AN EMERGING ERA IN DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR TREATMENT OF MALARIA: WAVE FROM CONVENTIONAL TO ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22159/ijap.2025v17i1.52285Keywords:
Malaria, Novel drug approaches, Nanotechnology, Artificial intelligenceAbstract
Colonization of the erythrocytic stages of Plasmodium falciparum has become a challenging aspect in every drug delivery system because it is responsible for each clinical manifestation and life-threatening complication in malaria. With the emergence of resistance in malarial parasites in the recent past, developing a vaccine against malaria is still a long-drawn-out affair. However, recent reports of the recombinant protein-based vaccine against malaria vaccine from Glaxo Smith Kline have initiated a new ray of hope. In such a scenario, the onus of developing a reliable drug against the disease remains the mainstay in fighting against malaria. This review delves into the various attempts carried out by researchers in the past to develop a drug against the erythrocytic stages of the malaria parasite and throws light on a very recent outcome that provides targeted delivery of the drug to the infected erythrocyte using a nanotechnology-based approach. Considering the eventful journey in the beginning, it was the discovery of chloroquine that created an epoch in the treatment of malaria. Due to its low cost and high efficacy, it became the most widely used antimalarial. Until the 1960s, Chloroquine (CQ) was the best solution against malaria but the scenario changed in the 1970s due to widespread clinical resistance in Plasmodium falciparum, and Plasmodium vivax in various parts of the world. This, in turn, led to the development of novel drug delivery systems using liposomes and Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLN) for more effective and site-specific delivery of chloroquine to the infected erythrocytes. Such attempts led to a later use of the nanotechnology-based approach which included the use of nanospheres and nanoparticulate drug carriers.
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