Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Aug 31;23(9):2205.
doi: 10.3390/molecules23092205.

Application of Dendrimers for the Treatment of Infectious Diseases

Zandile Mhlwatika  1 , Blessing Atim Aderibigbe  2
Affiliations
Review

Application of Dendrimers for the Treatment of Infectious Diseases

Zandile Mhlwatika et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Dendrimers are drug delivery systems that are characterized by a three-dimensional, star-shaped, branched macromolecular network. They possess ideal properties such as low polydispersity index, biocompatibility and good water solubility. They are made up of the interior and the exterior layers. The exterior layer consists of functional groups that are useful for conjugation of drugs and targeting moieties. The interior layer exhibits improved drug encapsulation efficiency, reduced drug toxicity, and controlled release mechanisms. These unique properties make them useful for drug delivery. Dendrimers have attracted considerable attention as drug delivery system for the treatment of infectious diseases. The treatment of infectious diseases is hampered severely by drug resistance. Several properties of dendrimers such as their ability to overcome drug resistance, toxicity and control the release mechanism of the encapsulated drugs make them ideal systems for the treatment of infectious disease. The aim of this review is to discuss the potentials of dendrimers for the treatment of viral and parasitic infections.

Keywords: antivirals; dendrimers; drug delivery; parasites; polymers.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic diagram of dendrimers (G1–G4).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic representation of dendrimers and their applications, (a) PAMAM-G3 dendrimers for drug delivery; (b) PAMAM-G1 dendrimers for tissue engineering; (c) PLL dendrimers for gene delivery; and (d) PPI dendrimers for diagnosis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic representation of dendrimers and their applications, (a) PAMAM-G3 dendrimers for drug delivery; (b) PAMAM-G1 dendrimers for tissue engineering; (c) PLL dendrimers for gene delivery; and (d) PPI dendrimers for diagnosis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic representation of dendrimers and their applications, (a) PAMAM-G3 dendrimers for drug delivery; (b) PAMAM-G1 dendrimers for tissue engineering; (c) PLL dendrimers for gene delivery; and (d) PPI dendrimers for diagnosis.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Antileishmaniasis drugs (a) Miltefosine; (b) Sodium stibogluconate; (c) Amphotericin B; (d) Paromomycin.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Dendrimer loaded with amphotericin B.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Anti-toxoplasmosis drugs: Pyrimethamine (a); Sulfadoxine (b).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Schematic representation of PPMO with transductive peptide.
Figure 7
Figure 7
The anti-schistosomiasis drug: Praziquantel.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Antimalarials drugs: Primaquine (a); Chloroquine (b); Artemisinin (c).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Schematic presentation of Amphiphilic dendrimers (R = C17H35, X = H2N).
Figure 10
Figure 10
Antiretroviral drugs: Efavirenz (a), Zidovudine (b), Tenofovir (c).
Figure 11
Figure 11
Second generation cationic carbosilane dendrimers branched with carbon-silicon bonds.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Generic representation of peptide dendrimers.
Figure 13
Figure 13
The anti-herpes simplex drug: Acyclovir.
Figure 14
Figure 14
Anti-hepatitis drugs: Sofosbuvir (a); Ribavirin (b).
Figure 15
Figure 15
Anti-influenza drugs: Oseltamivir (a); Amantadine (b); Rimantadine (c).
Figure 16
Figure 16
Generation 4 PAMAM sialic acid-based dendrimers.
Figure 17
Figure 17
Anticancer drugs: Cisplatin (a); Paclitaxel (b); Topotecan (c).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Lewis K. Antibiotics: Recover the lost art of drug delivery. Nature. 2012;485:439–440. doi: 10.1038/485439a. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cole S.T. Who will develop new antibacterial agents? Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B. 2014;369:20130430. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0430. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Aderibigbe B.A. Polymeric therapeutic delivery systems for the treatment of infectious diseases. Ther. Deliv. 2017;8:57–76. doi: 10.4155/tde-2017-0008. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Brownlie J., Peckham C., Waage J., Woolhouse M., Catherine Lyall C., Meagher L., Tait J., Baylis M., Nicoll A. Infectious Diseases: Preparing for the Future—Future Threats. Office of Science and Innovation; London, UK: 2006. - PubMed
    1. National Institutes of Health (US) Understanding Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases. [(accessed on 30 December 2016)];2007 Available online: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK20370/

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources