Rich66
09-11-2011, 10:55 AM
http://www.materialsviews.com/details/news/1338985/Breaching_the_Gates_of_Troy_Drug_Delivery_Systems_ for_the_Central_Nervous_System.html
Choline is a molecule abundant in the CNS environment, the high concentration indicating that it can travel freely across the BBB, and previous studies had demonstrated the use of choline and glucose as transporter paths for a limited range of drugs. The research reported by the Chinese team takes another step along the road, coupling a choline derivative to a nanoparticle-based gene-delivery system in order to cross the barrier and release the drug into the CNS environment. Fluorescent tagging of the compounds for in vitro testing showed that the choline, acting as a Trojan horse, successfully carried its contents into the CNS, concentrating in areas where the choline demand was greatest.
Choline is a molecule abundant in the CNS environment, the high concentration indicating that it can travel freely across the BBB, and previous studies had demonstrated the use of choline and glucose as transporter paths for a limited range of drugs. The research reported by the Chinese team takes another step along the road, coupling a choline derivative to a nanoparticle-based gene-delivery system in order to cross the barrier and release the drug into the CNS environment. Fluorescent tagging of the compounds for in vitro testing showed that the choline, acting as a Trojan horse, successfully carried its contents into the CNS, concentrating in areas where the choline demand was greatest.