With nearly 7400 new cases coming every day, HIV infection has become devastating in last a few years. Current therapy involves a combination of at least three antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, used to extend the lifespan. But, the treatment requires daily oral dosing, and chronic oral dosing has significant complications that arise from the high pill burden experienced by many patients with varying conditions leading to non-adherence to therapies. Nanotechnology-based drug system promises to improve the situation and offer unique advantages like enhancement of bioavailability, water solubility, stability, and targeting ability of ARV drugs. A healthy volunteer trial, conducted by the collaborative nanomedicine research program examined the use of nanotechnology to improve the delivery of drugs to HIV patients. The results were from two trials which are the first to use orally dosed nanomedicine to enable HIV therapy optimization. Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale. Nanomedicine is the application of nanotechnology to the prevention and treatment of disease in the human body. By developing smaller pills that are better for patients and less expensive to manufacture, this evolving discipline has the potential to dramatically change medical science and is already having an impact in several clinically used therapies and diagnostics worldwide. An estimation of HIV patient groups demonstrates the willingness to switch to nanomedicine alternatives if benefits can be documented. Research efforts by the Liverpool team have focused on the development of new oral therapies, using Solid Drug Nanoparticle (SDN) technology which can improve drug absorption into the body, reducing both the dose and the cost per dose and enabling existing healthcare budgets to treat more patients. The trial results confirmed the potential for a 50 percent dose reduction while maintaining therapeutic exposure, using a novel approach to the formulation of two drugs: efavirenz (EFV) and, lopinavir (LPV). EFV is the current WHO-recommended preferred regimen, with 70% of adult patients on first-line taking an EFV-based HIV treatment regimen in low- and middle-income countries. A benefit of this technique is that the nanoparticle attacks a major part of the structure of the virus. On the other hand, most drugs presently available prevent replication of the virus but do not stop the initial infection. When the nanoparticles contact normal cells that are much larger in size, they simply bounce off. HIV is smaller than the nanoparticle, hence gets attached between the bumpers and comes in contact with the nanoparticle surface. Researchers also anticipate that the nanoparticles can be used for existing HIV infections especially drug-resistant ones. The nanoparticles can be intravenously injected and can clear HIV from the blood stream. The potential applications for HIV treatment are incredibly promising. By aligning efforts, these integrated investigations offer the potential to reduce the doses required to control the HIV virus even further, resulting in real benefits globally. This would enable the costs of therapy to be reduced which is particularly beneficial for resource-limited countries where the burden of disease is highest. Reference: University of Liverpool. (2017, February 24). New nano approach could cut dose of leading HIV treatment in half. ScienceDaily.