Carbohydrate Modified Non-Metallic Nanomaterials and Their Application Against Infectious Diseases

Abstract

Many deadly infections are produced by microorganisms capable of sustained survival in macrophages. This reduces exposure to chemotherapy, prevents immune detection, and is akin to criminals hiding in police stations. Carbohydrates are natural biological molecules and the key constituents in a large variety of biological events such as cellular communication, infection, inflammation, enzyme trafficking, cellular migration, cancer metastasis and immune functions. The prominent characteristics of carbohydrates including biodegradability, biocompatibility, hydrophilicity and the highly specific interaction of targeting cell-surface receptors support their potential application to drug delivery systems (DDS). Nanoparticle DDS are nanometric carriers used as a delivery vector of different drugs and biomolecules. Therefore, the use of carbohydrate modified non-metallic nanoparticles (CMNs) as carriers of therapeutic agents is a burgeoning field. Such an approach can enhance the penetration of drugs into macrophages with specific carbohydrate targeting molecules on the nanocarrier to interact with macrophage lectins. This review presents the 21st century development of carbohydrate-based nanocarriers for drug targeting of therapeutic agents for diseases localized in macrophages. The significance of natural carbohydrate-derived nanoparticles as anti-microbial drug carriers is highlighted in several areas of treatment including tuberculosis, salmonellosis, leishmaniasis, candidiasis, and HIV/AIDS.