Design of mesoporous nanoparticles from bioactive glasses as a promising approach for neuroprotective drug delivery

• Grant number: 23/00747-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2023
• End date: May 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Biomedical Engineering - Bioengineering
• Principal Investigator: João Henrique Lopes
• Grantee: Bianca Marçal Pagan
• Host Institution: Divisão de Ciências Fundamentais (IEF). Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA). Ministério da Defesa (Brasil). São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The challenges associated with stroke are numerous, which is why it is one of the main causes of hospitalizations and cognitive impairment in adults and the elderly, in addition to being the second cause of death globally. The adversities associated with the treatment of survivors with sequelae go beyond the unavailability of efficient treatments, as well as the economic burden, the limited regenerative capacity of neural tissue, and the difficulty in administering drugs across the blood-brain barrier. Clinical need calls for the development of innovative and effective treatment strategies for repair and regeneration of injured or diseased neurological tissues and organs. Among the options currently being researched, tissue engineering is the most promising for the recovery and regeneration of neural tissues in cerebral ischemia after stroke. In this sense, we propose the development and characterization of multicomponent mesoporous spherical nanoparticles of bioactive glasses (NpMBGs) by optimizing the sol-gel synthesis route, aiming at a synergistic approach combined with the intrinsic properties conferred by the mesoporosity of NpMBGs and ion therapy as a stimulus for neural tissue regeneration. In neural tissue engineering, NpMBGs present a promising approach for the delivery of neuroprotective drugs, while the controlled delivery of biologically important ionic species, such as copper, zinc and boron, has been associated with the promotion of important biochemical stimuli in regeneration and repair of injured tissue. The execution of the research project will allow an expansion in the knowledge about the synthesis of multicomponent silicate glass compositions with size and morphology controlled via sol-gel method. It is noteworthy that the present proposal is part of a doctoral project entitled "Development of multifunctional platforms applied to post-stroke neural tissue regeneration", under development in the research group.