New Formulation Strategies for Therapy of Vector-Borne Protozoan Diseases
A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Drug Delivery and Controlled Release".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 September 2023) | Viewed by 132
Special Issue Editor
Interests: drug delivery systems; liposomes; drug targeting; oral delivery; leishmaniasis; antiparasitic chemotherapy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Vector-borne protozoan diseases represent a serious public health problem, especially in the tropics where poverty, together with vector-favorable climates, prevails. Diseases caused by Plasmodia (malaria), and three major trypanosomatid diseases (leishmaniasis, African human trypanosomiasis (HAT) and Chagas disease) are among the most prevalent and severe human vector-borne protozoan infections. Unfortunately, the sector of drug research has attracted less attention for these diseases, despite their heavy burden. Consequently, only a limited number of pharmaceuticals are currently in use. Furthermore, treatments are limited by the low efficacy and high toxicity of the existing drugs, resulting in frequent treatment failure, low patient compliance and the emergence of drug resistance. Thus, there is an urgent need for new, more effective drugs and therapeutic strategies for these diseases.
The improvement of drugs that are already established in clinics through innovative drug delivery systems is an effective strategy for fast drug development. Delivery systems allow the modulation of drug solubilization or aggregation states, its protection from degradation and the control of pharmacokinetic parameters, such as drug bioavailability, half-life, and biodistribution, resulting ultimately in enhanced drug efficacy and reduced drug toxicity.
Delivery systems with a nanometric dimension have been especially successful in allowing precise drug targeting of infectious sites. Drug nanocarriers, including polymer-, protein- and metal-based nanoparticles, cyclodextrins, dendrimers, nanocapsules, lipo-polymerosomes, liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, nano- and micro-emulsions, mixed and polymeric micelles and nanocochleates, have great potential in the field of drug delivery, due to theirbiocompatibility and structural and functional versatilities.
This Special Issue seeks to present a collection of studies that describe the recent advances in the development of innovative formulations to improve the therapy of vector-borne protozoan infections. Special attention is given to works that explore alternative administration routes, immunochemotherapy strategies and address major challenges in current drug development, such as drug delivery across biological barriers and effective drug targeting, as well as the formulation of large molecules (e.g., proteins and nucleic acids).
Prof. Dr. Frédéric Frézard
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- nanoparticles
- nanomaterials
- polymer
- biopolymer
- lipid
- emulsions
- liposomes
- micelles
- oral drug delivery
- drug targeting
- protozoan diseases
- leishmaniasis
- Chagas disease
- malaria
