Nanobiotechnological modules as molecular target tracker for the treatment and prevention of malaria: options and opportunity

Abstract

Malaria is one of the major infectious diseases that remains a constant challenge to human being mainly due to the emergence of drug-resistant strains of parasite and also the availability of drugs, which are non-specific for their pharmacodynamic activity and known to be associated with multiple side effects. The disease has acquired endemic proportions in tropical countries where the hygienic conditions are not satisfactory while the environmental conditions favor the proliferation of parasite and its transmission, particularly through the female anopheles. It is obvious that to square up the problems, there is a need for designing and development of more effective drugs, which can combat the drug-resistant strains of the parasite. Molecular biology of the parasite and its homing into host cellular tropics provide multiple drug targets that could judiciously be considered for engineering and designing of new generation antimalarial drugs and also drug delivery systems. Though the recent reports document that against malaria parasite the vaccine could be developed, nevertheless, due to smart mutational change overs by the parasite, it is able to bypass the immune surveillance. The developed vaccine therefore failed to assure absolute protection against the malarial infection. In the conventional mode of treatment antimalarial drugs, the dose and dosage regimen that is followed at large crops up the contraindicative manifestations, and hence compromising the effective treatment. The emerging trends and new updates in contemporary biological sciences, material sciences, and drug delivery domain have enabled us with the availability of a multitude of mode and modules which could plunge upon the nanotechnology in particular to treat this challenging infection. The nanotechnology-based option may be tuned or customized as per the requirements to mark and target i.e. the infected RBCs, for targeted drug delivery. Graphical abstract.

Keywords: Drug resistance; Malaria; Nanobiotechnology; Plasmodium; RBC; Vaccine.

Graphical abstract

Fig. 1

Drawbacks of current antimalarial drug therapy

Fig. 2

Three membranous compartment system of the plasmoduim parasite via nanocarriers

Fig. 3

Diagrammatically presentation of the proposed mechanism for drug uptake. (a) Parallel pathway in which nanocarrier having size range of below 80 nm reaches directly to the parasite and escaping host cell cytoplam. This is due to the “leakiness” of the infected RBC membrane. New permeation pathways (NPP) arises on the host cell membrane (HCM), which is in close pruximity eith tubulovesicular network (TVN). TVN arises in the cytoplasm of RBC to access the nutrients from the extracellular medium. (b) Traditional sequence pathway: nanocarrier interacts with the receptor expressed on the iRBC membrane and then sequence crosses the host cell membrane (HCM), paracitophorous vacuolar membrane (PVM), and then parasite plasma membrane (PPM) to reach its target side

Fig. 4

Strategies for drug targeting to the infected RBC. (1) Passive drug targeting achieved by conventional nanicarriers such as liposome, polymeric nanoparticles, and long-circulating nanocarriers (PEGylated), (2) active drug targeting which is achieved by the nanocarriers modified with the ligands suvh as carbohydrate, protein, peptide, or antibodies

Fig. 5

Schematic representation of targeting RBC via prodrug approach