Nanotechnology and pulmonary delivery to overcome resistance in infectious diseases

• Type: Another Publication in an International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2013

Authors

Fernando Andrade (Author) Other; Diana Rafael (Author) Other; Mafalda Videira (Author) Other; Domingos Ferreira (Author) FFUP; Alejandro Sosnik (Author) Other; Bruno Sarmento (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews

Vol. 65

Pages: 1816-1827

ISSN: 0169-409X

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 84 Citations

Scopus - 121 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Medical and Health sciences > Basic medicine

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-006-JGT

DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2013.07.020

Abstract (EN): Used since ancient times especially for the local treatment of pulmonary diseases, lungs and airways are a versatile target route for the administration of both local and systemic drugs. Despite the existence of different platforms and devices for the pulmonary administration of drugs, only a few formulations are marketed, partly due to physiological and technological limitations. Respiratory infections represent a significant burden to health systems worldwide mainly due to intrahospital infections that more easily affect immune-compromised patients. Moreover, tuberculosis (TB) is an endemic infectious disease in many developing nations and it has resurged in the developed world associated with the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) epidemic. Currently, medicine faces the specter of antibiotic resistance. Besides the development of new anti-infectious drugs, the development of innovative and more efficient delivery systems for drugs that went off patent appears as a promising strategy pursued by the pharmaceutical industry to improve the therapeutic outcomes and to prolong the utilities of their intellectual property portfolio. In this context, nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems (nano-DDS) emerged as a promising approach to circumvent the limitations of conventional formulations and to treat drug resistance, opening the hypothesis for new developments in this area.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 12