Researchers at the University of Edinburgh are leading an investigation into whether an inhaled treatment could be used to administer drugs to the brain. The team will develop tiny particles specifically formulated to be breathed into the lower airways and reach the brain. The crucial question is whether enough material can reach the brain to have a useful effect, rather than simply remaining in the lungs or entering the bloodstream. If it works, this could make some forms of brain treatment remarkably easy to deliver potentially closer to using an inhaler than undergoing brain surgery. It could also provide a new way to carry medicines or research tools to circuits that are currently difficult to reach. The NEURAL-TRAK project (Neural Interfaces for Programmable Delivery and Modulation Along Intrinsic Neural Circuitry) is led by Professor Guangzhao Mao from the School of Engineering. She works closely with a multidisciplinary team of co-investigators from across the University of Edinburgh including Professor Michael Chen, Professor Ian Underwood, and Dr Jamie Marland from the School of Engineering, College of Science and Engineering and Professor Kev Dhaliwal, Professor Giles Hardingham, Dr Jian Gan, and Dr Mark Gray from the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. The Edinburgh team collaborates with Professor Kajana Satkunendrarajah from the University of Miami, USA. Jacques Carolan, Programme Director for Massively Scalable Neurotechnologies at ARIA, said: Neurotechnology can transform lives, but the burden of getting treatments to the brain limits who can benefit. These ten teams are testing radically different access routes and technologies — from blood vessels, the nasal passage and airways; to engineered cells, nanoparticles and soft robotics. Each is a 36-month feasibility study, so the first question is whether the underlying science and engineering can work. Together, they could establish an entirely new paradigm to access, sense and modulate the brain without conventional brain surgery.Professor Guangzhao Mao, Head of the School of Engineering and project Principal Investigator, said:NEURAL-TRAK brings together biomedical engineering, nanotechnology, neuroscience, and respiratory medicine to address one of the most persistent challenges in healthcare: delivering therapeutics effectively to the central nervous system. ARIA's support enables us to explore ideas beyond conventional approaches and push the boundaries of what may be possible in future medicine.The funding has been awarded under The Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) Scalable Neural Interfaces opportunity as part of the Massively Scalable Neurotechnologies Programme funding. Established by the UK Government through the Advanced Research and Invention Agency Act 2022, ARIA was created to empower exceptional scientists and engineers to pursue ambitious, high-risk research with the potential to deliver transformational breakthroughs. Related links ARIA Scalable Neural Interfaces Publication date 09 Nov, 2026
