Drug Delivery Systems for Infectious Diseases

Abstract

This chapter describes new advances in the therapeutic procedures for infectious diseases associated to lungs as the primary organ target are covered, including the use of nanotechnology. Microparticles were developed as inhalable carriers for lung drug delivery in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. The chapter demonstrates significant progress toward the development of new drug delivery systems with potential application for lung infection treatment. However, the main challenge for anti-tuberculosis (TB) therapies remains with the choice of the RNAi and the drug delivery system to the targeted cells in vivo. In this sense, new strategies based on passive and active drug delivery systems plus the recent progress in nanotechnologies are bringing alternative avenues for the development of novel anti-TB therapies. New strategies based on novel small molecules, RNAi technology, and drug delivery systems based on nanoparticles are expected to overcome current limitations in anti-TB therapies.