International Journal of Nanomedicine (Dec 2020)
Recent Advances in Oral Nano-Antibiotics for Bacterial Infection Therapy
Abstract
Ze-Liang Wu,1 Jun Zhao,2 Rong Xu1,3 1Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Anatomy, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, People’s Republic of China; 3The Key Laboratory for Drug Target Researches and Pharmacodynamic Evaluation of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430030, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Rong XuDepartment of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +86-27-83691785Email [email protected]: Bacterial infections are the main infectious diseases and cause of death worldwide. Antibiotics are used to treat various infections ranging from minor to life-threatening ones. The dominant route to administer antibiotics is through oral delivery and subsequent gastrointestinal tract (GIT) absorption. However, the delivery efficiency is limited by many factors such as low drug solubility and/or permeability, gastrointestinal instability, and low antibacterial activity. Nanotechnology has emerged as a novel and efficient tool for targeting drug delivery, and a number of promising nanotherapeutic strategies have been widely explored to overcome these obstacles. In this review, we explore published studies to provide a comprehensive understanding of the recent progress in the area of orally deliverable nano-antibiotic formulations. The first part of this article discusses the functions and underlying mechanisms by which nanomedicines increase the oral absorption of antibiotics. The second part focuses on the classification of oral nano-antibiotics and summarizes the advantages, disadvantages and applications of nanoformulations including lipid, polymer, nanosuspension, carbon nanotubes and mesoporous silica nanoparticles in oral delivery of antibiotics. Lastly, the challenges and future perspective of oral nano-antibiotics for infection disease therapy are discussed. Overall, nanomedicines designed for oral drug delivery system have demonstrated the potential for the improvement and optimization of currently available antibiotic therapies.Keywords: bacterial infection, nanomedicine, antibiotic, oral drug delivery system
