Mesoporous silica-based nanocarriers in pulmonary drug delivery

Respiratory ailments have emerged as a significant clinical concern, ranking among the primary causes of global mortality due to the inadequacy of effective lung treatment in this century. This is largely attributed to challenges posed by pulmonary barriers that hinder drug delivery to the lungs. Conventional drug delivery systems pose considerable challenges in the treatment and control of pulmonary diseases. The extended and expensive treatment protocols, along with patient nonadherence, have led to drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis that are harder to manage. Furthermore, many such treatable medications suffer from limited water solubility, lesser bioavailability, and inadequate therapeutic effectiveness, especially at higher doses causing drug toxicity. In response to these challenges, innovative drug delivery carrier systems, like mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs), have emerged as promising nanomedicines, especially due to their biocompatibility. Various clinical obstacles associated with major lung diseases and the role of nanomedicine in achieving effective drug delivery to the lungs need to be evaluated. The process of delivering drugs to the lungs is intricate and constrained by physiological, anatomical, and immunological barriers within the respiratory system. In this chapter, we explore how nanomedicine can effectively surmount these pulmonary barriers and provide guidance for the deliberate design of future nanoparticles to enhance lung treatments. Furthermore, this chapter aims to thoroughly outline the potential of MSNs as promising nanocarriers for pulmonary drug delivery, presenting a comprehensive summary of their applications in lung delivery to date while discussing their utilization in treating respiratory conditions in detail.