Recent Advances in Delivery of Antifungal Agents – A Review

Drug delivery systems demonstrate how the pharmaceutical product is administered to the target site to provide therapeutic action. Nowadays, there are a growing number of fungi causing diseases worldwide. These infections can be grouped into four, which are superficial mycosis, cutaneous mycosis, subcutaneous mycosis and systemic mycosis. Researchers believe that solely dependent on presently available antifungal compounds would not be sufficient to treat these mycoses. Introduction of a whole new antifungal drug acting to the target sites must undergo a long process of discovery, various clinical testing and trials on animals and human, development and regulatory approval then finally brought to the market. It is tedious, big-budget and has a high probability of failure. Hence, concurrently, modifications of the existing drug delivery system have never left out and are being pursued innovatively. Applying the knowledge in pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetic principles, novel advances in antifungal drug delivery systems have been developed and managed to conquer the issues of solubility, stability, bioavailability, safety and effectiveness present in conventional formulations and methods of administration. Vesicular system, nano-particulate based system, colloidal carriers and the miscellaneous drug delivery system are the four major groups of advances in delivering antifungal drugs. The established therapeutic agents for antifungal therapy such as Amphotericin B and azole types can be formulated into different carriers and delivery systems that specifically target the infected area and the illness level of the patient. Novel antifungal drug delivery systems have opened a new dimension in minimising the adverse effects of drugs.