s Nanotechnology Advancements in the Diagnosis and Prevention of COVID-19: Past and Future

Since the start of the decade, the coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19] pandemic has disrupted the world's healthcare system. Scientists have been engaged to bring about a therapeutic agent to help combat the dreaded disease. Many researchers have shown antivirals such as Remdesivir and Favipiravir to be effective in the treatment; however, these drugs have a short half-life. Hence, the need for a drug delivery system that could prolong or alter their effect by increasing the potency of antivirals or vaccines has been proposed. Nanotechnology has always been at the forefront of developing and diagnosing diseases. The idea of which can be borrowed to treat the novel coronavirus. The applicability needs to be vast as the disease has spread, and a fast, reliable, effective therapeutic and diagnostic procedure is the need of the hour. Emphasis on nanotechnology usage through the intranasal and pulmonary route has been given and various applications have also been discussed in this review.