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By: Elingarami Sauli, Hulda Shaid Swai, Jeremiah Gathirwa, Carolyn W. Muruthi, and Jecinta Wanjiru Ndungu
Malaria remains a global health challenge despite extensive efforts in prevention and treatment. Prompt diagnosis and effective treatment are critical for eradication efforts, yet resistance to current therapeutic drugs, particularly in Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, poses a major obstacle. Traditional antimalarial such as quinine, chloroquine, and artemisinin-based combination therapies have been widely used, but their effectiveness is increasingly compromised by resistance and pharmacokinetic limitations. Many antimalarial drugs suffer from poor bioavailability, off-target delivery, and suboptimal penetration into infected erythrocytes, leading to toxicity and reduced efficacy. Nanotechnology has emerged as a promising strategy to overcome these challenges by enhancing drug stability, targeted delivery, and intracellular retention while minimizing adverse effects. Nanocarriers have been explored for encapsulating antimalarial agents, improving subcellular specificity, and protecting drugs from enzymatic degradation. This review examines recent advancements in nanotechnology-based drug delivery for malaria treatment and discusses the challenges associated with their application in this field.
Keywords- Nanoparticles, Malaria, nanotechnology, Polymeric delivery systems, drug-delivery system
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