Functionalised Dendrimers: Potential Tool for Antiretroviral Therapy

HAART (Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy) revolutionized HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) treatment upon its introduction in 1996. But, HAART has not been a complete solution for HIV infection. HIV remains viable in latent viral reservoirs even when the adequate concentration of a drug is available in the blood. Hence, nanotechnology-based delivery systems are being developed to target the HIV virus and evaluated for their safety and efficacy. Among employed nanocarriers, dendrimers are repetitively branched molecules which are an ideal carrier for developing preventive antiretroviral drug delivery system with low-level cytotoxicity and targeted action. Dendrimers with potentially active multivalent sites combine with the gp120 of HIV and CD4 receptors of the host cells and inhibit the attachment of HIV to host cells. Some of the dendrimers are capable of interfering in HIV replication. The main objective of this review is to reveal the mechanism of anti-retroviral action of different types of functionalized dendrimers in HIV. The significance of dendrimers as therapeutic agents for targeting the viral reservoirs in case of HIV was discussed. From the published literature reviewed, it can be concluded that the functionalized dendrimers are useful as anti-HIV agents and highlighting that advance studies are required for the development of more effective dendrimers based therapy which noticeably increases the anti-HIV activity.