Drug Delivery Platforms for Vaginal Infection: Biological Barriers, Microbe-Associated Infections, and Delivery

The vaginal route offers unique advantages for localized and systemic drug delivery, but efficacy is limited by biological barriers including mucus, epithelium, immune cells, and microbiota. Prevalent microbe-associated infections like bacterial vaginosis, candidiasis, and trichomoniasis often recur due to treatment failures. Drug delivery via nanomaterials and hydrogels provides opportunities to overcome limitations through platforms that modulate drug release kinetics, mucoadhesion, mucus penetration, and intrinsic antimicrobial properties. This review discusses biological barriers, prevalent vaginal infections, and nanoscale delivery systems including nanoparticles, liposomes, hydrogels, and inorganic materials. Surface engineering allows the customization of nanoparticles for mucoadhesive or mucus-penetrating properties. Liposomes can fuse with cell membranes for intracellular delivery. Hydrogels provide sustained drug release. Inorganic nanomaterials exhibit inherent antimicrobial effects. These nanosystems offer targeted, sustained drug delivery to improve treatment outcomes for vaginal infections. Further research is warranted to establish clinical efficacy and safety.