Can bilirubin nanomedicine become a hope for the management of COVID-19?

Khurana, Isha; Allawadhi, Prince; Khurana, Amit; Kumar Srivastava, Amit; Navik, Umashanker; Kumar Banothu, Anil; Kumar Bharani, Kala

Bilirubin has been proven to possess significant anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antiviral activities. Recently, it has been postulated as a metabolic hormone. Further, moderately higher bilirubin levels are positively associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity. However, due to poor solubility the therapeutic delivery of bilirubin remains a challenge. Nanotechnology offers unique advantages which may be exploited for improved delivery of bilirubin to the target organ with reduced risk of systemic toxicity. Herein, we postulate the use of intravenous or inhalation of bilirubin nanomedicine to combat systemic dysfunction associated with COVID-19 owing to the remarkable preclinical efficacy and optimistic results of various clinical studies of bilirubin in non-communicable disorders. Bilirubin nanomedicine may be used to harness the proven preclinical efficacy against COVID-19 related systemic complications.