Nanoparticles as safe and effective delivery systems of antifungal agents: Achievements and challenges

Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by certain filamentous fungi. The occurrence of mycotoxins in food and feed causes negative health impacts on both humans and animals. Clay binders, yeast cell walls, or antioxidant additives are the most widely used products for mycotoxin elimination to reduce their impact. Although conventional methods are constantly improving, current research trends are looking for innovative solutions. Nanotechnology approaches seem to be a promising, effective, and low-cost way to minimize the health effects of mycotoxins. This review aims to shed light on the critical knowledge gap in mycotoxin elimination by nanotechnology. There are three main strategies: mold inhibition, mycotoxin adsorption, and reducing the toxic effect via nanoparticles. One of the most promising methods is the use of carbon-based nanomaterials. Graphene has been shown to have a huge surface and high binding capacity for mycotoxins. Attention has also been drawn to polymeric nanoparticles; they could substitute adsorbents or enclose any substance, which would improve the health status of the organism. In light of these findings, this review gives new insights into possible future research that might overcome challenges associated with nanotechnology utilization for mycotoxin elimination from agricultural products.

Present study was aimed to prepare and characterize fluconazole loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (FLZ-NLCs) for the treatment of fungal infections. Fungal infections are tremendously widespread and are the often faced dermatological condition worldwide. FLZ-NLCs was prepared by ultrasonication emulsion technique using stearic acid (SA) as solid lipid, castor oil as liquid lipid and tween 20 as a surfactant. The mean diameter of optimized FLZ-NLCs were found to be 359.15 ± 9.83 nm. The drug content and entrapment efficiency of NLCs was found to be 102.97 ± 7.45% and 87 ± 0.59%, respectively. In vitro drug release studies of FLZ-NLCs showed 37.34 ± 2.08% drug release over a period of 72 h. The above studies confirmed the prepared FLZ-NLCs may be useful for the treatment of fungal infections.

Drug delivery systems demonstrate how the pharmaceutical product is administered to the _target site to provide therapeutic action. Nowadays, there are a growing number of fungi causing diseases worldwide. These infections can be grouped into four, which are superficial mycosis, cutaneous mycosis, subcutaneous mycosis and systemic mycosis. Researchers believe that solely dependent on presently available antifungal compounds would not be sufficient to treat these mycoses. Introduction of a whole new antifungal drug acting to the _target sites must undergo a long process of discovery, various clinical testing and trials on animals and human, development and regulatory approval then finally brought to the market. It is tedious, big-budget and has a high probability of failure. Hence, concurrently, modifications of the existing drug delivery system have never left out and are being pursued innovatively. Applying the knowledge in pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetic principles, novel advances in antifungal drug delivery systems have been developed and managed to conquer the issues of solubility, stability, bioavailability, safety and effectiveness present in conventional formulations and methods of administration. Vesicular system, nano-particulate based system, colloidal carriers and the miscellaneous drug delivery system are the four major groups of advances in delivering antifungal drugs. The established therapeutic agents for antifungal therapy such as Amphotericin B and azole types can be formulated into different carriers and delivery systems that specifically _target the infected area and the illness level of the patient. Novel antifungal drug delivery systems have opened a new dimension in minimising the adverse effects of drugs.