Dendrimers and Derivatives as Multifunctional Nanotherapeutics for Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most prevalent form of dementia. It affects more than 30 million people worldwide and costs over US$ 1.3 trillion annually. AD is characterized by the brain accumulation of amyloid β peptide in fibrillar structures and the accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau aggre...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Pharmaceutics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/15/4/1054 |
| _version_ | 1797603913816342528 |
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| author | Débora A. Moreira Sofia D. Santos Victoria Leiro Ana P. Pêgo |
| author_facet | Débora A. Moreira Sofia D. Santos Victoria Leiro Ana P. Pêgo |
| author_sort | Débora A. Moreira |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most prevalent form of dementia. It affects more than 30 million people worldwide and costs over US$ 1.3 trillion annually. AD is characterized by the brain accumulation of amyloid β peptide in fibrillar structures and the accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau aggregates in neurons, both leading to toxicity and neuronal death. At present, there are only seven drugs approved for the treatment of AD, of which only two can slow down cognitive decline. Moreover, their use is only recommended for the early stages of AD, meaning that the major portion of AD patients still have no disease-modifying treatment options. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop efficient therapies for AD. In this context, nanobiomaterials, and dendrimers in particular, offer the possibility of developing multifunctional and multitargeted therapies. Due to their intrinsic characteristics, dendrimers are first-in-class macromolecules for drug delivery. They have a globular, well-defined, and hyperbranched structure, controllable nanosize and multivalency, which allows them to act as efficient and versatile nanocarriers of different therapeutic molecules. In addition, different types of dendrimers display antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-prion, and most importantly for the AD field, anti-amyloidogenic properties. Therefore, dendrimers can not only be excellent nanocarriers, but also be used as drugs per se. Here, the outstanding properties of dendrimers and derivatives that make them excellent AD nanotherapeutics are reviewed and critically discussed. The biological properties of several dendritic structures (dendrimers, derivatives, and dendrimer-like polymers) that enable them to be used as drugs for AD treatment will be pointed out and the chemical and structural characteristics behind those properties will be analysed. The reported use of these nanomaterials as nanocarriers in AD preclinical research is also presented. Finally, future perspectives and challenges that need to be overcome to make their use in the clinic a reality are discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:38:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f12ad6185de549629c0d62c6fe3182bf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4923 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:38:48Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pharmaceutics |
| spelling | doaj.art-f12ad6185de549629c0d62c6fe3182bf2023-11-17T20:52:03ZengMDPI AGPharmaceutics1999-49232023-03-01154105410.3390/pharmaceutics15041054Dendrimers and Derivatives as Multifunctional Nanotherapeutics for Alzheimer’s DiseaseDébora A. Moreira0Sofia D. Santos1Victoria Leiro2Ana P. Pêgo3i3S—Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen 208, 4200-135 Porto, Portugali3S—Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen 208, 4200-135 Porto, Portugali3S—Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen 208, 4200-135 Porto, Portugali3S—Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen 208, 4200-135 Porto, PortugalAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most prevalent form of dementia. It affects more than 30 million people worldwide and costs over US$ 1.3 trillion annually. AD is characterized by the brain accumulation of amyloid β peptide in fibrillar structures and the accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau aggregates in neurons, both leading to toxicity and neuronal death. At present, there are only seven drugs approved for the treatment of AD, of which only two can slow down cognitive decline. Moreover, their use is only recommended for the early stages of AD, meaning that the major portion of AD patients still have no disease-modifying treatment options. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop efficient therapies for AD. In this context, nanobiomaterials, and dendrimers in particular, offer the possibility of developing multifunctional and multitargeted therapies. Due to their intrinsic characteristics, dendrimers are first-in-class macromolecules for drug delivery. They have a globular, well-defined, and hyperbranched structure, controllable nanosize and multivalency, which allows them to act as efficient and versatile nanocarriers of different therapeutic molecules. In addition, different types of dendrimers display antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-prion, and most importantly for the AD field, anti-amyloidogenic properties. Therefore, dendrimers can not only be excellent nanocarriers, but also be used as drugs per se. Here, the outstanding properties of dendrimers and derivatives that make them excellent AD nanotherapeutics are reviewed and critically discussed. The biological properties of several dendritic structures (dendrimers, derivatives, and dendrimer-like polymers) that enable them to be used as drugs for AD treatment will be pointed out and the chemical and structural characteristics behind those properties will be analysed. The reported use of these nanomaterials as nanocarriers in AD preclinical research is also presented. Finally, future perspectives and challenges that need to be overcome to make their use in the clinic a reality are discussed.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/15/4/1054dendrimerAlzheimer’s diseasenanomedicineamyloid βtau peptideacetylcholinesterase |
| spellingShingle | Débora A. Moreira Sofia D. Santos Victoria Leiro Ana P. Pêgo Dendrimers and Derivatives as Multifunctional Nanotherapeutics for Alzheimer’s Disease Pharmaceutics dendrimer Alzheimer’s disease nanomedicine amyloid β tau peptide acetylcholinesterase |
| title | Dendrimers and Derivatives as Multifunctional Nanotherapeutics for Alzheimer’s Disease |
| title_full | Dendrimers and Derivatives as Multifunctional Nanotherapeutics for Alzheimer’s Disease |
| title_fullStr | Dendrimers and Derivatives as Multifunctional Nanotherapeutics for Alzheimer’s Disease |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dendrimers and Derivatives as Multifunctional Nanotherapeutics for Alzheimer’s Disease |
| title_short | Dendrimers and Derivatives as Multifunctional Nanotherapeutics for Alzheimer’s Disease |
| title_sort | dendrimers and derivatives as multifunctional nanotherapeutics for alzheimer s disease |
| topic | dendrimer Alzheimer’s disease nanomedicine amyloid β tau peptide acetylcholinesterase |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/15/4/1054 |
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