Nanotechnology for stroke treatment

Stroke is the second leading cause of death and the leading cause of disability among adults worldwide according to the World Health Organization. Development of efficient strategies for stroke treatment has long been a high priority. Recently remarkable progress has demonstrated that nanotechnology-based methodology shows a great potential to significantly enhance stroke treatment efficiency. This chapter will discuss the general principles for improving thrombolysis efficiency and highlight different strategies and enhancement mechanisms for nanotechnology-based stroke treatment. Two general catalogs will be discussed, passive nanoparticle (NP) treatment and active NP treatment. The compositions, drug-loading mechanisms, NP targeting methods, and drug release strategies of passive NP treatment will be elaborated in detail. For active NP treatment, recent progress on different NP activation mechanisms with or without thrombolytic agent using external magnetic field, ultrasound, or light, are reviewed. The use of active NP drug carriers is the future of nanotechnology-based stroke treatment.