2022, Vol. 26 ›› Issue (22): 3566-3572

Nanoparticles: a novel strategy for the treatment of ischemic stroke

Xiakeerzhati•Xiaohalati, Wang Xiaobei, Wang Lin   

Abstract: BACKGROUND: As a class of nano-scaled biomaterials, nanoparticles have exhibited outstanding performances in promoting neural stem cells proliferation and differentiation, delivering therapeutic molecules and drugs, and scavenging excessive radical oxygen species.
OBJECTIVE: To summarize the properties of nanoparticles for the treatment of ischemic stroke, and to analyze their therapeutic effects and related treatment mechanism on the pathological process of ischemic stroke.
METHODS: The author searched the relevant articles collected by PubMed, Wanfang, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure database from January 2000 to December 2020. The key words were “ischemic stroke, nanomaterials, nanoparticles, nanozyme” in English, and “ischemic stroke or cerebral infarction, nanoparticles, nanozyme” in Chinese. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 79 articles were finally selected for review.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Nanoparticles have made great progress in the treatment of ischemic stroke. A large number of studies have shown that (1) nanoparticles can be used as a drug delivery system to deliver neuroprotective drugs and molecules and to achieve targeted drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier. (2) Nanoparticles can promote brain tissue regeneration through their inherent anti-oxidation properties. (3) Nanoparticle combined with stem cell therapy can improve the efficacy of endogenous neurogenesis and exogenous stem cell transplantation. However, a very little proportion of studies have focused on this field, and meanwhile lacking a systematic design standard and optimal formulation of nanoparticles for ischemic stroke treatment. In the future, it is necessary to further explore the disease mechanism of ischemic stroke and fully understand the interaction between nanoparticles and biological systems, thereby designing a brain-targeted nanoparticle therapy system to promote its clinical application.
Key words: ischemic stroke, nanoparticles, drug delivery, nanozyme, stem cells, tissue engineering, nerve regeneration, review