Biodegradable nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery in viral infections

Viral infections continue to pose significant global health challenges, contributing to high morbidity and mortality rates, as seen in diseases such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, influenza, and SARS-CoV-2. Despite advancements in antiviral therapies, conventional treatment strategies face critical limitations, including drug resistance, systemic toxicity, and poor bioavailability. Biodegradable nanoparticles (BNPs) have emerged as revolutionary drug delivery systems, offered targeted and controlled release of antiviral agents while enhanced therapeutic efficacy and minimizing adverse effects. This review explores the diverse types of biodegradable nanoparticles, including polymeric, lipid-based, and protein-based nanoparticles, detailing their composition, drug-loading mechanisms, and biodegradability properties. The mechanisms of biodegradation and drug release, including enzymatic, hydrolytic, and oxidative degradation, are analyzed to highlight how BNPs enhance antiviral drug pharmacokinetics. Moreover, various targeting strategies—such as receptor-mediated targeting, pH-responsive nanoparticles, and nanoparticle-based immunomodulation—are discussed for their ability to improve drug localization and immune response activation. Recent advances in clinical translation and regulatory considerations, including the success of mRNA-based lipid nanoparticle vaccines and ongoing clinical trials, underscore BNPs' potential for widespread therapeutic applications. However, challenges such as scalability, cost of production, toxicity concerns, and regulatory hurdles remain major obstacles to clinical adoption. The review further highlights emerging trends, including CRISPR-loaded BNPs for viral genome editing, biohybrid nanoparticles for vaccine development, and biomimetic nanoparticles for enhanced drug delivery. By bridging scientific, clinical, and regulatory perspectives, this review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of biodegradable nanoparticles as next-generation antiviral therapeutics, with a focus on enhancing their scalability and real-world application.