Surface-engineered nanocarrier-based drug delivery systems for the management of herpes simplex virus

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections are commonly treated with antiviral drugs; however, many of these therapeutics exhibit limited oral bioavailability. Consequently, high and frequent dosing is often required to maintain therapeutic plasma concentrations, which may increase the risk of adverse effects. In recent years, nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems have emerged as promising strategies to overcome these limitations by improving drug stability, bioavailability and targeted distribution. A wide range of nanocarrier platforms, including nanoparticles (NPs), nanocomposites, nanodroplets, nanohybrids, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs), have been investigated for HSV therapy. These nanocarriers enable controlled drug delivery and enhanced cellular uptake, while surface-engineering approaches further improve site-specific targeting, therapeutic efficacy and cellular internalisation. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in nanotechnology-driven drug delivery strategies for HSV treatment, with particular emphasis on surface-engineered nanocarriers. A systematic literature search was conducted across major scientific databases and search engines, including Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, PubMed and Embase, using keywords such as "nanoparticles", "blood-brain barrier", "nanocarriers", "surface modification" and "nanocarriers for HSV". We discuss current surface modification strategies applied to antiviral-loaded nanocarriers and highlight their potential to enhance bioavailability, improve targeting precision and ultimately improve therapeutic outcomes in HSV management.