Recent advances in pain management based on nanoparticle technologies

Abstract

Background Pain is a vital sense that indicates the risk of injury at a particular body part. Successful control of pain is the principal aspect in medical treatment. In recent years, the advances of nanotechnology in pain management have been remarkable. In this review, we focus on literature and published data that reveal various applications of nanotechnology in acute and chronic pain management. Methods The presented content is based on information collected through pain management publications (227 articles up to April 2021) provided by Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar services. Results A comprehensive study of the articles revealed that nanotechnology-based drug delivery has provided acceptable results in pain control, limiting the side effects and increasing the efficacy of analgesic drugs. Besides the ability of nanotechnology to deliver drugs, sophisticated nanosystems have been designed to enhance imaging and diagnostics, which help in rapid diagnosis of diseases and have a significant impact on controlling pain. Furthermore, with the development of various tools, nanotechnology can accurately measure pain and use these measurements to display the efficiency of different interventions. Conclusions Nanotechnology has started a new era in the pain management and many promising results have been achieved in this regard. Nevertheless, there is still no substantial and adequate act of nanotechnology in this field. Therefore, efforts should be directed to broad investigations. Graphical Abstract

Calcium Carbonate/Polydopamine Composite Nanoplatform Based on TGF-β Blockade for Comfortable Cancer Immunotherapy

“…The excellent pain behavioral performance prompted us to further explore the analgesic mechanism of CaPNM CUR+Ropi . Ropivacaine, as a common local anesthetic, exerts short-term analgesic effects by attenuating the excitability of peripheral nociceptive nerve fibers through inhibition of voltage-gated sodium channels. , For long-term cancer pain inhibition, as previously reported, the TGF-β in the tumor tissue combines with TGF-β RI and TGF-β RII in the SDH, inducing the intracellular phosphorylation of Smad2/3 and ERK, which leads to the activation of TRPV1. The activated TRPV1 can cause hyperalgesia and allodynia. ,,, Therefore, the downregulation of the TGF-β expression is anticipated to reduce the nociceptive hypersensitivity of tumor-bearing mice with cancer pain.…”

Sustained-Release Esketamine Based Nanoparticle-Hydrogel Delivery System for Neuropathic Pain Management

“…41 Nanomaterials have emerged as a new direction in the development of pain medications. 42 Notably, Hyaluronic acid, used in a variety of biomedical research areas, is now a successful sustained-release method in drug delivery technology. 43 Nanoparticles in granular form, when applied topically, do not completely surround the nerve root and there is partial loss, which can be avoided to some extent with hydrogels.…”

Diclofenac Sodium Nanomedicine Results in Pain-relief and Differential Expression of the RNA Transcriptome in the Spinal Cord of Spared Nerve Injury Rats

“…Currently there are various therapeutic approaches, such as spinal cord stimulation (SCS), pharmacotherapy, acupuncture therapy [49], etc. However, the sustained release and targeted delivery of analgesic drugs remains a critical concern for effective analgesic management [50]. With the consideration of reducing the side effects accompanying therapeutic drugs, the synthesis of nanoparticle formulations has developed rapidly as a new method of pain management.…”