Advances in nanomaterials-assisted drug delivery, diagnosis, and action towards drug-resistant Mycobacterium

Parikshana Mathur; Pinky Choudhary; Rajkuberan Chandrasekaran; Ragini Singh; Hemant Kumar Daima

doi:10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.11.001

Advances in nanomaterials-assisted drug delivery, diagnosis, and action towards drug-resistant Mycobacterium

Prog Biophys Mol Biol. 2025 Nov 19:199:1-19. doi: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.11.001. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Parikshana Mathur¹, Pinky Choudhary², Rajkuberan Chandrasekaran³, Ragini Singh⁴, Hemant Kumar Daima⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Durban University of Technology, P.O. Box 1334, Durban, 4000, South Africa.
² Nanomedicine and Nanotoxicity Research Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, Central University of Rajasthan, NH-8, Bandarsindari, Kishangarh, 305817, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India.
³ Department of Biotechnology, Karpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbatore, 641021, Tamil Nadu, India.
⁴ Department of Biotechnology, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Vaddeswaram, 522302, Andhra Pradesh, India; School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Food Engineering, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, Shandong Province, 252000, China.
⁵ Nanomedicine and Nanotoxicity Research Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, Central University of Rajasthan, NH-8, Bandarsindari, Kishangarh, 305817, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India; Department of Health Sciences, Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, Central University of Rajasthan, NH-8, Bandarsindari, Kishangarh, 305817, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. Electronic address: hemant.daima@curaj.ac.in.

PMID: 41265492
DOI: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.11.001

Abstract

Threatening impact of tuberculosis (TB) on public health remains significant even after the global initiatives and emergence of multi-drug resistance (MDR) strains have made the situation complicated. Herein, the exploitation of the same medications for several decades, ineffective drug administration, and insufficient patient follow-up are some of the variables that have fuelled the resistance. As a result, the twenty-first century has seen the greatest number of multi-drug resistance TB cases. Nevertheless, nanotechnology has emerged as a promising tool against drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium responsible for TB. This seminal review highlights the most important findings from nanomaterials-related research to detect and counter TB. First, a deeper understanding of the essential molecular mechanisms underlying drug-resistance and drug-tolerance in Mycobacterium pathogen is provided along with biofilm formation and intracellular survival mechanisms. It is followed by detailed discussions about innovative nanomaterials-based drug delivery for antituberculosis medications, and different types of nanomaterials for direct antimicrobial actions. Then, nanotechnology-assisted diagnosis techniques and anti-biofilm possibilities for drug-resistant M. tuberculosis are elaborated. Finally, the challenges and perspectives related to nanomaterials-based theranostic for TB drug-resistance and treatment are provided with concluding remarks.

Keywords: Antibiotics; Diagnostic; Nanomedicine; Nanotoxicity; Point-of-care; Tuberculosis (TB).

Publication types

Review