Research and development of drug delivery systems based on drug transporter and nano-formulation

Pharmaceutical nanotechnology: which products are been designed against COVID-19?

The current pandemic COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has been affecting thousands of people worldwide, promoting high numbers of deaths. With this, the world population is going through a process of changing habits, with social distance, improvement of hygiene techniques, to reduce the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and, consequently, reduce the number of hospitalized people in serious condition, as well as the mortality rate. This scenario has been promoting a continuous search for researchers, in the most varied areas, for possible methods of prevention or cure. Specifically, in the field of pharmaceutical nanotechnology, a variety of products are being developed against SARS-CoV-2. Under these circumstances, we propose here an exposition of some of the nanotechnological products (nanoscale between 1 to 1000 nm) currently designed for the detection of the virus, for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, in addition to equipment for personal protection. We believe that pharmaceutical nanotechnology will be a valuable tool in the disease from the development of products that guarantee our protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Targeting apoptosis and autophagy following spinal cord injury: Therapeutic approaches to polyphenols and candidate phytochemicals

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a neurological disorder associated with the loss of sensory and motor function. Understanding the precise dysregulated signaling pathways, especially apoptosis and autophagy following SCI, is of vital importance in developing innovative therapeutic targets and treatments. The present study lies in the fact that it reveals the precise dysregulated signaling mediators of apoptotic and autophagic pathways following SCI and also examines the effects of polyphenols and other candidate phytochemicals. It provides new insights to develop new treatments for post-SCI complications. Accordingly, a comprehensive review was conducted using electronic databases including, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Medline, along with the authors' expertise in apoptosis and autophagy as well as their knowledge about the effects of polyphenols and other phytochemicals on SCI pathogenesis. The primary mechanical injury to spinal cord is followed by a secondary cascade of apoptosis and autophagy that play critical roles during SCI. In terms of pharmacological mechanisms, caspases, Bax/Bcl-2, TNF-α, and JAK/STAT in apoptosis along with LC3 and Beclin-1 in autophagy have shown a close interconnection with the inflammatory pathways mainly glutamatergic, PI3K/Akt/mTOR, ERK/MAPK, and other cross-linked mediators. Besides, apoptotic pathways have been shown to regulate autophagy mediators and vice versa. Prevailing evidence has highlighted the importance of modulating these signaling mediators/pathways by polyphenols and other candidate phytochemicals post-SCI. The present review provides dysregulated signaling mediators and therapeutic targets of apoptotic and autophagic pathways following SCI, focusing on the modulatory effects of polyphenols and other potential phytochemical candidates.