The drug delivery systems based on nanoparticles for spinal cord injury repair

Abstract Spinal cord injury (SCI) represents a devastating central nervous system trauma that results in the loss of sensory and motor function. Due to its complex pathological mechanisms and the unsatisfactory therapeutic effects of surgery, medication, and rehabilitation methods currently used in clinical practice, the treatment of this disease still faces enormous challenges. Over the past few decades, researchers have been committed to identify a reliable and potent therapeutic strategy for SCI, and the nano-delivery system has been proven to be more effective. The nanoparticles exhibit favorable controllable release characteristics and targeting ability toward spinal cord tissue, which may overcome the limitations of conventional drug delivery methods and confer exceptional therapeutic efficacy upon the nano-delivery system through sophisticated design, assembly, and surface modification. This review outlines a multimodal treatment strategy and the current application status based on nanoparticles for repairing SCI, with special emphasis on their application prospects, characteristics, and limitations. The discussion delves into the efforts and challenges involved in applying nanoparticle drug delivery technology for clinical SCI repair.