BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) and chronic pain are global health concerns that affect millions of people, often requiring long-term, effective treatment strategies. The conventional therapies used to manage these conditions come with significant limitations. In TB, long treatment durations, poor compliance, drug resistance, and toxicity of first-line drugs are key challenges. Similarly, pain management faces issues, such as inadequate targeting, systemic side effects, and tolerance to analgesics, limiting traditional therapy efficacy.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review is to explore the potential of nanocarriers as a targeted drug delivery strategy for improving treatment outcomes in TB and pain management. It aims to explore how these advanced systems improve drug bioavailability (BA), control release, reduce side effects, and enhance therapeutic outcomes.
METHODS: This systematic review used databases like PubMed, Elsevier, Scopus, Google Scholar, Google Patents, and ResearchGate, etc., to collect original review articles from the past 15 years (September 1, 2007 to September 1, 2024).
RESULTS: The review also revealed that these advanced systems offer promising solutions for overcoming the limitations of conventional therapies, such as poor patient compliance and drug toxicity. Nanocarriers represent a transformative approach in both TB and pain management, with the potential to revolutionize treatment paradigms and improve patient outcomes.
CONCLUSION: In conclusion, nanocarriers represent a highly promising approach for advancing treatment strategies in both TB and pain management. The review underscores that nanocarrier systems, such as nanoemulsion, nanosuspension, nanocrystal, liposomes, niosomes, dendrimer, and polymeric nanoparticles, offer substantial improvements in drug delivery by enhancing BA, ensuring targeted release, and reducing systemic side effects.
