shown that potential PD drug candidates that do not cross the BBB can be delivered to the brain by NPs. In this project, we optimized the lipid nanoparticle–liposome composition. Using thin-film hydration, the prepared liposomes were sonicated, followed by protein loading, and dialysis, which resulted in homogenous and purified drug-encapsulated liposomes. Before protein loading, the liposomes were characterised for size and charge. After protein loading, the encapsulation efficiency was measured using ELISA analysis.