Nanocarriers for Effective Topical Delivery of Anti-Infectives

Priyanka      Prabhu; Vandana      Patravale; Medha      Joshi

doi:10.2174/157341312801784221

Abstract

Skin infection is a major cause of hospital admissions as well as causes significant morbidity. Normal human skin is fortunately endowed with its own arsenal of defence strategies to preclude the ingress of pathogenic microbes. However, certain conditions compromise the barrier integrity of skin and permit pathogens to invade the skin. Skin infections may be caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Topical delivery is advantageous to treat skin infections as opposed to systemic delivery owing to the direct delivery of drug to site of action, thereby reducing the doses and unwanted effects at other non-target sites. The poor penetration of anti-infective agents into skin layers makes topical therapy of skin infections formidable. Nanocarriers such as liposomes, microemulsions, and lipidic nanoparticles, have the potential to deliver drugs to the skin more efficiently than conventional topical carriers such as creams, ointments, etc. These systems have been explored by various researchers for topical delivery of antifungals, antivirals, and antibacterials. The increasing emergence of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains such as Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VREF) undermine the need for new antimicrobials and new delivery systems to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of existing anti-infectives. Silver nanoparticles (SNP) have as a result made a comeback into the arsenal of antimicrobials. Also, nitric oxide (NO) releasing nanoparticles have been recently explored for their antimicrobial activity. The article showcases the immense potential of an array of nanocarriers in the treatment of cutaneous infections.

Keywords: Topical delivery, anti-infective, microemulsions, liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles, nitric oxide

« Previous Next »