Intranasal administration of pullulan-based nanoparticles for enhanced delivery of adriamycin into the brain: in vitro and in vivo evaluation.

Intranasal (i.n.) administration is an efficient route for enhancing drug delivery to the brain, bypassing the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and eliminating systemic side effects. The purpose of this study was to investigate the nose-to-brain delivery efficiency of adriamycin (ADM) loaded in cholesterol-modified pullulan self-assembled nanoparticles (CHSP-SAN) via i.n. administration. The prepared nanodrugs (ADM-CHSP-SAN) were characterized as uniform size (112.8±1.02 nm), high drug loading capacity (7.65±0.58 %), and sustained release. CHSP-SAN showed good biocompatibility and low toxicity on HBMEC and C6 cells. The enhanced delivery of ADM across the BBB with CHSP-SAN was demonstrated by the reduced half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value and the increased apoptosis proportion of C6 cells. The pharmacokinetics of ADM-CHSP-SAN was accessed by cerebral microdialysis technique. The pharmacokinetic results showed higher peak concentration (Cmax), area under the curve (AUC0-12h) and shorter peak time (Tmax) after i.n. administration that after intravenous (i.v.) administration. The i.n. administration of CHSP-SAN greatly increased ADM availability in cerebral tissue compared to that of ADM solution. Collectively, CHSP-SAN strikingly increased ADM transport across the BBB and improved its availability in brain via i.n. administration.