Last Updated: 15/10/2025
Development of nanovectors for the vectorization of agents that block the transmission phases of Plasmodium in the Anopheles mosquito
Objectives
The objective of Nanopheles is the design of polymeric nanovectors for the vectorization of antimalaric agents to the stages of the malaria parasite (Plasmodium spp.) present in the mosquito vector of the disease, and to characterize the efficacy of said nanovectors and drugs in reducing the infectivity of insects.
This objective will be achieved by:
- the synthesis of nanovectors capable of encapsulating antimalaric compounds (drug currently in use as well as potential new antimicrobial peptides, antibodies and dsRNA still in preclinical characterization phases) and preventing their degradation under storage conditions,;
- the development of vectorized nanocapsules capable of releasing their antimalarial content at Plasmodium stages in Anopheles mosquitoes; and
- the evaluation of the effect of the selected nanovectors (loaded with antimalaric agents) on said stages of the parasite and on its transmission capacity in a mouse model of malaria.
While nanomedical approaches to cure diseases are increasingly abundant in developed countries, we find a surprising shortage of nanomedicines being implemented to treat one of the main causes of death in the most impoverished regions of the planet: infectious diseases, among which malaria stands out. The urgent need to eradicate malaria (both for health systems and obviously for the patients themselves) will have a hard time to achieve without a significant improvement in the methods of administration of new drugs. Drug encapsulation in vectorized nanovectors directed toward specific target cells is a rapidly growing area with clear applicability to the treatment of infectious diseases, while pharmaceutical nanotechnology has been identified as a potentially essential tool in the future fight against malaria. Polymers offer almost unlimited chemical and structural diversity, making them particularly suitable for applications in nanoscale drug delivery strategies.
Nanopheles brings together groups that are leading laboratories in nanoparticle synthesis, drug vectoring to cells infected by Plasmodium, the molecular and cell biology of malaria, mouse models, mosquito vectors, and the clinical aspects of the disease.
Jan 2017
$169,092
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