Short Communication
Partha Pratim Bose and Prak
Abstract
Purpose: After the extensive resistance of the first line of antimonial drugs, paromomycin, the broad-spectrum antibiotic has become the treatment of choice against visceral leishmaniasis, the fatal tropical disease. However, unfavorable distribution in the intracellular compartment of macrophage, prolonged parenteral administration procedure and toxicity limit the use of paromomycin. Lack of availability of specific delivery system also makes this drug unsafe. Thus, a specific and nontoxic formulation of paromomycin is an urgent need. Materials and method: A chitosan-chondroitin sulfate based nano-formulation has been developed and hemoglobin has been tagged on the surface of the delivery system for the specific carriage of paromomycin to the leishmania infected macrophage taking the advantage of Leishmania being highly auxotrophic for heme. Results: There has been a significant improvement in the toxicity profile with lowered LD50 value of nanoformulated paromomycin (75 μM) compared to the direct administration (130 μM). Conclusion: A cheap, biodegradable, nontoxic and specific nano-carrier has been introduced for specific delivery of paromomycin to infected macrophages