Focus on Niosomal–based Drug Delivery Systems for Nasal Route: Applications and Challenges

Abstract

For decades, the nasal route of administration is principally used for many therapeutic applications owing to the non-invasive nature of the nasal pathway. Besides, it circumvents blood-brain-barrier (BBB) and hepatic first-pass effect. Consequently, the nasal route is much preferred over other invasive approaches like intravenous, intracerebral, and transcranial for the systemic delivery of drugs and the treatment of central nervous systems (CNS) disorders such as depression, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease (PD) via the nose-to-brain pathway. Drug applied via the nasal route displays some difficulty to reach the brain, like the dose limitation of the nasal pathway, mucociliary clearance, etc. The efficiency of the nasal route depends on the application delivery system. Lipidic-based drug delivery systems (liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles …etc.) have been confirmed for their promising impact on the nasal delivery approach. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the nasal route and the touched-complications of clinical trials in CNS disorders assigns the necessity of consideration to the clinical trials and approval process of the niosomal-based nasal drug delivery approach. This review describes different approaches to nasal delivery, lipidic-based delivery systems with a focus on niosomes as a promising nasal delivery system, along with different formulation methodologies, and applications.