Role of nanoparticles in treatment of human parasites

Abstract

Nanobiotechnology is an important field with many new applications. This opportunity has been greatly embraced by the medical research community in the continuous search of novel opportunities for improving disease diagnosis, drug design and delivery. Understanding the mechanisms of disease for the design of new drugs is not enough, and unfortunately, infectious diseases continue to be a major health burden worldwide. Since ancient times, metals and especially silver were known for their antibacterial effects, but these days available methodologies allow the further exploitation of metal in the form of nanoscale materials. Metal nanoparticles are attracting much interest because of their potent antibacterial activity, but many studies have also shown a meaningful activity of metal nanoparticles against viruses, fungi and parasites. This chapter aims to summarize emerging efforts for the application of metallic nanoparticles in the never-ending battle against parasitic diseases. We have focused on four of the major parasitic diseases that afflict millions of people worldwide, specifically malaria, leishmaniasis, trypanosomiasis and schistosomiasis. The failure to respond to the increasing demand for effective antiparasitic drugs made imperative to explore new avenues; therefore, metal and metal oxide nanoparticles seem to represent an excellent therapeutic alternative.