Dendrimers and Dendritic Materials: From Laboratory to Medical Practice in Infectious Diseases
Infectious diseases are one of the main global public health risks, predominantly caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. The control of infections is founded on three main pillars: prevention, treatment, and diagnosis. However, the appearance of microbial resistance has challenged tradit...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-09-01
|
| Series: | Pharmaceutics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/12/9/874 |
| _version_ | 1797553758963499008 |
|---|---|
| author | Miguel Ángel Ortega Alberto Guzmán Merino Oscar Fraile-Martínez Judith Recio-Ruiz Leonel Pekarek Luis G. Guijarro Natalio García-Honduvilla Melchor Álvarez-Mon Julia Buján Sandra García-Gallego |
| author_facet | Miguel Ángel Ortega Alberto Guzmán Merino Oscar Fraile-Martínez Judith Recio-Ruiz Leonel Pekarek Luis G. Guijarro Natalio García-Honduvilla Melchor Álvarez-Mon Julia Buján Sandra García-Gallego |
| author_sort | Miguel Ángel Ortega |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Infectious diseases are one of the main global public health risks, predominantly caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. The control of infections is founded on three main pillars: prevention, treatment, and diagnosis. However, the appearance of microbial resistance has challenged traditional strategies and demands new approaches. Dendrimers are a type of polymeric nanoparticles whose nanometric size, multivalency, biocompatibility, and structural perfection offer boundless possibilities in multiple biomedical applications. This review provides the reader a general overview about the uses of dendrimers and dendritic materials in the treatment, prevention, and diagnosis of highly prevalent infectious diseases, and their advantages compared to traditional approaches. Examples of dendrimers as antimicrobial agents per se, as nanocarriers of antimicrobial drugs, as well as their uses in gene transfection, in vaccines or as contrast agents in imaging assays are presented. Despite the need to address some challenges in order to be used in the clinic, dendritic materials appear as an innovative tool with a brilliant future ahead in the clinical management of infectious diseases and many other health issues. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:21:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0d52bc20a793499d90222868c447b2b7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4923 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:21:10Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pharmaceutics |
| spelling | doaj.art-0d52bc20a793499d90222868c447b2b72023-11-20T13:37:59ZengMDPI AGPharmaceutics1999-49232020-09-0112987410.3390/pharmaceutics12090874Dendrimers and Dendritic Materials: From Laboratory to Medical Practice in Infectious DiseasesMiguel Ángel Ortega0Alberto Guzmán Merino1Oscar Fraile-Martínez2Judith Recio-Ruiz3Leonel Pekarek4Luis G. Guijarro5Natalio García-Honduvilla6Melchor Álvarez-Mon7Julia Buján8Sandra García-Gallego9Department of Medicine and Medical Specialities, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcalá, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, SpainDepartment of Medicine and Medical Specialities, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcalá, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, SpainDepartment of Medicine and Medical Specialities, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcalá, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, SpainDepartment of Organic and Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, and Research Institute in Chemistry “Andrés M. del Río” (IQAR), University of Alcalá, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, SpainDepartment of Medicine and Medical Specialities, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcalá, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, SpainDepartment of Systems Biology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcalá, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, SpainDepartment of Medicine and Medical Specialities, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcalá, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, SpainDepartment of Medicine and Medical Specialities, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcalá, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, SpainDepartment of Medicine and Medical Specialities, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcalá, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, SpainInstitute Ramón y Cajal for Health Research (IRYCIS), 28034 Madrid, SpainInfectious diseases are one of the main global public health risks, predominantly caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. The control of infections is founded on three main pillars: prevention, treatment, and diagnosis. However, the appearance of microbial resistance has challenged traditional strategies and demands new approaches. Dendrimers are a type of polymeric nanoparticles whose nanometric size, multivalency, biocompatibility, and structural perfection offer boundless possibilities in multiple biomedical applications. This review provides the reader a general overview about the uses of dendrimers and dendritic materials in the treatment, prevention, and diagnosis of highly prevalent infectious diseases, and their advantages compared to traditional approaches. Examples of dendrimers as antimicrobial agents per se, as nanocarriers of antimicrobial drugs, as well as their uses in gene transfection, in vaccines or as contrast agents in imaging assays are presented. Despite the need to address some challenges in order to be used in the clinic, dendritic materials appear as an innovative tool with a brilliant future ahead in the clinical management of infectious diseases and many other health issues.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/12/9/874dendrimernanoparticleinfectionbacteriavirusfungi |
| spellingShingle | Miguel Ángel Ortega Alberto Guzmán Merino Oscar Fraile-Martínez Judith Recio-Ruiz Leonel Pekarek Luis G. Guijarro Natalio García-Honduvilla Melchor Álvarez-Mon Julia Buján Sandra García-Gallego Dendrimers and Dendritic Materials: From Laboratory to Medical Practice in Infectious Diseases Pharmaceutics dendrimer nanoparticle infection bacteria virus fungi |
| title | Dendrimers and Dendritic Materials: From Laboratory to Medical Practice in Infectious Diseases |
| title_full | Dendrimers and Dendritic Materials: From Laboratory to Medical Practice in Infectious Diseases |
| title_fullStr | Dendrimers and Dendritic Materials: From Laboratory to Medical Practice in Infectious Diseases |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dendrimers and Dendritic Materials: From Laboratory to Medical Practice in Infectious Diseases |
| title_short | Dendrimers and Dendritic Materials: From Laboratory to Medical Practice in Infectious Diseases |
| title_sort | dendrimers and dendritic materials from laboratory to medical practice in infectious diseases |
| topic | dendrimer nanoparticle infection bacteria virus fungi |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/12/9/874 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT miguelangelortega dendrimersanddendriticmaterialsfromlaboratorytomedicalpracticeininfectiousdiseases AT albertoguzmanmerino dendrimersanddendriticmaterialsfromlaboratorytomedicalpracticeininfectiousdiseases AT oscarfrailemartinez dendrimersanddendriticmaterialsfromlaboratorytomedicalpracticeininfectiousdiseases AT judithrecioruiz dendrimersanddendriticmaterialsfromlaboratorytomedicalpracticeininfectiousdiseases AT leonelpekarek dendrimersanddendriticmaterialsfromlaboratorytomedicalpracticeininfectiousdiseases AT luisgguijarro dendrimersanddendriticmaterialsfromlaboratorytomedicalpracticeininfectiousdiseases AT nataliogarciahonduvilla dendrimersanddendriticmaterialsfromlaboratorytomedicalpracticeininfectiousdiseases AT melchoralvarezmon dendrimersanddendriticmaterialsfromlaboratorytomedicalpracticeininfectiousdiseases AT juliabujan dendrimersanddendriticmaterialsfromlaboratorytomedicalpracticeininfectiousdiseases AT sandragarciagallego dendrimersanddendriticmaterialsfromlaboratorytomedicalpracticeininfectiousdiseases |