Nanodrugs: A Futuristic Approach

for Treating Nephrolithiasis

13

Gupta Shruti and Kanwar Shamsher Singh

Abstract

Kidney stones or nephrolithiasis is a frequent condition resulting from a succes-

sion of several physiochemical events causing a huge burden on the health and

economic status globally. Although they vary widely in their composition,

calcium oxalate stones form the predominant kidney stones. The degradation of

calcium oxalate stones using enzymes such as oxalate decarboxylase and oxalate

oxidase has been a potential therapeutic approach for treatment of nephrolithiasis;

however due to their reduced half-life under in vivo conditions as well as

difficulty in delivery of these drugs to target site, their use as a therapeutic for

nephrolithiasis is limited. In the recent years, the potential impact of nanoparticles

in the diagnosis and treatment of nephrolithiasis has been widely recognized. One

of the most important uses of nanomedicines is in the delivery and controlled

release of drugs. Several nanoparticles such as those made up of metals or metal

oxides besides lipid and polymer encapsulated nanoparticles have been reported

lately for targeting kidney stones. The present article discusses the current

challenges and futuristic approaches for the development of nanoparticles of

oxalate-degrading enzymes for treating nephrolithiasis, and it highlights the

recent developments in this area.

Keywords

Nanomedicine · Nephrolithiasis · Enzyme therapeutics · Calcium oxalate stones

G. Shruti · K. S. Singh (*)

Department of Biotechnology, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, India

e-mail: kanwarss2000@yahoo.com

# The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte

Ltd. 2022

R. C. Sobti, N. S. Dhalla (eds.), Biomedical Translational Research,

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9232-1_13

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