Inhaled nanomedicines for the treatment of pulmonary bacterial infections

ANA PAULA PEREZ

Congreso; Reunión de sociedades de biociencias 2021; 2021

The incidence of infectious diseases grows at an exponential rate each year and has a direct correlation with high rates of morbidity and mortality. One of the most frequent infections worldwide are respiratory tract infections, with an increasing number being associated with the ability of bacteria to adapt to the environment and different types of antimicrobial compounds. Improved treatment requires the development of new therapeutic strategies.The inhalation route maximizes pulmonary concentrations and optimizes therapeutic success while minimizing systemic exposure and adverse events. The use of inhaled antimicrobial therapy has become an important part of the treatment of airway infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis (CF) and similar conditions. However, this therapy frequently fails to eradicate the infection due to the combination of the complex pathophysiology of lung disease, antibiotic-resistant pathogens and biofilm formation. Inhalable nanomedicines improve drug delivery and therapeutic efficacy by enhancing drug retention at the site of action, mitigating effects of clearance mechanisms and degradation, and reducing necessary dosage and frequency, which leads to greater patient compliance and outcomes. However, to date only one antibiotic-nanomedicine for inhaled administration has entered the market, mainly due to diverse obstacles limiting their implementation.In this talk the obstacles that inhalable nanomedicines must overcome to be effective in pulmonary bacterial infections will be discussed, as well as examples of inhalable nanomedicines in development. Also, strategies based on the use of lipids and archaeolipids nanomedicines targeting microbial biofilms in respiratory diseases will be commented.