Acetylcholine Analog-Modified Albumin Nanoparticles for the Enhanced and Synchronous Brain Delivery of Saponin Components of Panax Notoginseng

Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) are commonly used first-line drugs for treating cerebral thrombosis and stroke in China. However, the synchronized and targeted delivery of active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) poses a significant challenge for modern TCM formulations.

Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was modified using 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC), an analog of acetylcholine, and subsequently adsorbed the major PNS onto the modified albumin to produce MPC-BSA@PNS nanoparticles (NPs). This novel delivery system facilitated efficient and synchronized transport of PNS across the blood–brain barrier (BBB) through active transport mediated by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.

In vitro experiments demonstrated that the transport rates of R₁, R_g1, R_b1, and R_d across the BBB were relatively synchronous in MPC-BSA@PNS NPs compared to those in the PNS solution. Additionally, animal experiments revealed that the brain-targeting efficiencies of R₁ + R_g1 + R_b1 in MPC-BSA@PNS NPs were 2.02 and 7.73 times higher than those in BSA@PNS NPs and the free PNS group, respectively.

This study presents a simple and feasible approach for achieving the targeted delivery of complex active ingredient clusters in TCM.