Nanotechnology advances in pathogen- and host-targeted antiviral delivery: multipronged therapeutic intervention for pandemic control

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic's high mortality rate and severe socioeconomic impact serve as a reminder of the urgent need for effective countermeasures against viral pandemic threats. In particular, effective antiviral therapeutics capable of stopping infections in its tracks is critical to reducing infection fatality rate and healthcare burden. With the field of drug delivery witnessing tremendous advancement in the last two decades owing to a panoply of nanotechnology advances, the present review summarizes and expounds on the research and development of therapeutic nanoformulations against various infectious viral pathogens, including HIV, influenza, and coronaviruses. Specifically, nanotechnology advances towards improving pathogen-and host-targeted antiviral drug delivery are reviewed, and the prospect of achieving effective viral eradication, broad-spectrum antiviral effect, and resisting viral mutations are discussed. As several COVID-19 antiviral clinical trials are met with lackluster treatment efficacy, nanocarrier strategies aimed at improving drug pharmacokinetics, biodistributions, and synergism are expected to not only contribute to the current disease treatment efforts but also expand the antiviral arsenal against other emerging viral diseases.

The Viral Capsid As Novel Nanomaterials for Drug Delivery

“…The described nanomaterials can be categorized according to their chemistry; inorganic and organic materials as the base material. Organic materials include carriers based on polymers and lipids like dendrimers, liposomes, dendrimers and other polymer derivatives, while inorganic materials include materials like metal-based nanomaterials and carbon-based nanomaterials (fullerenes, graphene, graphene oxide) [ 154 , 155 ]. These nanomaterials are functionalized for their use as drug carriers, depending on the different physical and chemical parameters [ 156 ].…”

Nanoparticle as the Strategy for the Development of Sars-Cov-2 Antiviral Drugs

“…Lactoferrin of a multifunctional glycoprotein is currently being developed in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2. Lactoferrin liposome shows promising results by inhibiting the entry of viruses, reducing inflammation [52] and having the activities as an immunomodulator. Lactoferrin liposomes will be related to ACE-2 so that SARS-CoV-2 will not interact with ACE-2, which causes it to not be able to enter the host cell.…”

Nanoformulation Composed of Ellagic Acid and Functionalized Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Inactivates DNA and RNA Viruses

“…Drug delivery systems (DDSs), employing nanoformulations, have been the main platform of nanomedicine over the last few decades, witnessing tremendous advancements in therapy against various infectious by viruses (i.e., HIV, influenza, coronaviruses) and bacteria [4][5][6][7]. The main concept behind using nano-antivirals is to allow nanoparticle (NP)-virus interactions, based on the small size of the virus, offering a realistic solution for treating them.…”

“…The natural prodrug ELG (2,3,7,8-tetrahydroxy-chromeno [5,4,3-cde]chromene-5,10dione), a safe and powerful polyphenol, is present in several types of fruit (e.g., grapes, pomegranates, strawberries, and walnuts) [20,21] and medicinal plants [22]. It exhibits multiple pharmacological actions, including anticancer, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial effects [21,23,24].…”