Nanotechnology Enhances Diagnosis and Treatment of Neglected Tropical Diseases

Nanotechnology offers promising solutions for improving the diagnosis and treatment of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) continue to be a significant health problem in the tropics and subtropics with poor therapeutic and diagnostic capability. Despite posing huge global health loads, they are relatively low on research and policy agendas. Nanotechnology offers a new promise, particularly through the use of nanomaterials conjugated with drugs for improved diagnosis and therapy.

Nanomaterials are best suited to respond to NTDs because they have size, surface area, and the ability to be designed for a targeted application. Nanomaterial properties give better delivery of drugs, lower toxicity, and better target-specific delivery to the affected tissue. Nanomaterials are able to include drugs, peptides, and DNA and shield them from degradation as well as controlled release. Controlled release reduces the systemic toxicity that is one problem with conventional therapy.

Nanotechnology also facilitates the construction of theranostic platforms with both therapeutic and diagnostic applications. This is possible with the identification of diseases at early stages as well as tailored treatment. In parasitic disease conditions that include intricate parasitic infections, such as Chagas, leishmaniasis, and sleeping sickness, drug penetration and targeting are enhanced through nanomaterials to make the existing therapy safer and more potent. For instance, antitrypanosomal drug nanocapsules were prepared to increase the stability of drugs as well as improve the therapeutic efficacy for treating Chagas disease.

In addition to therapeutic benefits, nanomaterials enhance diagnostic capability. Traditional NTD diagnostic devices are invasive and labor-intensive. Nanotechnology offers fast, sensitive, and cost-effective diagnostics. Gold nanoparticles, for instance, are being used in point-of-care diagnostics for Chagas and leishmaniasis with excellent sensitivity and specificity for disease-related biomarkers.

In the future, studies will have to optimize nanomaterial-drug conjugates to increase their pharmacokinetics, bioavailability, and stability. The synergy between researchers, clinicians, and industry will be the key to taking these advances from bench to bedside and making them available for equitable access in resource-poor settings.