The Promising Role Of Nanotechnology In Dermatophytosis Treatment In The Era Of Antifungal Resistance and AI: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Dermatophytosis is a common superficial infection that causes an inflammatory response in humans. In immunocompromised patients, the disease becomes more severe. In recent years, there have been increased challenges in treating dermatophyte infections. These include antifungal resistance to available antifungal drugs, side effects, and lengthy treatment processes. Moreover, the emergence of terbinafine-resistant Trichophyton indotinea isolates worldwide has made dermatophytosis treatment more difficult. These obstacles highlight the need for novel treatment strategies. Although several approaches have been investigated, such as drug repurposing, lasers, and novel antifungals, we mainly focus on the role of nanotechnologies in the development of potential treatments for dermatophytosis. The nanformulation of antifungal drugs like terbinafine, fluconazole, and griseofulvin shows promising results and leads to improved antifungal drug activity. Moreover,  nanoformulations of metals, such as copper, silver, and gold, have yielded encouraging results in improving treatment outcomes. Furthermore, nanoformulations of essential oils alone or combined with metals, such as silver, demonstrate better antifungal activity and improve penetration for onychomycosis treatment. Nanotechnology is a promising field for the development of novel antifungal treatments and improving the efficacy of available antifungal drugs in the era of antifungal resistance. However, more clinical trials and Further investigations are needed to guarantee and evaluate the side effects and toxicity of these nanomaterials.  Artificial Intelligence (AI)  can accelerate and optimize nanoformulated drug development, but model optimization and further research based on integrating AI into the drug development of nanobased antifungal treatment are needed.