What question did this study set out to answer?

To investigate the effectiveness of nose-to-brain delivery of cannabidiol-loaded micelles in improving behavioral symptoms of autism spectrum disorder.

April 4, 2026Bioactive Materials0 citationsOpen Access

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Nose-to-brain administration of cannabidiol-loaded polymeric micelles improves the core behavioral symptoms of autism spectrum disorder

RARania AwadTechnion – Israel Institute of Technology SAShlomit Aga-MizrachiJerusalem College of Technology IMInon MaozUniversity of Haifa

Key Points

To investigate the effectiveness of nose-to-brain delivery of cannabidiol-loaded micelles in improving behavioral symptoms of autism spectrum disorder.
Developed polymeric micelles using Pluronic® F127 loaded with CBD.
Characterized micelles for size and permeability using dynamic light scattering and in vitro models.
Administered micelles intranasally to ASD-like rats and measured cannabinoid accumulation in the brain using bioimaging.
Assessed behavioral improvements using a model of autism spectrum disorder.
CBD-loaded micelles displayed a hydrodynamic diameter suitable for nasal delivery.
Intranasal administration increased CBD brain concentration by 27.8% compared to oral delivery.
Behavioral studies showed significant improvement in social cooperation in ASD-like rats after treatment.

Abstract

Neurodevelopmental disorders including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affect 5.9% of the global population. Research shows the potential therapeutic use of cannabidiol (CBD) to treat different neurodevelopmental disorders, including ASD. Intranasal drug delivery (i.n.) is a non-invasive and painless administration route that enhances drug bioavailability in the brain bypassing the blood-brain barrier. Various polymeric nanoparticles have been investigated for i.n. delivery with different success levels. In this study, we developed and characterized polymeric micelles of the poly(ethylene oxide)- b -poly(propylene oxide) block copolymer Pluronic® F127 loaded with 25% w/w CBD (based on solid weight) for nose-to-brain delivery in ASD. CBD-loaded polymeric micelles display a hydrodynamic diameter of 41 ± 1 nm by Intensity and 23 ± 1 nm by Number, as measured by dynamic light scattering, and very good compatibility and permeability in the human nasal septum cell line RPMI 2650, an in vitro model of the nasal epithelium. The accumulation of CBD-loaded polymeric micelles administered intranasally in the brain of ASD-like rats is confirmed by bioimaging. The CBD pharmacokinetics upon the i.n. (dose of 5 mg/kg) and oral (15 mg/kg) administration of the loaded polymeric micelles shows a 27.8% increase of the CBD concentration in the brain of ASD-like rats 20 min after i.n. administration, despite the 3-fold decrease in the dose. Finally, the efficacy of this nanoformulation to improve the core symptoms of ASD is demonstrated in behavioral studies in a behavioral model of the disorder in rats. • No pharmacological treatment for autism spectrum disorder is available. • CBD-loaded polymeric micelles are developed for nose-to-brain delivery. • Intranasal CBD-loaded polymeric micelles increase the brain bioavailability. • Intranasal CBD improves social cooperation in a rat model of autism spectrum disorder.

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Cite This Study

Awad et al. (Thu,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69d0adc2659487ece0fa453a https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bioactmat.2026.03.019

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