ABSTRACT
Abstract ................................................................................................. 449 15.1 Introduction ................................................................................ 449 15.2 Overview of Neglected Diseases and Current
Research Status .......................................................................... 454 15.3 Tuberculosis and Challenges Associated with
Conventional Therapy ................................................................ 455 15.4 Malaria and Conventional Therapy ............................................ 457 15.5 Leishmaniasis and Conventional Therapy ................................. 461
BHASKAR DAS1,2#, MANASHJIT GOGOI3#, SATAKSHI HAZRA2, and SANJUKTA PATRA2*
1Centre for the Environment, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, North Guwahati 781039, Assam, India
2Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, North Guwahati 781039, Assam, India
3Department of Biomedical Engineering, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong 793022, Meghalaya, India
4Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Guwahati, India
*Corresponding author. E-mail: sanjukta@iitg.ernet.in
15.6 Chagas Disease and Conventional Therapy ............................... 462 15.7 Filariasis or Elephantiasis .......................................................... 464 15.8 Schistosomiasis .......................................................................... 467 15.9 African Trypanosomiasis ...........................................................468 15.10 Dengue ....................................................................................... 470 15.11 Conclusion ................................................................................. 472 Keywords .............................................................................................. 473 References ............................................................................................. 473
ABSTRACT
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) such as tuberculosis, leishmaniasis, African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), malaria, lymphatic filariasis, dengue, chagas disease, and schistosomiasis affect more than billion people residing in the poorest countries of the world. In spite of this, new research pertaining to tropical diseases is very limited owing to lack of global investment. Conventional pharmacological treatment is compromised by high drug toxicity, increased drug resistance, short half-life of drugs, and inability of drugs to reach intracellular sites infected by parasites. Nanocarrier system is a promising answer to problems associated with conventional drug treatment due to its ability to target specific cells and tissues, high capacity to overcome biological barriers, sustained drug release, improvement in therapeutic index, and pharmacokinetic properties of drugs. The present chapter endorses the current status of application of nano-based carriers in combating the challenges associated with control of some selected neglected tropical diseases. The first part of the chapter discusses about various nanocarriers and their general applications. This is followed by application of these particles in selected neglected tropical diseases as tuberculosis, leishmaniasis, malaria, etc.
