Preparation and characterization of nano-isoliquiritigenin, molecular dynamics simulations and in vitro studies to evaluate potential TrkB activation

• Design of Experiment is a statistical and predictive approach to obtain optimized formulation of nano-isoliquiritigenin. • Computational studies revealed isoliquiritigenin binding to TrkB receptor, comparable to 7,8-dihydroxyflavone. • In vitro cell viability study on SHSY-5Y cell line demonstrated superior neuroprotective efficiency of nano-isoliquiritigenin in comparison with isoliquiritigenin. • Nano-isoliquiritigenin represents a promising TrkB agonist platform for neurodegenerative disorders.