Current nanotechnological strategies for effective delivery of bioactive drug molecules in the treatment of tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) has gone from being a forgotten disease to a modern and recrudescent pathology from past decades. Some clinical problems and challenges associated with conventional TB chemotherapy include poor patient compliance, longer duration of chemotherapy, lesser cell permeability, primary drug resistance, difficulty in maintaining higher drug concentrations at the infected site, and degradation of the drug before reaching the target site. Thus, newer drug delivery approaches involving micrometric or nanometric carriers are needed. These delivery systems should provide advantages over conventional systems by producing optimum effectiveness to the target site, enhanced therapeutic efficacy, uniform distribution of the drug throughout the target site, increased bioavailability and sustainability of the drug, fewer side effects, and increased patient compliance. This article reviews recent updates and fabrication of drug delivery approaches for tuberculosis chemotherapy involving vesicular drug delivery systems (liposomes, niosomes, solid lipid nanoparticles), particulate drug delivery systems (nanoparticles, microparticles, dendrimers), supramolecular drug delivery systems (polymeric micelles), specialized drug delivery systems (nanosuspensions, nanoemulsions, microemulsions, dry powders), complex conjugate drug delivery systems (ISCOMs, cyclodextrin inclusion complexes), and other carrier-based drug delivery systems in order to improve patient outcomes. © 2014 Begell House, Inc.