Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
Sci Adv. 2019 Aug 14;5(8):eaax0780. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aax0780. eCollection 2019 Aug.
Current drug-delivery systems are designed primarily for parenteral applications and are either lipid or polymer drug conjugates. In our quest to inhibit herpes simplex virus infection via the compounds found in commonly used cosmetic products, we found that activated carbon particles inhibit infection and, in addition, substantially improve topical delivery and, hence, the efficacy of a common antiviral drug, acyclovir (ACV). Our in vitro studies demonstrate that highly porous carbon structures trapped virions, blocked infection and substantially improved efficacy when ACV was loaded onto them. Also, using murine models of corneal and genital herpes infections, we show that the topical use of drug-encapsulated carbon (DECON) reduced dosing frequency, shortened treatment duration, and exhibited higher therapeutic efficacy than currently approved topical or systemic antivirals alone. DECON is a nontoxic, cost-effective and nonimmunogenic alternative to current topical drug-delivery systems that is uniquely triggered for drug release by virus trapping.
目前的药物输送系统主要是为注射应用而设计的，它们要么是脂质药物缀合物，要么是聚合物药物缀合物。在我们通过常用化妆品中的化合物来抑制单纯疱疹病毒感染的探索中，我们发现活性炭颗粒可以抑制感染，并且还可以大大改善局部输送，从而提高一种常见抗病毒药物阿昔洛韦（ACV）的疗效。我们的体外研究表明，高度多孔的碳结构捕获病毒粒子，阻止感染，并在将 ACV 加载到其上时大大提高了疗效。此外，使用角膜和生殖器疱疹感染的小鼠模型，我们表明，药物包封碳（DECON）的局部使用减少了给药频率，缩短了治疗时间，并且表现出比目前批准的单独局部或全身抗病毒药物更高的治疗效果。DECON 是一种对目前的局部药物输送系统具有毒性、成本效益和非免疫原性的替代方法，它通过病毒捕获独特地触发药物释放。
