Solid Lipid Nanoparticles as Innovative Strategies for the Treatment and Prophylaxis of Infectious Diseases

Abstract

Despite the advances in the understanding of the pathogenesis of infectious diseases and the development of novel treatments and vaccines to control and prevent them, these pathogenic disorders are among the most common causes of hospitalization and death worldwide. Nanotechnology has recently emerged as a promising tool in biomedicine research. An important branch of nanotechnology is drug delivery and drug targeting using a wide range of biomaterials with auspicious potential applications in numerous infectious diseases.Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) have emerged as carriers for therapeutic drugs, peptides, proteins, antigens and bioactive molecules, as well as for vaccine delivery. They are made up of a solid matrix that allows the controlled release of the drug or other molecules accommodated between fatty acid chains. A review of the nanomaterials used for the preparation of SLNs will be summarized. The current state-of-the art on several SLN formulations as nanocarriers of FDA-approved drugs for the therapy and prophylaxis of various infectious diseases, including those considered neglected by the World Health Organization that are under preclinical or clinical trials, will be addressed in this chapter.