Poly[(vinyl benzyl trimethylammonium chloride)]-based nanoparticulate copolymer structures encapsulating insulin

Current Development of Chemical Penetration Enhancers for Transdermal Insulin Delivery

The use of the transdermal delivery system has recently gained ample recognition due to the ability to deliver drug molecules across the skin membrane, serving as an alternative to conventional oral or injectable routes. Subcutaneous insulin injection is the mainstay treatment for diabetes mellitus which often leads to non-compliance among patients, especially in younger patients. Apart from its invasiveness, the long-term consequences of insulin injection cause the development of physical trauma, which includes lipohypertrophy at the site of administration, scarring, infection, and sometimes nerve damage. Hence, there is a quest for a better alternative to drug delivery that is non-invasive and easily adaptable. One of the potential solutions is the transdermal delivery method. However, the stratum corneum (the top layer of skin) is the greatest barrier in transporting large molecules like insulin. Therefore, various chemical enhancers have been proposed to promote stratum corneum permeability, or they are designed to increase the permeability of the full epidermis, such as the use of ionic liquid, peptides, chemical pre-treatment as well as packaging insulin with carriers or nanoparticles. In this review, the recent progress in the development of chemical enhancers for transdermal insulin delivery is discussed along with the possible mechanistic of action and the potential outlook on the proposed permeation approaches in comparison to other therapeutical drugs

Introducing Semi-Interpenetrating Networks of Chitosan and Ammonium-Quaternary Polymers for the Effective Removal of Waterborne Pathogens from Wastewaters

The present work aims to study the influence of ammonium-quaternary monomers and chitosan, obtained from different sources, upon the effect of semi-interpenetrating polymer network (semi-IPN) hydrogels upon the removal of waterborne pathogens and bacteria from wastewater. To this end, the study was focused on using vinyl benzyl trimethylammonium chloride (VBTAC), a water-soluble monomer with known antibacterial properties, and mineral-enriched chitosan extracted from shrimp shells, to prepare the semi-IPNs. By using chitosan, which still contains the native minerals (mainly calcium carbonate), the study intends to justify that the stability and efficiency of the semi-IPN bactericidal devices can be modified and better improved. The new semi-IPNs were characterized for composition, thermal stability and morphology using well-known methods. Swelling degree (SD%) and the bactericidal effect assessed using molecular methods revealed that hydrogels made of chitosan derived from shrimp shell demonstrated the most competitive and promising potential for wastewater (WW) treatment.

Surfactant and Block Copolymer Nanostructures: From Design and Development to Nanomedicine Preclinical Studies

The medical application of nanotechnology in the field of drug delivery has so far exhibited many efforts in treating simple to extremely complicated and life-threatening human conditions, with multiple products already existing in the market. A plethora of innovative drug delivery carriers, using polymers, surfactants and the combination of the above, have been developed and tested pre-clinically, offering great advantages in terms of targeted drug delivery, low toxicity and immune system activation, cellular biomimicry and enhanced pharmacokinetic properties. Furthermore, such artificial systems can be tailor-made with respect to each therapeutic protocol and disease type falling under the scope of personalized medicine. The simultaneous delivery of multiple therapeutic entities of different nature, such as genes and drugs, can be achieved, while novel technologies can offer systems with multiple modalities often combining therapy with diagnosis. In this review, we present prominent, innovative and state-of-the-art scientific efforts on the applications of surfactant-based, polymer-based, and mixed surfactant-polymer nanoparticle drug formulations intended for use in the medical field and in drug delivery. The materials used, formulation steps, nature, properties, physicochemical characteristics, characterization techniques and pharmacokinetic behavior of those systems, are presented extensively in the length of this work. The material presented is focused on research projects that are currently in the developmental, pre-clinical stage.