Design and development of polymeric levodopa nanoparticles for intranasal drug delivery / Mohd Zulhelmy Ahmad

Nasal delivery is an alternative route of delivery to deliver levodopa (L-dopa) to the brain. It provides high permeability towards drugs in the nasal epithelium, rapid absorption across the central nervous system (CNS) and avoidance of first-pass metabolism. Importantly, transport of exogenous materials directly from nose-to-brain is a potential route for bypassing the blood brain barrier (BBB). In this study, we developed a carrier system for L-dopa using polymers such as poly lactic co-glycolic acid (PLGA) and chitosan. Screening of suitable polymers as a drug carrier is important to ensure optimum percentage of L-dopa encapsulated in the carrier system. Total of three formulations (P1, P2 and P3) using PLGA nanoparticles were prepared using modified water in oil in water (W/O/W) solvent evaporation technique while four formulations of chitosan nanoparticles (C1, C2, C3 and C4) were prepared by ionic gelation method with sodium tripolyphosphate as a crosslinking agent.