LAUSR

Abstract Alpha synuclien (α-syn) is a protein consist of 140 amino-acid which is abundantly present in brain and associated with Parkinson diseases (PD). The physiological functions of α-syn are not clearly understood in neurochemistry. The key hallmark of PD are tremor, bradykinesia, rigor and postural instability. The α-syn is mainly limited to axon terminals indicating that its pathological aggregation into Lewy body generally occur way far from its normal expression loci. Pathology of α-syn in PD is not only confined to cell soma, but also projectable in the neuritic processes. Targeting of α-syn using nanoparticles (NPs) could be a well-defined approach for treating PD. Nanoparticles (NPs) interact with α-syn by inhibiting aggregation as well as fibrillation process. Certain NPs disassemble preformed amyloid fibrils and also facilitates entry of drug into CNS, provides sustained release as well delivers drug to specific cells mediating targeted drug delivery. NPs are generally composed of numerous polymers which determines surface charges based on the polymer employed. Various polymeric, lipidic and inorganic NPs could be used to target α-syn. The therapeutic efficacy of α-syn NPs were later confirmed by various pre-clinical studies on animal models. Therefore, this review focuses on the α-syn targeting using NPs employed for PD’s disease and provides a brief overview of pre-clinical studies and diagnostic aspects of these NPs.