Partial least squares analysis and mixture design for the study of the influence of composition variables on lipidic nanoparticle characteristics

Metabolomic Study of Dactylis glomerata Growing on Aeolian Archipelago (Italy)

The Aeolian Islands (Italy) are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea comprising seven main islands, among which are two active volcanoes. The peculiar geological features and the wide variety of environments and soils have an important impact on native plants, and in particular, the Aeolian populations of Dactylis glomerata (a perennial cool-season bunchgrass) exhibit remarkable phenotypic variability. Considering that environmental drivers also strongly affect the production of plant metabolites, this work aimed at comparing the metabolomic profiles of D. glomerata (leaves) harvested at different altitudes on four islands of the Aeolian archipelago, namely: Lipari, Vulcano, Stromboli and Panarea. Samples were analyzed by ¹H NMR profiling, and data were treated by PCA. Samples collected on Stromboli were very different from each other and from the samples collected in the other islands. Through an Orthogonal Partial Least Squares (OPLS) model, using altitude as the y variable, it emerged that the concentration of proline, glycine betaine, sucrose, glucose and chlorogenic acid of D. glomerata growing on Stromboli decreased at increasing altitude. Conversely, increasing altitude was associated with an increment in valine, asparagine, fumaric acid and phenylalanine.

Metabolomic Study of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) to Interpret Plant Behavior under Variable Field Conditions in View of Smart Agriculture Applications

To tackle the urgency of smarter crop management, the complex nature of agricultural ecosystems needs to be better understood, employing and combining different techniques and technologies. In this study, untargeted metabolomics and agro-meteorological survey were coupled to study the variation of Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench metabolome during crop development, in response to environmental and anthropic factors. Twelve crop fields in the Emilia-Romagna region, Italy, were monitored and sampled at different stages, seedling (Ss), advanced vegetative (Sv), and ripening (Sr), and subjected to ¹H NMR-based metabolomics. The analytical method developed resulted to be successful to quickly analyze different sorghum organs. Dhurrin, a cyanogenic glucoside, resulted to be a biomarker of crop quality and development, and several insights into its turnover and functions were obtained. In particular, p-glucosyloxy-2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid was identified, for the first time, as the main metabolite accumulated in sorghum at Sr, after gradual dhurrin neutralization. During plant life, fertilization and biotic and abiotic stress reflected peculiar metabolomic profiles. Water supply and soil features (i.e., clay content) were correlated to metabolomic variations, affecting dhurrin (and related metabolites), amino acids, organic acids, and carbohydrate content. Increase in chlorogenic acid was registered in consequence of predator attacks. Moreover, grain from three fields presented traces of dhurrin and the lowest antioxidant potential, which resulted in poor grain quality. Metabolomics turned out to be a promising tool in view of smart agriculture for monitoring plant growth status and applying appropriate agricultural practices since the early stage of crop development.

Leaves and Spiny Burs of Castanea Sativa from an Experimental Chestnut Grove: Metabolomic Analysis and Anti-Neuroinflammatory Activity

Castanea sativa cultivation has been present in Mediterranean regions since ancient times. In order to promote a circular economy, it is of great importance to valorize chestnut groves' by-products. In this study, leaves and spiny burs from twenty-four Castanea trees were analyzed by 1H NMR metabolomics to provide an overview of their phytochemical profile. The Orthogonal Projections to Latent Structures Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA) performed on these data allowed us to distinguish 'Marrone' from 'Castagna', since the latter were generally more enriched with secondary metabolites, in particular, flavonoids (astragalin, isorhamnetin glucoside, and myricitrin) were dominant. Knowing that microglia are involved in mediating the oxidative and inflammatory response of the central nervous system, the potential anti-inflammatory effects of extracts derived from leaves and spiny burs were evaluated in a neuroinflammatory cell model: BV-2 microglia cells. The tested extracts showed cytoprotective activity (at 0.1 and 0.5 mg/mL) after inflammation induction by 5 µg/mL lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In addition, the transcriptional levels of IL-1β, TNF-α, and NF-kB expression induced by LPS were significantly decreased by cell incubation with spiny burs and leaves extracts. Taken together, the obtained results are promising and represent an important step to encourage recycling and valorization of chestnut byproducts, usually considered "waste".

Prediction of Drug Loading in the Gelatin Matrix Using Computational Methods

The delivery of drugs is a topic of intense research activity in both academia and industry with potential for positive economic, health, and societal impacts. The selection of the appropriate formulation (carrier and drug) with optimal delivery is a challenge investigated by researchers in academia and industry, in which millions of dollars are invested annually. Experiments involving different carriers and determination of their capacity for drug loading are very time-consuming and therefore expensive; consequently, approaches that employ computational/theoretical chemistry to speed have the potential to make hugely beneficial economic, environmental, and health impacts through savings in costs associated with chemicals (and their safe disposal) and time. Here, we report the use of computational tools (data mining of the available literature, principal component analysis, hierarchical clustering analysis, partial least squares regression, autocovariance calculations, molecular dynamics simulations, and molecular docking) to successfully predict drug loading into model drug delivery systems (gelatin nanospheres). We believe that this methodology has the potential to lead to significant change in drug formulation studies across the world.

The correlation between multiple variable factors and the autocatalytic properties of cerium oxide nanoparticles based on cell viability

A new strategy was developed for evaluating the autocatalytic property of Ce NPs under optimized reaction conditions by the PLSR method.

Assessment of attitudes towards the use of topical corticosteroids among patients, prescribers and pharmacists in the Republic of Macedonia

Apart from the time-proven, gold standard treatment of many topical conditions with corticosteroids, the phobia of using topical corticosteroids (TCs) is a phenomenon unveiled among groups of patients, parents, as well as health professionals. Health professionals’ attitude to TCs could have a significant impact on the trend of TCs-phobia among patients. Therefore, it is essential to address this issue as TCs-phobia is something which could also have important implications in medication adherence and compliance to prescribed treatment. Bearing in mind that no survey had been conducted to investigate this matter in Republic of Macedonia (RM), a self-completed questionnaire has been created to assess attitudes and their prevalence associated with TCs-phobia among patients and health professionals with aim to describe the attitude, explore the reasons behind revealed phenomenon and define directions for future interventions needed to advance the healthcare in this field. Our findings show that the TCs-phobia is present among surveyed population (21.6 and 34.22% of all responders expressed negative attitudes or fear of TCs use, respectively). It is also concluded that ~27% of patients on TCs-therapy admitted that they feared of using the medication. However, there is a higher frequency of negative attitudes regarding the use of TCs among the health professionals (~39%) than among patients, where the TCs-phobia is more prominent among non-dermatologists than dermatologists. Moreover, negative attitude and fear of TCs use is universal among paediatricians (73.91%). Portrayed interventions needed to identify and manage the TCs-phobia can lead to improvement of adherence and predicted responsiveness of TCs-therapy.

Optimization and validation of high-performance chromatographic condition for simultaneous determination of adapalene and benzoyl peroxide by response surface methodology

The aim of this study was to develop a simple and reliable high-performance chromatographic (HPLC) method for simultaneous analysis of adapalene and benzoyl peroxide in pharmaceutical formulation by response surface methodology (RSM). An optimized mobile phase composed of acetonitrile, tetrahydrofuran and water containing 0.1% acetic acid at a ratio of 25:50:25 by volume was successfully predicted by using RSM. An isocratic separation was achieved by using the condition. Furthermore, the analytical method was validated in terms of specificity, linearity, accuracy and precision in a range of 80% to 120% of the expected concentration. Finally, the method was successfully applied to the analysis of a commercial product.

Effect of microemulsions on transdermal delivery of citalopram: optimization studies using mixture design and response surface methodology

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of microemulsions as a drug vehicle for transdermal delivery of citalopram. A computerized statistical technique of response surface methodology with mixture design was used to investigate and optimize the influence of the formulation compositions including a mixture of Brij 30/Brij 35 surfactants (at a ratio of 4:1, 20%-30%), isopropyl alcohol (20%-30%), and distilled water (40%-50%) on the properties of the drug-loaded microemulsions, including permeation rate (flux) and lag time. When microemulsions were used as a vehicle, the drug permeation rate increased significantly and the lag time shortened significantly when compared with the aqueous control of 40% isopropyl alcohol solution containing 3% citalopram, demonstrating that microemulsions are a promising vehicle for transdermal application. With regard to the pharmacokinetic parameters of citalopram, the flux required for the transdermal delivery system was about 1280 μg per hour. The microemulsions loaded with citalopram 3% and 10% showed respective flux rates of 179.6 μg/cm(2) and 513.8 μg/cm(2) per hour, indicating that the study formulation could provide effective therapeutic concentrations over a practical application area. The animal study showed that the optimized formulation (F15) containing 3% citalopram with an application area of 3.46 cm(2) is able to reach a minimum effective therapeutic concentration with no erythematous reaction.