Nanotheranostics: Simultaneous Diagnosis and Treatment of Infections

Introduction

In recent years, nanotheranostics has emerged as a preferred diagnostic and therapeutic tool for several diseases. It is a personalized treatment guided by an individual’s molecular profile or biomarker identification. Special attention is given to their application in cancer diagnosis and treatment. The healthcare industry could immensely benefit from using nanotechnology. This article discusses the applications of nanotheranostics for diagnosis, treatment, and vaccine development for infectious diseases.

What Is Nanotheranostics?

Nanotheranostics is a field of medicine that uses nanomedicine strategies to improve the diagnosis and provide simultaneous treatment of diseases. The nanoparticles can be used to prevent, diagnose, and cure infectious diseases due to their small size and ability to be manipulated to have properties like high selectivity and biofunctionalization ability. The size range of nanoparticles used for medical purposes is 10 to 1000 nm (nanometer). Nanoparticle-based targeted delivery of therapeutic drugs and treatment response monitoring is possible.

The main aim of nanotheranostics is to diagnose and treat disease at an early stage, when curable. It is a promising treatment approach for fatal diseases like cancer, HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), neurological disorders, hemoglobinopathies, and heart diseases. Additionally, nanotheranostics is a promising tool for delivering therapeutic agents like drug molecules, immunomodulators, vaccines, genetic materials, peptides, and proteins.

How Does Nanotheranostics Work?

Nanotheranostics helps combine various nanomaterials, such as nanoparticles and quantum dots, for the diagnosis and therapeutic strategy of infectious diseases into a single platform. It treats the diseases at cellular and molecular levels. This approach reduces the risk associated with conventional therapies. Additionally, multifunctional nanotheranostics incorporate noninvasive imaging techniques. Hence, it is regarded as a new and emerging approach to infectious disease treatment.

Nanomaterials for infectious disease treatment are new-generation nanocarriers such as metallic and nonmetallic nanoparticles, inorganic nanoparticles, polymer conjugates, dendrimers, micelles, and liposomes. The therapeutic agents' delivery and the treatment response are monitored in real-time. Therefore, the risk of over or under-dose is avoided.

What Are the Applications of Nanotheranostics for Infectious Diseases?

1. Early Detection of Infectious Disease

Imaging agents that target infectious disease or infectious pathogen biomarkers can be delivered by manipulating nanoparticles. Consequently enabling the early and precise identification of illnesses. Nanotheranostics combines imaging agents like quantum dots and magnetic nanoparticles to enhance imaging in MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) for accurate diagnosis.

2. Targeted Drug Delivery

Nanoparticles can be incorporated with antimicrobials. These medications are effectively delivered to the target site through nanoparticles. The targeted delivery helps improve the drug's effectiveness and reduces its side effects.

3. Monitoring Drug Delivery

The nanoparticles of nanotheranostics can be incorporated with both imaging and therapeutic agents. It enables monitoring of both therapy responses and drug dose adjustment in real-time.

4. Smart Nanotherapeutics

Smart nanotheranostics combine bioactive targeting of specific tissues along with their diagnostic potential. These nanoparticles are sensitive to pH (potential of hydrogen) changes or enzymatic activity, which triggers therapeutic agent release. Hence improving treatment precision and sensitivity.

5. Treatment of Microbial Disease

Most nanoparticles are antimicrobials having significant antimicrobial properties against infectious bacterial species such as Enterococcus, Staphylococcus, and Klebsiella. Metal and metal oxides such as silver, zinc, or titanium oxide are extremely toxic to bacteria. Silver nanoparticles are effective against gram-positive, gram-negative, and various pathogenic bacteria.

6. Treatment of Parasitic Infection

Many nanoparticles used as carriers for anti-parasitic agents or imaging techniques can potentially kill parasites. For example, gold and silver nanoparticles cause apoptosis (programmed cell death) in Trypanosoma brucei.

7. Monitoring Treatment Effectiveness

Nanotheranostics help with real-time monitoring of disease extent and treatment response. Changes in imaging signal or biomarker concentration help determine the success or failure of treatment.

8. Treatment Personalization

Nanotheranostics helps personalize treatment for each individual based on the type of infection and the patient's health. This approach can improve treatment outcomes.

9. Avoid Drug Resistance

Nanotherapeutics helps avoid drug resistance by delivering multiple antimicrobial agents or helps devise strategies to overcome drug resistance.

10. Nanovaccines

Nanovaccines are under research to induce a strong and reproducible immune response against challenging infectious agents. It helps prevent microbe enhancement and infection transformation and decreases bio-manufacturing challenges. Nanovaccines for Mycobacterium tuberculosis are under clinical trial. Additionally, nanotechnology is considered an essential tool for the treatment and vaccine development of viral diseases. It also helps in combating and being prepared for future pandemics. The antiviral nano vaccines are also effective against mutated viruses and enhance immunogenicity.

How Effective Are Nanotheranostics Against Infectious Diseases?

The infectious diseases which could effectively be treated with nano theranostics are:

1. Malaria: The disease is caused by Plasmodium parasites and is transmitted through mosquito bites. The nanoparticles in nanotheranostics can be modified to target specific stages of the parasite in their lifecycle, enabling disease diagnosis and drug delivery.

2. Tuberculosis: Nanoparticles help with targeted drug delivery to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected lungs. Additionally, sensitive imaging in nanotheranostics helps with early tuberculosis diagnosis.

3. HIV: Nanoparticles can deliver antiretroviral drugs to improve efficacy and reduce side effects. Currently, an HIV nano vaccine (eOD-GT8 60mer) is in the first stage of clinical trial and is capable of deactivating 98 percent of HIV strains in animal models.

4. Bacterial Infection: Nanotheranostics helps deliver antibacterial medication to the infection site. It also helps deliver imaging agents, enabling the monitoring of infection.

5. Influenza or Hepatitis: Nanotheranostics helps in targeted delivery of antiviral medications. It also helps deliver contrast imaging agents to the infected site to differentiate between viral particles and infectious tissue.

6. Zika Virus: Nanotheranostics can help identify Zika virus RNA (ribonucleic acid) with high sensitivity and enable their treatment.

7. COVID-19: Viral-related pandemics have been on the rise in recent decades. Although antiviral drugs are being produced, they are less efficient. Nanotheranostics have a high potential to control pandemics like COVID-19 (coronavirus of 2019). Nanotheranostics helped detect the COVID-19 virus with high sensitivity and helped with targeted drug delivery.

8. Fungal Infection: Nanotheranostics helps with targeted delivery of antifungal agents.

9. Others: Nanotheranostics made from silver, gold, and titanium oxide nanoparticles have effectively been used against deadly viruses like influenza, Ebola, HIV, and HBV (Hepatitis B virus).

Conclusion

Nanotheranostics is a potential tool to diagnose, treat, and prevent deadly infectious diseases. The nano vaccines being produced are also effective in treating various microbial diseases. Efficient research and utilization of nanotechnology can benefit the healthcare industry and also reduce the risk of emerging pandemics.