Drug-encapsulated carbon (DECON): A novel platform for enhanced drug delivery.

Abstract	Current drug-delivery systems are designed primarily for parenteral applications and are either lipid or polymer drug conjugates. In our quest to inhibit herpes simplex virus infection via the compounds found in commonly used cosmetic products, we found that activated carbon particles inhibit infection and, in addition, substantially improve topical delivery and, hence, the efficacy of a common antiviral drug, acyclovir (ACV). Our in vitro studies demonstrate that highly porous carbon structures trapped virions, blocked infection and substantially improved efficacy when ACV was loaded onto them. Also, using murine models of corneal and genital herpes infections, we show that the topical use of drug-encapsulated carbon (DECON) reduced dosing frequency, shortened treatment duration, and exhibited higher therapeutic efficacy than currently approved topical or systemic antivirals alone. DECON is a nontoxic, cost-effective and nonimmunogenic alternative to current topical drug-delivery systems that is uniquely triggered for drug release by virus trapping.
Authors	Tejabhiram Yadavalli, Joshua Ames, Alex Agelidis, Rahul Suryawanshi, Dinesh Jaishankar, James Hopkins, Neel Thakkar, Lulia Koujah, Deepak Shukla
Journal	Science advances (Sci Adv) Vol. 5 Issue 8 Pg. eaax0780 (08 2019) ISSN: 2375-2548 [Electronic] United States
PMID	31453334 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)
Chemical References	Antiviral Agents Drug Carriers Charcoal Carbon Acyclovir
Topics	Acyclovir (administration & dosage, therapeutic use) Animals Antiviral Agents (administration & dosage, therapeutic use) CHO Cells Carbon (chemistry) Cell Line, Tumor Charcoal (chemistry) Chlorocebus aethiops Corneal Diseases (drug therapy, virology) Cricetulus Disease Models, Animal Drug Carriers (therapeutic use) Female HeLa Cells Herpes Genitalis (drug therapy, virology) Herpesvirus 1, Human (drug effects) Humans Mice Mice, Inbred BALB C Mice, Inbred C57BL Vero Cells

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