Drug delivery systems are cargos delivering drugs to desired cells, tissues,
organs and sub-cellular organelles for better drug release and absorption. These were
introduced to improve the pharmacological activities of therapeutic drugs, and
overcome problems like low bioavailability, lack of selectivity, drug aggregation, poor
biodistribution, limited solubility, and reduced side effects associated with therapeutic
drugs. Novel drug delivery systems have contributed immensely towards improving the
lifestyle of patients suffering from varied pathological conditions, but drug resistance
developed during the treatment becomes a major concern, fueling the need to find an
alternative effective transport system. Numerous advancements have led to the
development of active carriers for more targeted action along with improved
pharmacokinetic behavior. Microbe-based drug delivery systems are one such system
providing non-toxic, safe, site-specific targeted actions with minimal side effects. For
the development of highly effective delivery carriers, microorganisms’ properties like
self-propulsion, in-situ production of therapeutics, increased immunity, tumour cells’
penetration, etc, play an important role. The microbe-based drug–delivery systems can
be classified into- bacterial, fungi, viral and algae-based drug-delivery systems. Intratumor injection, nasal administration and oral administration are preferred routes of
administration for such delivery systems depending upon the drug’s nature,
administration ease, and intended location. Bacteria, anticancer oncolytic viruses, viral
immunotherapy and viral vectors are engaging areas of biotechnological research. The
microbe-based drug delivery system with reduced toxicity and side effects will surely
serve as a futuristic advanced carrier to improve patient’s health. The chapter provides
a general overview of the novel approach of microbe-based drug delivery and its
applications.
Keywords: Active carriers, Bacteria, Bio-hybrids, Bio-nanocapsules, Bactofection, Envelopes, Intra-tumor, Targeted drug delivery, Microbe-based drug delivery systems, Microbes, Novel drug delivery systems, Oncolytic immunotherapy, Oncolytic virotherapy, Polymers, Peptides, Phages, Routes of administration, Stimuli, Spores, Viral delivery.
