The aim of this project is related with the development of new platforms for effective treatment of tuberculosis (TB) based on the use of anti-TB drugs as Ionic Liquids (TB-ILs). Using these innovative approaches, we expect novel TB-ILs very active in order to improve the therapeutic efficacy and bioavailability against multi-resistant mycobacterium tuberculosis (MT).
Nowadays, the pharmaceutical industry is facing a series of challenges for discovery of innovative and effective drugs against tuberculosis that still remains the first bacterial cause of mortality worldwide. The WHO has estimated that one-third of the total world population is latently infected with bacilli of MT while 5 to 10% of infected individuals will develop active TB during their lifetime.
One great challenge for next years will be the discovery of alternative strategies with old and novel drugs for control and treatment of tuberculosis particularly in the cases of Multi-drug resistant-TB (MDR-TB) strains.
The expertise of the team members in the efficient preparation of different pharmaceutical ionic liquids (e.g. beta lactam antibiotics) as well as the knowledge and facilities for detailed toxicological evaluation and in vitro multi-resistant mycobacterium studies are strong indicatives for the success of this proposal.