Nanosized Drug Delivery Systems to Fight Tuberculosis

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is currently the second deadliest infectious disease. Existing antitubercular therapies are long, complex, and have severe side effects that result in low patient compliance. In this context, nanosized drug delivery systems (DDSs) have the potential to optimize the treatment’s efficiency while reducing its toxicity. Hundreds of publications illustrate the growing interest in this field. In this review, the main challenges related to the use of drug nanocarriers to fight TB are overviewed. Relevant publications regarding DDSs for the treatment of TB are classified according to the encapsulated drugs, from first-line to second-line drugs. The physicochemical and biological properties of the investigated formulations are listed. DDSs could simultaneously (i) optimize the therapy’s antibacterial effects; (ii) reduce the doses; (iii) reduce the posology; (iv) diminish the toxicity; and as a global result, (v) mitigate the emergence of resistant strains. Moreover, we highlight that host-directed therapy using nanoparticles (NPs) is a recent promising trend. Although the research on nanosized DDSs for TB treatment is expanding, clinical applications have yet to be developed. Most studies are only dedicated to the development of new formulations, without the in vivo proof of concept. In the near future, it is expected that NPs prepared by “green” scalable methods, with intrinsic antibacterial properties and capable of co-encapsulating synergistic drugs, may find applications to fight TB.

Breaking barriers: The potential of nanosystems in antituberculosis therapy

“…CISH can trigger ubiquitination and subsequent degradation of the A catalytic subunit of V-ATPase by proteasomes, in such a way that this microorganism blocks the recruitment of GTPases and V-ATPases to the phagosome membrane. It also has a secretion system (ESX-1) that damages and permeabilizes this membrane, allowing it to occasionally escape to the cytosol [ 50 ]. Parallelly, the nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS2), induced by IFN-γ, activates the infected macrophages and inhibits the intracellular replication of MTB.…”

An Insight into Advances in Developing Nanotechnology Based Therapeutics, Drug Delivery, Diagnostics and Vaccines: Multidimensional Applications in Tuberculosis Disease Management

“…Furthermore, there are only a few compounds for pulmonary administration on the existing list of pharmaceutical additives [260]. Many other researchers have also reviewed the nano-TB options for treatment, providing a deep overview of the knowledge and technologies available [261][262][263][264][265].…”

Polymeric Nanoparticles (PNPs) as drug delivery systems for SARS-CoV-2

“…This has resulted in the development of new therapeutics to treat a variety of diseases [16]. Various types of nanoparticles are currently in use for different applications [17], but this paper only focuses on Polymeric Nanoparticles (PNPs). PNPs are particles that range in size from 1 to 1000 nm [18] and can be loaded with active compounds that travel through our body to deliver the active compound to the targeted location [19].…”