Nanonutraceuticals in Chemotherapy of Infectious Diseases and Cancer

Abstract

Nanotechnology, an upcoming field of science dealing with nanoparticles (109), has a wide range of biomedical applications in prophylaxis, diagnosis, and therapy of infectious diseases and cancer. Similarly, nutraceuticals (nutritional and pharmaceutical hybrid) play a key role as immunomodulators, thereby acting as a defense mechanism to fight against microbial pathogens and cancer. Owing to nonspecificity and major adverse reactions of the conventional antimicrobial and anticancer drugs, there exists a pertinent search for novel naturally occurring nutraceuticals that are target specific and devoid of toxicity. Hence, recent research focus is on the combination of nutraceutical with nanotechnology to produce nanonutraceuticals. This chapter deals with nanonutraceutical classification, formulations in drug designing, its delivery to the target site, mechanism involved in immunomodulating and anti-inflammatory effect, utilization in medical imaging, and chemotherapy of cancer and infectious diseases. Additionally, pharmacological and toxicological aspects of nanonutraceuticals and its possible utilization in COVID-19 therapy, with special emphasis on its advantages over repurposing drugs, will be explored.