Gold nanoparticle nasal spray delivers lithium safely to the brain

Italian researchers have developed a novel nasal spray that uses gold nanoparticles to deliver lithium directly to the brain, aiming to provide safer treatment options for conditions like bipolar disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, and viral brain infections. Traditional oral lithium therapy, while effective, often causes harmful side effects on organs such as the kidneys and thyroid. The new approach leverages inert gold nanoparticles coated with lithium and functionalized with glutathione, enabling the particles to cross the nasal passage and enter brain cells where they release lithium precisely, minimizing systemic exposure and associated risks. Preclinical studies demonstrated that these lithium-loaded gold nanoparticles (LiG-AuNPs) effectively inhibit glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta (GSK-3β), an enzyme implicated in Alzheimer’s and bipolar disorder, and restored memory loss in mice without adverse effects. The technology, developed by teams at Università Cattolica Rome and the University of Salerno, has been patented internationally and shows promise for clinical application due to its ease of synthesis and low