State of the Art of Nanobiotechnology Applications in Neglected Diseases

The neglected diseases have not received any especial public and private attention in the last years, as for example, some parasitic diseases. Considerable amounts of private and public money are needed to apply nanobiotechnology for the treatment of neglected diseases. This review focuses on malaria, leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis, trypanosomiasis, tuberculosis, leprosy and filiarasis, and onchocerciasis where liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles or nanostructured lipid carriers have been applied. These nanocarrier systems have shown promissing results in the treatment of many neglected diseases with diminished toxicity and increased efficacy as well as a prolonged release with a reduced number of dosages. Despite these promising results, few nanocarriers have been used in clinical tests. As far as we know, these references are a minority compared to the number of studies of drug delivery systems that have been published in the last years. Therefore, the challenge for the researchers in this area is to generate interest amongst the governments and industries for the treatment of neglected diseases.