Nanodrugs for Subcutaneous Mycoses: Applications, Antifungal Performance, and Translational Perspectives

Area of Science:

• Mycology
• Nanotechnology
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Subcutaneous mycoses are chronic fungal infections posing diagnostic and therapeutic challenges, especially in immunocompromised patients.
• Conventional systemic antifungals often exhibit poor efficacy due to limited tissue penetration and adverse effects.
• Nanodrugs offer potential advantages in solubility, stability, bioavailability, and targeted delivery for antifungal therapy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the development and evaluation of antifungal nanosystems for subcutaneous mycoses.
• To assess the potential of nanodrugs in overcoming pharmacological limitations of conventional antifungals.
• To identify challenges for the clinical implementation of antifungal nanosystems.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature search across major scientific databases (PubMed, SciELO, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Scopus).
• Inclusion of 31 studies evaluating antifungal nanosystems using in vitro, ex vivo, and/or in vivo models.
• Analysis of quantitative outcomes including minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), colony-forming units (CFU), and survival assays.

Main Results:

• Various nanosystems demonstrated potential to overcome key pharmacological limitations of conventional antifungals.
• Evidence suggests enhanced therapeutic outcomes with antifungal nanodrugs compared to traditional treatments.
• Nanosystems showed improvements in solubility, stability, and targeted delivery to infection sites.

Conclusions:

• Antifungal nanodrugs represent a promising alternative for treating subcutaneous mycoses.
• Translational challenges including toxicity, long-term safety, scalability, and regulatory approval require further investigation.
• Clinical implementation of antifungal nanosystems necessitates addressing these remaining hurdles.