Nanomaterials for Alzheimer’s disease: emerging strategies in diagnosis and therapy

Abstract Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a prevalent and progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by behavioral abnormalities, memory loss, and cognitive decline, presenting significant challenges for early diagnosis and effective treatment. Given the multifactorial pathology of AD and the limited efficacy of conventional approaches, nanotechnology-based strategies have attracted increasing attention as promising solutions to address these unmet clinical needs. Nanomaterials offer distinct advantages for the sensitive and selective detection of AD-related biomarkers due to their high specific surface area, variable surface functions, and capacity to cross biological barriers. This review discusses recent advances in sensing and imaging technologies for AD detection via nanotechnology. Beyond diagnostics, nanomaterials also hold significant therapeutic potential. A variety of nanosystems have been developed to improve drug solubility, promote blood–brain barrier penetration, and achieve controlled or stimulus-responsive drug release. This review presents a comprehensive landscape of recent advances in nano-enabled targeting techniques, with a focus on the target therapy of neuron, microglia, astrocyte, Aβ, Tau, mitochondria and iron. Moreover, the designs of multifunctional nanostructures has enabled synergistic multi-target therapies, which concurrently modulate several pathological pathways. These integrated strategies that integrate antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-aggregative, and neuroprotective mechanisms represent a new paradigm for personalized and precision nanomedicine in AD management. Graphical abstract