Novel Drug Delivery Systems for Tuberculosis Treatment

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), is a major public health problem affecting millions of people worldwide. The emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extremely drug-resistant (XDR) strains of Mtb has further increased the disease-related mortality and morbidity in developing countries due to the poor efficacy of currently existing therapeutic measures in combating these strains. Poor patient compliance due to severe side effects of the months-long prescribed therapy and lower than therapeutic concentrations being achieved in the target regions have resulted in increased relapses. The stagnant drug discovery process has diverted the attention of researchers and clinicians towards the formulation of novel drug delivery systems (NDDs) for existing anti-TB drugs (ATDs) to improve the outcomes of TB therapy. This book chapter focuses on the global epidemiological landscape, current TB therapy, and the molecular underpinnings of drug resistance. It further includes insights into the primary characteristics and applications of the most widely used novel systems for the delivery of ATDs with their current advancements. The novel carrier systems, coupled with site-targeted delivery using alternate delivery routes or ligand-based targeting approaches, are expected to improve overall TB therapy and help to reduce the global burden of TB.