Nanotechnological approaches to colon-specific drug delivery for modulating the quorum sensing of gut-associated pathogens

Abstract

The human microbiome is increasingly being showed to have a direct and intimate relationship to human health and various disease conditions. Most of this microbiome is resident in the human gut, of which the colon is an important part. Microbial members of this gut community actively communicate among themselves through the process of quorum sensing (QS), and also with their human host. The level and nature of these communication processes play a crucial role in determining the overall health status, and susceptibility to various diseases, of the human system. Controlled modulation of QS-based and other communication processes within the human gut can prove to be a very effective tool in safeguarding human health. However, to achieve the full potential of any such approach, targeted delivery of QS-modulators specifically to the parts of human body, like the colon, which are characterized by high microbial density, is desired. Nanotechnological approaches can be of considerable use in such colon-specific delivery of potent QS-modulators, with lesser scope for degradation of any such therapeutic agents in their pre-colon journey