Programmable Nanomedicine and Multifunctional Vectors for the Selective Targeting of HIV-1 Reservoirs: Toward a Next-Generation Shock & Kill Strategy
| dc.contributor.author | Barack Ndenga | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-01-07T22:36:19Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2026-01-07 | |
| dc.description | The persistence of latent,replication-competent HIV-1 reservoirs remains the definitive barrier to a cure. This conceptual review argues for a paradigm shift from systemic drug delivery to precision-guided intervention, enabled by programmable nanomedicine. We critically examine the design and function of multifunctional nanovectors engineered to execute the complete "Shock & Kill" sequence—targeted latency reversal, immune engagement, and specific elimination of reactivated cells—within a single, spatiotemporally controlled system. By integrating stimuli-responsive materials, combinatorial drug payloads, and surface targeting ligands, these platforms directly address the core limitations of conventional approaches: poor reservoir penetration, lack of specificity, and toxic off-target effects. This work synthesizes a roadmap for translating nanomedicine from a promising technological framework into an orchestrated therapeutic reality capable of dismantling viral persistence. | |
| dc.description.abstract | The persistence of replication-competent HIV-1 within latent cellular reservoirs constitutes the definitive barrier to a cure.While antiretroviral therapy suppresses active replication, it cannot engage transcriptionally silent proviruses. This review articulates a paradigm shift from systemic pharmacology to precision-targeted intervention, enabled by programmable nanomedicine. We examine the conceptual and material foundations of multifunctional nanovectors engineered to execute the sequential steps of "Shock & Kill"—latency reversal, immune engagement, and targeted cell elimination—within a single, spatiotemporally controlled system. These platforms offer a transformative solution to the core limitations of conventional approaches, promising to translate the Shock & Kill hypothesis from a blunt empiric strategy into an orchestrated therapeutic reality. Keywords : HIV cure,Latent reservoir,Shock and Kill,Nanomedicine, Targeted drug delivery, Multifunctional nanoparticles, Programmable release, Combinatorial therapy,Stimuli-responsive,Cell-specific targeting,Viral persistence,Lymphoid tissue, CD4+ T cells, Precision medicine, Translational research | |
| dc.description.provenance | Submitted by Barack Ndenga (ndengabarack@gmail.com) on 2026-01-07T22:36:19Z No. of bitstreams: 1 106th.pdf: 573481 bytes, checksum: 756e92aced92362e804c49d815e31f12 (MD5) | en |
| dc.description.provenance | Made available in DSpace on 2026-01-07T22:36:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 106th.pdf: 573481 bytes, checksum: 756e92aced92362e804c49d815e31f12 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2026-01-07 | en |
| dc.description.sponsorship | None | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://africarxiv.ubuntunet.net/handle/1/10706 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Publisher | |
| dc.title | Programmable Nanomedicine and Multifunctional Vectors for the Selective Targeting of HIV-1 Reservoirs: Toward a Next-Generation Shock & Kill Strategy | |
| dc.type | Article |