Advances in Dendrimer-Based Anti-Infective Systems: In Vivo Insights and Perspectives

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology
• Medicinal Chemistry
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Antimicrobial resistance necessitates novel anti-infective strategies.
• Dendrimers, branched macromolecules, offer unique platforms for antimicrobial applications.
• They can function as direct antimicrobial agents or as nanocarriers for various therapeutic payloads.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review dendrimer-based anti-infective systems with reported in vivo or clinical evaluations.
• To analyze diverse dendritic architectures and their therapeutic potential against infections.
• To identify current limitations and future directions for dendrimer anti-infective research.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of studies reporting in vivo or clinical evaluation of dendrimer-based anti-infective systems.
• Analysis of various dendrimer scaffolds including PAMAM, poly(L-lysine), and others.
• Inclusion of evidence from infected animal models, pharmacokinetic studies, and clinical trials.

Main Results:

• Diverse dendrimer platforms (PAMAM, poly(L-lysine), etc.) have been investigated.
• PAMAM systems show extensive preclinical exploration; astodrimer (poly(L-lysine) dendrimer) is clinically advanced.
• Evidence includes animal models, PK/biodistribution, and clinical trials, but data is heterogeneous.

Conclusions:

• Dendrimers present a versatile and tunable approach for anti-infective development.
• Heterogeneity in study designs (scaffold, formulation, models) limits direct comparisons.
• Future research requires standardized models, safety/biodistribution studies, and clearer structure-activity relationships for clinical translation.