Fentanyl–Antibody Interaction as a Novel Strategy against Opiates and Opioids Abuse

Abstract

While naloxone remains the antidote for opioid overdoses, more efficient tools are required to effectively combat this growing crisis. Vaccines and antibodies targeting substances of abuse appear to be a novel and promising approach to tackling the fentanyl and opioid epidemic. After an initial in-depth rundown on the pharmacodynamics of the substances involved from a structural and mechanistic standpoint, and a brief overview of pharmacological approaches used in clinical settings for managing overdoses and opioid addiction, this Perspective will be mainly focused on these innovative strategies, based on the development of antibodies binding and sequestering substances of abuse and on their generation in vivo through vaccines. The most promising approaches will be examined, from production techniques to their potential clinical applications, analyzing the structures and mechanisms of antibody–substance interactions and comparing these with receptor binding processes.