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Review
. 2023 Sep 7;24(18):13778.
doi: 10.3390/ijms241813778.

From Benznidazole to New Drugs: Nanotechnology Contribution in Chagas Disease

Daniele Cavalcante Gomes  1 , Thayse Silva Medeiros  1 , Eron Lincoln Alves Pereira  1 , João Felipe Oliveira da Silva  1 , Johny W de Freitas Oliveira  2 , Matheus de Freitas Fernandes-Pedrosa  1 , Marcelo de Sousa da Silva  2 , Arnóbio Antônio da Silva-Júnior  1
Affiliations
Review

From Benznidazole to New Drugs: Nanotechnology Contribution in Chagas Disease

Daniele Cavalcante Gomes et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Chagas disease is a neglected tropical disease caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. Benznidazole and nifurtimox are the two approved drugs for their treatment, but both drugs present side effects and efficacy problems, especially in the chronic phase of this disease. Therefore, new molecules have been tested with promising results aiming for strategic targeting action against T. cruzi. Several studies involve in vitro screening, but a considerable number of in vivo studies describe drug bioavailability increment, drug stability, toxicity assessment, and mainly the efficacy of new drugs and formulations. In this context, new drug delivery systems, such as nanotechnology systems, have been developed for these purposes. Some nanocarriers are able to interact with the immune system of the vertebrate host, modulating the immune response to the elimination of pathogenic microorganisms. In this overview of nanotechnology-based delivery strategies for established and new antichagasic agents, different strategies, and limitations of a wide class of nanocarriers are explored, as new perspectives in the treatment and monitoring of Chagas disease.

Keywords: Trypanosoma cruzi; drug delivery systems; drug targeting; nanotechnology; neglected diseases.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of included articles (sample) by country. Brazil (21 studies), Argentina (11 studies), Chile (03 studies), Spain (02 studies) and Mexico, Paraguay, Belgium (01 study each). Note: Created with mapinsecond.com.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Word cloud created from abstracts of the 40 selected studies. The size of each word is proportional to the number of times it has been cited throughout the text. Note: created with wordclouds.com. Accessed on 18 September 2022.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Chemical structure of the major compounds evaluated as antichagasic agents (in vitro and/or in vivo evidence). (1) D0870, (2) hinokinin, (3) ravuconazole, (4) amphotericin B, (5) ergosterol peroxide, (6) benznidazole, (7) nifurtimox, (8) hypericin, (9) allopurinol, (10) lychnopholide, (11) S-nitroso-MSA, (12) H2bdtc, (13) N-N’-Squaramide 17, (14) imiquimod, (15) sulfonamide 3G, (16) sulfonamide 3F, (17) sulfonamide 5D, (18) actinomycin D e, (19) corn cob xylan.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Schematic representation of a trypomastigote of Trypanosoma cruzi and the main cellular targets of the investigational compounds in the pre-clinical phase.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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