The 21st century has seen a massive spring up in the applications of nanobiotechnology. Incorporation of functionalized and modified nanostructures in various biomedical applications has generated significant research interests such as implant and tissue engineering, diagnosis, and therapy, thereby aiding in improvement of human health. The unique properties of nanoparticles including non-toxicity and biocompatibility with a large surface area make it possible to modify their surface with different chemicals including different polymers, antibodies, and drug molecules. Therefore, they are utilized for targeted drug delivery in order to carry drugs and selectively release them in desired tissues which reduces destructive effects on healthy cells. This chapter mainly covers the basic properties of nanoparticles including nanomedicine, their preparation and focuses on their diagnosis, and therapeutic applications in disease including cancer and other challenging ailments.

Tuberculosis still stands as the world’s leading infectious disease as 1/4th of the world’s population harbors Latent TB infection (LTBI) > 10 million develops active TB and ~ 1.5 million people die per year. Approximately 4,65,000 people fell ill with multidrug or rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/RR-TB)/year. This deadly TB scenario demands new TB drug regimens to tackle global infection reservoir, and worldwide spread of drug resistance and DS TB. Successful entry of single new drug into market is much complicated mission owing to time, cost, efficacy, and safety issues. Therefore, drug repurposing seems one reliable hope to meet the challenges of modern TB drug discovery timely, as it starts with examining market acclaimed drugs against other diseases for their efficacies against tuberculosis avoiding several lengthy and costly steps required for new molecules. Several drugs have been identified, which show potential for TB treatment. There is need for careful consideration of various trial designs to ensure that TB phase III trials are initiated for fruitful development of new TB treatment regimens. TB drug repurposing will not only give fast track novel drugs but will also serve to identify new targets for future development in cost-effective manner.

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