Role of Nanomedicines in Controlling Malaria: A Review

Abstract

Malaria has created havoc since time immemorial. It has actually become a major health concern due to its high prevalence in developing countries where poor sanitary conditions facilitate the seasonal breeding of the vector, the female Anopheles mosquito. Even after tremendous advancements in pest control and pharmacology science, managing this disease has not been successful, and the cure for this deadly infection has not proven effective lately. The various conventional drugs used are chloroquine, primaquine, mefloquine, atovaquone, quinine, artemisinin etc. All of these have one or other major disadvantages like multi-drug resistance, high dose requirements, aggravated toxicity, non-specificity of conventional drugs, and the emergence of drug-resistant parasites. Therefore, it is necessary to surpass these limitations and look for an alternative to curb the spread of this disease using an emerging technology platform. Nanomedicine is showing promise as an effective alternative tool for the management of malaria. The idea of this tool resonates well with David J. Triggle's outstanding suggestion "The chemist is as the astronaut, searching for biologically useful space in the chemical universe. This review presents a detailed discussion on various nanocarriers, their mode of action and future perspective in treating malaria. Nanotechnology-based drug delivery methods are highly specific, require a lower dose, offer more bioavailability with prolonged drug release and stay in the body longer. Recent nano drug encapsulation and delivery vehicles comprise nanocarriers like liposomes, and organic and inorganic nanoparticles, emerging as promising alternatives for malaria management.

Keywords: Antimalarial drugs; Cerebral malaria; Erythrocyte targeting; Hepatocytes targeting liposomes; Infectious disease; Malaria; Nanomedicine; Targeted drug delivery.