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| LETTER TO THE EDITOR |
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| Year : 2021 | Volume
: 53
| Issue : 1 | Page : 78-79 |
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Implication of nanotechnology-based approaches to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection
Mana Heidari1, Mohsen Salmanpour2, Ali-Mohammad Tamaddon1
1 Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
2 Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences; Razi Pharmed-Far'avaran Pharmaceutical Inc., Shiraz, Iran
| Date of Submission | 01-Sep-2020 |
| Date of Decision | 07-Nov-2020 |
| Date of Acceptance | 17-Mar-2021 |
| Date of Web Publication | 28-Apr-2021 |
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Mohsen Salmanpour
Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz; Razi Pharmed-Far'avaran Pharmaceutical Inc., Shiraz
Iran
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/ijp.ijp_857_20
How to cite this article:
Heidari M, Salmanpour M, Tamaddon AM. Implication of nanotechnology-based approaches to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection. Indian J Pharmacol 2021;53:78-9 |
How to cite this URL:
Heidari M, Salmanpour M, Tamaddon AM. Implication of nanotechnology-based approaches to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection. Indian J Pharmacol [serial online] 2021 [cited 2023 Mar 20];53:78-9. Available from: https://www.ijp-online.com/text.asp?2021/53/1/78/315088 |
Sir,
Today, achieving fast and efficient treatment strategies for the COVID-19 infection is vital to manage this global health-threatening pandemic. For this purpose, we attempted to introduce nanotechnology-based approaches for improving the efficacy of the antiviral agents in treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) infections.
Owing to the role of nanotechnology to improve the physicochemical, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic issues of therapeutic agents, this strategy can be used in the treatment of many types of diseases such as viral infections, as reported in [Table 1]. | Table 1: Antiviral drug candidates against severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 infection currently in clinical trial and their nanoformulation studies
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Nanoparticles have made a major breakthrough in treatment of different viral infections due to their size (1–100 nm) and their capability to load antiviral agents. [Table 1] presents the advantages of numerous nanoformulations with potential antiviral activity against SARS-CoVs. As shown, oral administration of lopinavir-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles in Wistar rats infected with HIV showed the pharmacokinetic parameters (Cmax, Tmax, mean residence time, area under the curve, oral bioavailability, distribution profile, and lymph accumulation) that were improved significantly in comparison with free lopinavir.[1] In other studies, selenium nanoparticles loaded with ribavirin[2] or arbidol[4] showed antiviral activity in MDCK cells infected with H1N1, which were significantly higher than their free forms through targeting caspase-3 mediated cell apoptosis.[2],[4] In addition, investigating the polyionic complex of poly (lactic acid) and arabinogalactan-poly (L-glutamic acid) as a nanocarrier for delivery of ribavirin in hepatitis C murine model revealed that the ribavirin-loaded nanoparticles significantly increased drug accumulation in the infected cells with less anemia side effects compared with the free drug.[3]
Polymeric drug delivery systems as polymer-drug conjugation and drug-loaded polymer nanoparticles are the navel approaches employed by the researcher. PEG, poly (2-alkyl-2-oxazoline) with methyl and ethyl alkyl substitution,[5] and poly (lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) are the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved polymers which can be widely used for this purpose to get fast and more efficacy of small antiviral agents by improving their pharmacokinetic. For example, remdesivir, an FDA-approved anti-SARS-CoV-2 agent, with a very low half-life (less than an hour) can be conjugated to living poly (2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) [Figure 1] or can be incorporated to PLGA nanoparticles to improve its pharmacokinetic by prolonging blood remaining through enhancing remdesivir solubility. | Figure 1: Schematic conjugation of remdesivir to synthesized living poly (2-ethyl-2-oxazoline)
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Conclusively, the treatment of COVID-19 requires fast and effective strategies based on current antiviral therapeutic agents. As it is explained about the possible therapeutic improvements of antiviral nanoformulations, it is strongly suggested that the faster and more efficient treatments of SARS-CoV-2 infection may be achieved by clinical studying the nanoforms of drug candidates.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| » References | |  |
| 1. | Ravi PR, Vats R, Dalal V, Murthy AN. A hybrid design to optimize preparation of lopinavir loaded solid lipid nanoparticles and comparative pharmacokinetic evaluation with marketed lopinavir/ritonavir coformulation. J Pharm Pharmacol 2014;66:912-26.  |
| 2. | Lin Z, Li Y, Gong G, Xia Y, Wang C, Chen Y, et al. Restriction of H1N1 influenza virus infection by selenium nanoparticles loaded with ribavirin via resisting caspase-3 apoptotic pathway. Int J Nanomedicine 2018;13:5787-97. |
| 3. | Kaneko K, Ishihara T. Development of liver-specific ribavirin-loaded nanoparticles with reduced cytotoxicity. Cogent Medicine. 2017;4:1418133. |
| 4. | Li Y, Lin Z, Gong G, Guo M, Xu T, Wang C, et al. Inhibition of H1N1 influenza virus-induced apoptosis by selenium nanoparticles functionalized with arbidol through ROS-mediated signaling pathways. J Mater Chem B 2019;7:4252-62. |
| 5. | Salmanpour M, Tamaddon A, Yousefi G, Mohammadi-Samani S. “Grafting-from” synthesis and characterization of poly (2-ethyl-2-oxazoline)- b-poly (benzyl L-glutamate) micellar nanoparticles for potential biomedical applications. Bioimpacts 2017;7:155-66. |
[Figure 1]
[Table 1]
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