Chitosan grafted into mesoporous silica nanoparticles as benznidazol carrier for Chagas diseases treatment

Abstract

The use of chitosan functionalized silica for benznidazole delivery in the treatment of neglected disease such as Chagas disease is one of the forms not yet explored, but with great potential for this therapy, as little is known about nanoformulations for the treatment of Chagas disease. In this work, we used chitosan-succinate covalently attached to the surface pore of MSNs to act as anchor for benznidazole as a delivery system. The samples were characterized structurally and chemically with multiple techniques. The applicability of functionalized MSNs as platforms for benznidazole delivery into T. cruzi parasites was assessed. The results demonstrate that the proposed system is a potential promising nanoplatform for drug and gene delivery targeting neglected diseases such as Chagas disease.