Functionalized Polydopamine Nanoparticles: A Promising Drug Delivery Platform for the Treatment of Tuberculosis

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is considered a major infectious disease by the World Health Organization. The WHO estimates that there are 1.8 million TB deaths, and 10.4 million new cases of the disease reported yearly. While there are conventional therapies for TB, they have drawbacks such as a lengthy pill regimen, rigorous scheduling, and protracted treatment duration, which can result in strains of the disease that are multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR). Future TB control is at risk due to the emergence of MDR strains. This worry has made the hunt for a successful remedy necessary. One biomedical innovation has been the application of nanotechnology, which offers a fresh avenue of treating TB. Such nanotechnology approach includes Polydopamine (PDA) nanoparticles which have demonstrated the ability to reduce these difficulties. In recent times, PDA, which is an intriguing bioinspired polymer, has become a material of choice for designing drug delivery nano-systems. In fact, PDA nanoparticles show several intriguing characteristics, such as easy manufacturing approach, biocompatibility, the ability to scavenge free radicals, and photothermal and photoacoustic features. It is easily functionalized to promote blood circulation, cellular absorption, and drug release, among other functions. As a result, this review has examined the various PDA functionalization techniques aimed at overcoming MDR and enhancing TB treatment.

Keywords: drug delivery; drug resistance; functionalization; nanoparticles; polydopamine; tuberculosis.

Figure 1

Schematic illustration of nanoparticle drug delivery in the treatment of TB infected lungs adapted from (Dahanayake and Jayasundera 2021).

Figure 2

The illustration of the seven pathophysiology steps of active TB. These steps are aerosolization, macrophage phagocytosis, phagolysosome blockage and replication, T_H1 response, granuloma formation, clinical manifestations, and transmission (Maison :2).

Figure 3

Demonstration of the first‐line drugs used for TB treatment: Isoniazid, Pyrazinamide, Ethambutol and Rifampicin and year of approval adapted from (Rossini and Dias 2023).

Figure 4

Structural presentation of PDA and drug loaded PDA nanoparticles adapted from (Wang et al. 2019).

Figure 5

Diagrammatic illustration of multi‐functionalized nanoparticles with different targeting agent adapted from (Conde et al. 2014).

Figure 6

Demonstration of PDA nanoparticle functionalization and the drug release in TB treatment adapted from (Wu et al. 2021).

Figure 7

Depiction of surface functionalized hyaluronic acid PDA nanoparticles adapted from (Yegappan et al. 2019).

Figure 8

Demonstration of pH functionalized drug PDA loaded nanoparticle in the treatment of TB adapted from (Wu et al. 2021).