Targeting strategies for delivery of anti-HIV drugs.

Lakshmi Narashimhan Ramana, Appakkudal R Anand, Swaminathan Sethuraman, Uma Maheswari Krishnan

Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society 2014 Oct 28

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Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection remains a significant cause of mortality globally. Though antiretroviral therapy has significantly reduced AIDS-related morbidity and mortality, there are several drawbacks in the current therapy, including toxicity, drug-drug interactions, development of drug resistance, necessity for long-term drug therapy, poor bio-availability and lack of access to tissues and reservoirs. To circumvent these problems, recent anti-HIV therapeutic research has focused on improving drug delivery systems through drug delivery targeted specifically to host cells infected with HIV or could potentially get infected with HIV. In this regard, several surface molecules of both viral and host cell origin have been described in recent years, that would enable targeted drug delivery in HIV infection. In the present review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the need for novel drug delivery systems, and the successes and challenges in the identification of novel viral and host-cell molecules for the targeted drug delivery of anti-HIV drugs. Such targeted anti-retroviral drug delivery approaches could pave the way for effective treatment and eradication of HIV from the body. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Citation

Lakshmi Narashimhan Ramana, Appakkudal R Anand, Swaminathan Sethuraman, Uma Maheswari Krishnan. Targeting strategies for delivery of anti-HIV drugs. Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society. 2014 Oct 28;192:271-83