Loading...
Please wait, while we are loading the content...
Similar Documents
Combating Infectious Diseases: Nanotechnology-based Drug Delivery
| Content Provider | Scilit |
|---|---|
| Author | Ahmad, Zahoor Panday, Rajesh |
| Copyright Year | 2012 |
| Description | Microorganisms are found in each part of our environment and they also colonize our skin, gastrointestinal tract and respiratory tract. Generally, these organisms live quietly with or without symbiotic existence on/and in our bodies, kept in check by a complex array of host defense mechanisms. Sometimes, however, a new microbe, or even one that had been living as part of our flora, attempts to invade or alter the host using various assaulting mechanisms. The resulting struggle between host and invader may present varied symptoms/signs constituting an “infectious disease” (Lambert, 1999). The outcome may range from complete resolution to death of the host, or chronic infection, either overt or latent. Since, the advent of penicillin (1929, 1940), there has been a steady development of antimicrobial chemotherapy, so that appropriate agents are now available and active against many infections. However, the evolutionary adaptability of microorganisms has been emphasized by the advance of antibiotic resistance, rendering many previously valuable drugs useless. Further, the targeting of chemotherapeutic agents is a key issue in the treatment of some stubborn intracellular infections. Nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems, as discussed below, form the crux of nanomedicine and are suitable for (but by no means limited to) targeting chronic diseases caused by mycobacteria, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and leishmania. These infections continue to share the majority of the “double epidemiological burden” (i.e., communicable plus non-communicable diseases) in developing countries (Laxminarayan and Jamison, 2010) and will be the focus of this chapter. Book Name: Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery |
| Related Links | https://content.taylorfrancis.com/books/download?dac=C2012-0-02321-X&isbn=9780429098420&doi=10.1201/b13119-13&format=pdf |
| Ending Page | 150 |
| Page Count | 30 |
| Starting Page | 121 |
| DOI | 10.1201/b13119-13 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited |
| Publisher Date | 2012-07-23 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Book Name: Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery Biomedical Engineering Microorganisms Based Drug Delivery Adaptability |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Chapter |
