ABSTRACT
Infectious diseases severely affect the global population as it has high morbidity and mortality. The characteristic feature of such kinds of diseases is high transmission rate. Also, in some cases, they have high rates of mutation which makes it very difficult to treat. TB and HIV infections are some of the well-known infectious diseases. And currently, COVID-19 is another infectious disease that is taking lives of thousands. Although there are some forms of treatments available, they come with various demerits. Some of which are low on-target bioavailability, reduction in patient adherence due to drug-related toxicities, longer therapeutic regimens, etc. These drawbacks calls for a more improved treatment form with better results and low side effects. For solving the issue, new and existing drugs can be formulated in nano-sized versions with the help of carriers. Similar approaches can be adopted in vaccinations which can become a powerful weapon to fight against infectious diseases. Irrespective of the microorganism causing the infection, nanotechnology and nanotechnology-based solutions can be an alternative and much effective option to combat the disease.
In this chapter, a detailed outlook of the global burden of infectious illnesses will be presented with more focus on the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. We then discuss the ways nanotechnology could help to improve current therapy options. We review the progress to date and suggest future directions for maximizing nanotechnology's impact on the world population.
Scope: This chapter covers the potential impact of nanotechnology for controlling and preventing global infectious diseases. The development of several strategies like tracking and monitoring, disease diagnosis, and therapeutic delivery with the help of nanotechnology will be discussed in this chapter.
