Piperine-loaded nanoparticles incorporated into hyaluronic acid/sodium alginate-based membranes for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases

Effective pickering emulsifiers based on submicron carboxymethyl cellulose/chitosan polymer particles

In this study, cross-linked carboxymethyl cellulose/chitosan submicron particles were employed to facilitate the stabilization of Pickering emulsion. The polymer particles were prepared using the polyelectrolyte self-assembly method in conjunction with isocyanide based multicomponent reactions and the characteristics were obtained using: nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering. Atomic force microscopy revealed the heterogeneous structure of the resulting submicron particles with domains of 20-30 nm in size. The average diameter was found to be in the range of 229-378 nm and they were found to be suitable for the fabrication of oil/water Pickering emulsion when proceeded via the homogenization method followed by sonication. The results obtained revealed that carboxymethyl cellulose/chitosan particles significantly stabilized the droplets at the oil/water interface. Even at low particle concentrations of 0.3 g/L (which is close to that of low molecular weight surfactants) stable Pickering emulsions have been obtained. Additionally, the resulting emulsions showed a high level of stability with regard to changes in pH, temperature and ionic strength. The natural alkaloid piperine was used as a model compound to load the resulting particles, which possessed encapsulation efficiency of 90.6±0.4%. Furthermore, the in vitro release profile of piperine from the Pickering emulsion revealed a much-controlled release in both acidic and neutral media as compared to the unformulated piperine. Additional findings in this work revealed important information on the application of carboxymethyl cellulose/chitosan submicron particles as Pickering stabilizers for creation of new delivery systems.

A potential bilayer skin substitute based on electrospun silk-elastin-like protein nanofiber membrane covered with bacterial cellulose

Skin substitutes are designed to promote wound healing by replacing extracellular matrix. Silk-elastin-like protein is a renewable extracellular matrix-like material that integrated the advantages of silk and elastin-like protein. In this study, electrospun silk-elastin-like protein (SELP) nanofiber membrane covered with bacterial cellulose (BC) was created as a potential skin substitute to mimic gradient structure of epidermis and dermis of skin. The two layers were glued together using adhesive SELP containing 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) converted from tyrosine by tyrosinase. Skin topical drugs commonly used in clinical practice can penetrate through the SELP/BC barrier, and the rate of penetration is proportional to drug concentration. BC with dense fibrous structure can act as a barrier to preserve the inner SELP layer and prevent bacterial invasion, with a blocking permeation efficiency over 99% against four species of bacteria. Cell experiments demonstrated that the reticular fibers of SELP could provide an appropriate growth environment for skin cells proliferation and adhesion, which is considered to promote tissue repair and regeneration. The promising results support this strategy to fabricate a silk-elastin-like protein-based biomaterial for skin substitutes in the clinical treatment of full skin injuries and ulcers.

Ethosomes for Curcumin and Piperine Cutaneous Delivery to Prevent Environmental-Stressor-Induced Skin Damage

Diesel particulate matter is one of the most dangerous environmental stressors affecting human health. Many plant-derived compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties have been proposed to protect the skin from pollution damage. Curcumin (CUR) has a plethora of pharmacological activities, including anticancer, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. However, it has low bioavailability due to its difficult absorption and rapid metabolism and elimination. CUR encapsulation in nanotechnological systems and its combination with biopotentiators such as piperine (PIP) can improve its pharmacokinetics, stability and activity. In this study, ethosomes (ETs) were investigated for CUR and PIP delivery to protect the skin from damage induced by diesel particulate matter. ETs were produced by different strategies and characterized for their size distribution by photon correlation spectroscopy, for their morphology by transmission electron microscopy, and for their drug encapsulation efficiency by high-performance liquid chromatography. Franz cells enabled us to evaluate in vitro the drug diffusion from ETs. The results highlighted that ETs can promote the skin permeation of curcumin. The studies carried out on their antioxidant activity demonstrated an increase in the antioxidant power of CUR using a combination of CUR and PIP separately loaded in ETs, suggesting their possible application for the prevention of skin damage due to exogenous stressors. Ex vivo studies on human skin explants have shown the suitability of drug-loaded ETs to prevent the structural damage to the skin induced by diesel engine exhaust exposure.

Co-emulsified Alginate-Eudragit Nanoparticles: Potential Carriers for Localized and Time-defined Release of Tenofovir in the Female Genital Tract

This research aimed to explore the possibilities of Eudragit S100 (ES100) and sodium alginate as carriers for tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) in the female genital tract. Alginate and alginate-ES100 nanoparticles were prepared using the ionic gelation and emulsion/gelation complexation method, respectively. The nanocarriers were tested using morphological, physicochemical, in vitro drug release, and cytotoxicity analyses. In SEM and TEM images, the presence of spherical and uniformly distributed nanoparticles was revealed. The FTIR spectrum showed that alginate and calcium chloride interacted due to ionic bonds linking divalent calcium ions and the -COO- of alginate groups. Alginate and ES100 interacted via the ester C=O amide stretching. The results obtained from XRD and DSC, on the other hand, revealed a favorable interaction between sodium alginate and ES100 polymers, as evidenced by the crystallization peaks observed. Under experimental design analysis and optimization, overall size distribution profiles ranged from 134.9 to 228.0 nm, while zeta potential results showed stable nanoparticles (-17.8 to -38.4 MV). The optimal formulation exhibited a maximum cumulative in vitro release of 72% (pH 4.2) up to 96 h. The cytotoxicity tests revealed the safety of TDF-loaded nanoparticles on vaginal epithelial cells at concentrations of 0.025 mg/mL, 0.5 mg/mL, and 1 mg/mL for 72 h. These results indicated that alginate-ES100 nanoparticles have the potential to preserve and sustain the release of the TDF drug in the FGT. The future goal is to develop a low-dose non-toxic microbicide that can be administered long term in the vagina to cater to both pregnant and non-pregnant HIV patients.

Nanotechnology-Based Topical Delivery of Natural Products for the Management of Atopic Dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic eczematous inflammatory disease that may arise from environmental, genetic, and immunological factors. Despite the efficacy of current treatment options such as corticosteroids, such approaches are mainly focused on symptom relief and may present certain undesirable side effects. In recent years, isolated natural compounds, oils, mixtures, and/or extracts have gained scientific attention because of their high efficiency and moderate to low toxicity. Despite their promising therapeutic effects, the applicability of such natural healthcare solutions is somewhat limited by their instability, poor solubility, and low bioavailability. Therefore, novel nanoformulation-based systems have been designed to overcome these limitations, thus enhancing the therapeutic potential, by promoting the capacity of these natural drugs to properly exert their action in AD-like skin lesions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first literature review that has focused on summarizing recent nanoformulation-based solutions loaded with natural ingredients, specifically for the management of AD. We suggest that future studies should focus on robust clinical trials that may confirm the safety and effectiveness of such natural-based nanosystems, thus paving the way for more reliable AD treatments.

Piperine ameliorates psoriatic skin inflammation by inhibiting the phosphorylation of STAT3

Psoriasis is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease that is easy to relapse and difficult to cure. Piperine is the main alkaloid extracted from black pepper, and its role in psoriasis has not been previously reported. We identified that piperine ameliorated M5-induced psoriatic skin lesions. Furthermore, piperine alleviated psoriasis pathological features including epidermal hyperplasia and inflammatory cell infiltration, decreased the expression of psoriasis-characteristic cytokines, chemokines and proteins in IMQ-induced psoriasiform dermatitis. Moreover, we determined that piperine inhibited the phosphorylation of STAT3 in M5- and IMQ-induced psoriasis-like skin lesions. Our data demonstrated that piperine ameliorated psoriatic skin inflammation by inhibiting the phosphorylation of STAT3. Therefore, piperine may be one potential compound candidate for psoriasis therapy, providing new strategies for clinical intervention.

Disulfide Bridged Nanoparticles of Thiolated Sodium Alginate and Eudragit RS100 for Oral Delivery of Paclitaxel: In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation

Most biopharmaceutics classification system (BCS) class IV drugs have limited oral bioavailability due to poor solubility and poorer permeability. This work aims to investigate the possibility of utilizing disulfide bridged nanoparticles to improve BCS IV drug solubility and oral absorption. Disulfide bridged nanoparticles were made using thiolated sodium alginate (TSA) and thiolated eudragit RS100 (TERS100). This study used paclitaxel (PTL) as a model drug to create PTL-loaded nanoparticles using the air oxidation approach. PTL-loaded nanoparticles boosted the solubility of PTL by over 11 times (∼59 μg/mL). The nanoparticles had particle sizes of 103 nm, polydispersity indices of 0.034, and zeta potentials of -21 mV, respectively. Nanoparticles demonstrated 75.34% and 89.18% entrapment and loading efficiency of PTL, respectively. The PTL release data from nanoparticles had good sustained release properties. The effective permeability of PTL from nanoparticles was 2.19-fold higher than that of pure PTL suspension. The relative bioavailability of PTL with disulfide bridged nanoparticles was 237.11%, which was much higher than that of PTL suspension, according to the pharmacokinetic data. These results show that disulfide bridged nanoparticles have a wide range of clinical applications.