title: Polyamidoamine nanoparticles as nanocarriers for the drug delivery to malaria parasite stages in the mosquito vector.
abstract: Malaria is arguably one of the main medical concerns worldwide because of the numbers of people affected, the severity of the disease and the complexity of the life cycle of its causative agent, the protist Plasmodium spp. With the advent of nanoscience, renewed hopes have appeared of finally obtaining the long sought-after magic bullet against malaria in the form of a nanovector for the targeted delivery of antimalarial compounds exclusively to Plasmodium-infected cells, thus increasing drug efficacy and minimizing the induction of resistance to newly developed therapeutic agents. Polyamidoamine-derived nanovectors combine into a single chemical structure drug encapsulating capacity, antimalarial activity, low unspecific toxicity, specific targeting to Plasmodium, optimal in vivo activity and affordable synthesis cost. After having shown their efficacy in targeting drugs to intraerythrocytic parasites, now polyamidoamines face the challenge of spearheading a new generation of nanocarriers aiming at the malaria parasite stages in the mosquito vector.
authors.affiliation: European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Health & Consumer Protection, via E. Fermi 2749, IT-21027, Ispra, Varese, Italy.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Urbán
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Golgi 19, IT-20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ranucci
authors.affiliation: Nanomalaria Group, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), Baldiri Reixac 10-12, ES-08028 Barcelona, Spain.|Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona Center for International Health Research (CRESIB, Hospital Clínic-Universitat de Barcelona), Rosselló 149-153, ES-08036 Barcelona, Spain.|Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Institute (IN2UB), University of Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1, ES-08028 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fernàndez-Busquets
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004337:Drug Carriers; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000469:parasitology; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000472:pathogenicity; D011073:Polyamines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; C531249:Poly(amidoamine); D011073:Polyamines
keywords: Anopheles; Plasmodium; antimalarial drugs; malaria; mosquitoes; nanomedicine; nanotechnology; polyamidoamines; polymers; targeted drug delivery