ABSTRACT
The Oprm1 gene encodes μ-opioid receptors (MORs), which are the molecular targets for opioid-mediated analgesia. The analgesic effect of opioids is caused by potential pharmacologic action in the central nervous system (CNS) and brain. The opioid must depend on the relative capacity to cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB), bind to MORs in the CNS, and be uptaken into the brain for effect. Pomegranate extract had been studied as a potent candidate for non-opioid substitution therapy due to its regulation of MORs and cAMP proteins and its ability to traverse the BBB. Due to the closely pharmacological actions in the brain, non-opioid therapy could be proposed to carry out through complementation of nanotechnology to obtain better drug administration results. Nanomaterial-related cancer treatments have been proven to traverse the intact BBB and to be released at therapeutic concentrations in the brain, allowing disease progression to be controlled. This chapter curates and synthesizes a similar pharmacological model of nanotechnology integration with an opioid delivery system for future non-opioid therapy with significant promise.
