Identification and characterization of chemical and physical stability of insulin formulations utilizing degraded glycerol after repeated use and storage

Recent advances in transdermal insulin delivery technology: A review

Transdermal drug delivery refers to the administration of drugs through the skin, after which the drugs can directly act on or circulate through the body to the target organs or cells and avoid the first-pass metabolism in the liver and kidneys experienced by oral drugs, reducing the risk of drug poisoning. From the initial singular approach to transdermal drug delivery, there has been a shift toward combining multiple methods to enhance drug permeation efficiency and address the limitations of individual approaches. Technological advancements have also improved the accuracy of drug delivery. Optimizing insulin itself also enables its long-term release via needle-free injectors. In this review, the diverse transdermal delivery methods employed in insulin therapy and their respective advantages and limitations are discussed. By considering factors such as the principles of transdermal penetration, drug delivery efficiency, research progress, synergistic innovations among different methods, patient compliance, skin damage, and posttreatment skin recovery, a comprehensive evaluation is presented, along with prospects for potential novel combinatorial approaches. Furthermore, as insulin is a macromolecular drug, insights gained from its transdermal delivery may also serve as a valuable reference for the use of other macromolecular drugs for treatment.

Metallic Nanocarriers for Therapeutic Peptides: Emerging Solutions Addressing the Delivery Challenges in Brain Ailments

Peptides and proteins have recently emerged as efficient therapeutic alternatives to conventional therapies. Although they emerged a few decades back, extensive exploration of various ailments or disorders began recently. The drawbacks of current chemotherapies and irradiation treatments, such as drug resistance and damage to healthy tissues, have enabled the rise of peptides in the quest for better prospects. The chemical tunability and smaller size make them easy to design selectively for target tissues. Other remarkable properties include antifungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, protection from hemorrhage stroke, and as therapeutic agents for gastric disorders and Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases. Despite these unmatched properties, their practical applicability is often hindered due to their weak susceptibility to enzymatic digestion, serum degradation, liver metabolism, kidney clearance, and immunogenic reactions. Several methods are adapted to increase the half-life of peptides, such as chemical modifications, fusing with Fc fragment, change in amino acid composition, and carrier-based delivery. Among these, nanocarrier-mediated encapsulation not only increases the half-life of the peptides in vivo but also aids in the targeted delivery. Despite its structural complexity, they also efficiently deliver therapeutic molecules across the blood-brain barrier. Here, in this review, we tried to emphasize the possible potentiality of metallic nanoparticles to be used as an efficient peptide delivery system against brain tumors and neurodegenerative disorders. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: In this review, we have emphasized the various therapeutic applications of peptides/proteins, including antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and neurodegenerative diseases. We also focused on these peptides' challenges under physiological conditions after administration. We highlighted the importance and potentiality of metallic nanocarriers in the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, increasing the stability and half-life of peptides, their efficiency in targeting the delivery, and their diagnostic applications.

Compatibility Study of Peptide and Glycerol Using Chromatographic and Spectroscopic Techniques: Application to a Novel Antimicrobial Peptide Cbf-14 Gel

The interactions between active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and excipients may lead to API degradation, thereby affecting the safety and efficacy of drug products. Cbf-14 is a synthetic peptide derived from Cathelicidin-BF, showing potential for bacterial and fungal infections. In order to assess impurities in Cbf-14 gel, we developed a two-dimensional liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometric method. A total of eleven peptide degradation impurities were identified and characterized. Furthermore, the compatibility tests were conducted to evaluate the interactions of Cbf-14 with glycerol and methylcellulose, respectively. The results revealed that the impurities originated from condensation reactions between Cbf-14 and aldehydes caused by glycerol degradation. Several aldehydes were employed to validate this hypothesis. The formation mechanisms were elucidated as Maillard reactions between primary amino groups of Cbf-14 and aldehydes derived from glycerol degradation. Additionally, the compatibility of Cbf-14 with glycerol from different sources and with varying storage times was investigated. Notably, the interaction products in the gel increased with extended storage time, even when fresh glycerol for injection was added. This study offers unique insights into the compatibility study of peptides and glycerol, contributing to the ongoing quality study of Cbf-14 gel. It also serves as a reference for the design of other peptide preparations and excipients selections.

From cell factories to patients: Stability challenges in biopharmaceuticals manufacturing and administration with mitigation strategies

Active ingredients of biopharmaceuticals consist of a wide array of biomolecular structures, including those of enzymes, monoclonal antibodies, nucleic acids, and recombinant proteins. Recently, these molecules have dominated the pharmaceutical industry owing to their safety and efficacy. However, their manufacturing is hindered by high cost, inadequate batch-to-batch equivalence, inherent instability, and other quality issues. This article is an up-to-date review of the challenges encountered during different stages of biopharmaceutical production and mitigation of problems arising during their development, formulation, manufacturing, and administration. It is a broad overview discussion of stability issues encountered during product life cycle i.e., upstream processing (aggregation, solubility, host cell proteins, color change), downstream bioprocessing (aggregation, fragmentation), formulation, manufacturing, and delivery to patients.