1*Associate Professor, Department of Allied Health Sciences, Brainware University, Kolkata-700125, West Bengal, India. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-5625-6477. Email: deyanimesh3@gmail.com
2PhD Scholar, Department of Biochemistry, Santosh University. ORCID ID: 0009-0004-9518-8049. Email: ayushitomar050@gmail.com
3Professor and HOD, Department of Pharmacology, Chamarajanagar Institute of Medical Sciences, Karnataka. Email: drsrinivasain@gmail.com
4Tutor, Department of Pharmacology, Chamarajanagar Institute of Medical Sciences, Karnataka. ORCID ID: 0009-0006-9262-8808. Email: manjunathmonica19@gmail.com
5PhD scholar, Department of Pharmacology, JSS University, JSS Medical College, Karnataka. Email: bhavanameera16594@gmail.com
6Principal, College of Nursing, Department of Community and Health Nursing. Specialization in Nursing, Sarojini Naidu Medical College, Agra, UP. ORCID ID: 0009-0008-1613-2856. Email: seemakishan22@gmail.com
Neurological diseases are an emergent health issue in the world, but effective treatment is hampered by the limited exposure of the brain, systemic toxicity, and the physiological limitation of the blood to the brain barrier (BBB). This review discusses the potential of neuropharmacological principles and pharmaceutical design methods (i.e. physicochemical optimization, prodrug and molecular modification, and formulation engineering) to increase CNS targeting and therapeutic efficacy. Current advances in drug delivery technologies are discussed, including nanotechnology-based platforms (polymeric, lipid-based, and inorganic/hybrid nanocarriers), biological and biomimetic systems (extracellular vesicles, cell-mediated delivery, and peptide/protein targeting), and non-invasive administration routes such as intranasal and microneedle-assisted delivery. Smart and advanced platforms, including stimuli-responsive systems, nucleic acid delivery vectors, multifunctional theranostic designs, and artificial intelligence–assisted formulation development, are highlighted as emerging strategies to improve spatial and temporal control of drug release. Clinical relevance is evaluated across neurodegenerative, neuropsychiatric, cerebrovascular, and neuro-oncological disorders, with emphasis on the increasing role of biomarkers and imaging endpoints in linking delivery performance to therapeutic outcomes. The main challenges of translation, such as lack of predictability of preclinical models over time, long-term safety, the complexity of regulations, and scalability of manufacturing are addressed in the framework of the clinical impact acceleration.
Keywords: blood–brain barrier, CNS drug delivery, nanocarriers, biomimetic delivery, theranostics.
How to cite this article: Dey A, Singh A, Srinivasa K, Monica MM, Rashmi HR, Yadav S. Innovative Drug Delivery Systems for Neurological Disorders: Pharmaceutical Design, Neuropharmacology, and Clinical Implications. Int J Drug Deliv Technol. 2026;16(16s): 322-332. DOI: 10.25258/ijddt.16.16s.35
Source of support: Nil.
Conflict of interest: None