Progress in the application of nanoparticles for the treatment of fungal infections: A review

Xinlin Zhu; Youming Chen; Dan Yu; Wenjie Fang; Wanqing Liao; Weihua Pan

doi:10.1080/21501203.2023.2285764

Progress in the application of nanoparticles for the treatment of fungal infections: A review

Mycology. 2023 Dec 8;15(1):1-16. doi: 10.1080/21501203.2023.2285764. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Xinlin Zhu¹, Youming Chen², Dan Yu³, Wenjie Fang¹, Wanqing Liao¹, Weihua Pan¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dermatology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Medical Mycology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China.
² Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
³ Department of General Practice, Second Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

The burden of fungal infections on human health is increasing worldwide. Aspergillus, Candida, and Cryptococcus are the top three human pathogenic fungi that are responsible for over 90% of infection-related deaths. Moreover, effective antifungal therapeutics are lacking, primarily due to host toxicity, pathogen resistance, and immunodeficiency. In recent years, nanomaterials have proved not only to be more efficient antifungal therapeutic agents but also to overcome resistance against fungal medication. This review will examine the limitations of standard antifungal therapy as well as focus on the development of nanomaterials.

Keywords: Fungal infection; antifungal; nanoparticle.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82202543, 82072257, 82102416), Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2022YFC2504800), Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (20DZ2272000 and 21410750500), Shanghai Municipal Health Commission (shslczdzk01001), and Chinese Academy of Engineering (2022-HZ-10-3).