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Manufacture and Drug Delivery Applications of Silk Nanoparticles
Published on: October 8, 2016
Nanoparticles as safe and effective delivery systems of antifungal agents: Achievements and challenges
1Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Assiut University, Assiut, 71526, Egypt; Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Abstract:
Invasive fungal infections are becoming a major health concern in several groups of patients leading to severe morbidity and mortality. Moreover, cutaneous fungal infections are a major cause of visits to outpatient dermatology clinics. Despite the availability of several effective agents in the antifungal drug arena, their therapeutic outcome is less than optimal due to limitations related to drug physicochemical properties and toxicity. For instance, poor aqueous solubility limits the formulation options and efficacy of several azole antifungal drugs while toxicity limits the benefits of many other drugs. Nanoparticles hold great promise to overcome these limitations due to their ability to enhance drug aqueous solubility, bioavailability and antifungal efficacy. Further, drug incorporation into nanoparticles could greatly reduce its toxicity. Despite these interesting nanoparticle features, there are only few marketed nanoparticle-based antifungal drug formulations. This review sheds light on different classes of nanoparticles used in antifungal drug delivery, such as lipid-based vesicles, polymeric micelles, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, nanoemulsions and dendrimers with emphasis on their advantages and limitations. Translation of these nanoformulations from the lab to the clinic could be facilitated by focusing the research on overcoming problems related to nanoparticle stability, drug loading and high cost of production and standardization.
Insights
Nanoparticles offer a promising solution to enhance antifungal drug delivery, improving solubility, efficacy, and reducing toxicity. Further research is needed to overcome challenges for clinical translation of these advanced drug formulations.
Area of Science:
- Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Nanotechnology
- Mycology
Background:
- Invasive and cutaneous fungal infections pose significant global health challenges, causing severe morbidity and mortality.
- Current antifungal therapies have suboptimal outcomes due to poor drug solubility, toxicity, and limited formulation options.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review various nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems for antifungal agents.
- To highlight the advantages and limitations of different nanoparticle classes in enhancing antifungal efficacy and reducing toxicity.
- To identify key challenges hindering the clinical translation of nanoformulated antifungal drugs.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive literature review of nanoparticle-based antifungal drug delivery systems.
- Analysis of different nanoparticle types including lipid-based vesicles, polymeric micelles, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, nanoemulsions, and dendrimers.
- Evaluation of nanoparticle properties related to drug solubility, bioavailability, efficacy, and toxicity.
Main Results:
- Nanoparticles can significantly improve the aqueous solubility, bioavailability, and antifungal efficacy of drugs.
- Incorporating antifungal agents into nanoparticles can effectively reduce their associated toxicity.
- Various nanoparticle platforms show potential for advanced antifungal drug delivery, but few are currently marketed.
Conclusions:
- Nanoparticle drug delivery systems represent a promising strategy to overcome the limitations of conventional antifungal therapies.
- Addressing challenges in nanoparticle stability, drug loading efficiency, production cost, and standardization is crucial for clinical application.
- Further research and development are essential to translate promising nanoformulations from laboratory to clinical practice for improved management of fungal infections.
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