Solid lipid nanoparticles cyclodextrin-decorated incorporated into gellan gum-based dry floating in situ delivery systems for controlled release of bioactive compounds of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius. L): A proof of concept study in biorelevant media

Recent trends and advances in novel formulations as an armament in Bcl-2/Bax targeted breast cancer

Breast cancer (BC) remains a significant health burden worldwide, necessitating the development of innovative therapeutic strategies. The B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) family proteins, Bcl-2 and Bax, play a crucial role in regulating apoptosis and thus are promising targets for BC therapy. We focus on the recent advancements in novel formulations that specifically target Bcl-2/Bax pathway to combat BC. It provides an overview on biological functions of Bcl-2/Bax in apoptosis regulation, emphasizing their significance in pathogenesis and progression of the disease while covering the numerous therapeutic approaches aimed at modulating the Bcl-2/Bax pathway, including small-molecule inhibitors, peptides, gene-based therapies and other repurposed drugs harboured onto cutting-edge technologies and nanocarrier systems employed to enhance the targeted delivery of Bcl-2/Bax inhibitors tumor cells. These advanced formulations aim to improve therapeutic efficacy, minimize off-target effects, and overcome drug resistance, offering promising prospects in its treatment. In conclusion, it illuminates the diverse and evolving landscape of novel formulations as an essential armament in targeting these proteins while bridging and unravelling the obscurity of Bcl-2/Bax pathway-targeted drug delivery systems which are presently in their nascent stages of exploration for BC therapy which can benefit researchers, clinicians, and pharmaceutical scientists.

Characterization and stability of solid lipid nanoparticles produced from different fully hydrogenated oils

The use of lipids from conventional oils and fats to produce solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) attracting interest from the food industry, since due their varying compositions directly affects crystallization behavior, stability, and particle sizes (PS) of SLN. Thus, this study aimed evaluate the potential of fully hydrogenated oils (hardfats) with different hydrocarbon chain lengths to produce SLN using different emulsifiers. For that, fully hydrogenated palm kern (FHPkO), palm (FHPO), soybean (FHSO), microalgae (FHMO) and crambe (FHCO) oils were used. Span 60 (S60), soybean lecithin (SL), and whey protein isolate (WPI) were used as emulsifiers. The physicochemical characteristics and crystallization properties of SLN were evaluated during 60 days. Results indicates that the crystallization properties were more influenced by the hardfat used. SLN formulated with FHPkO was more unstable than the others, and hardfats FHPO, FHSO, FHMO, and FHCO exhibited the appropriate characteristics for use to produce SLN. Concerning emulsifiers, S60- based SLN showed high instability, despite the hardfat used. SL-based and WPI-based SLN formulations, showed a great stability, with crystallinity properties suitable for food incorporation.

Development of chitosan-hyaluronic acid based hydrogel for local delivery of doxycycline hyclate in an ex vivo skin infection model

Doxycycline hyclate (DOXY) is a tetracycline derivative known as the broad-spectrum bacteriostatic drug. DOXY has been suggested as the first-line antibiotic for diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). Unfortunately, the long-term availability of DOXY in both oral and conventional topical dosage forms reduces its therapeutic effectiveness, which is closely linked to gastrointestinal side effects and acute pain during therapy, as well as uncontrolled DOXY release at the wound site. To address these shortcomings, we present for the first time a DOXY hydrogel system (DHs) built on crosslinks between carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) and aldehyde hyaluronic acid (AHA). Three formulations of DHs were developed with different ratios of CMC and AHA, consisting of F1 (3:7, w/w), F2 (5:5, w/w), and F3 (7:3, w/w). Viscosity, rheology, gel strength, pH, swelling, gel fraction, wettability, stability, in vitro drug release, ex vivo antibacterial, and dermatokinetic studies were used to evaluate the DHs. According to the in vitro release study, up to 85% of DOXY was released from DHs via the Fickian diffusion mechanism in the Korsmeyer-Peppas model (n < 0.45), which provides controlled drug delivery. Because of its excellent physicochemical characteristics, F2 was chosen as the best DHs formulation in this study. Essentially, the optimum DHs formulation could greatly improve DOXY's ex vivo dermatokinetic profile while also providing excellent antibacterial activity. As a consequence, this study had promising outcome as a proof of concept for increasing the efficacy of DOXY in clinical therapy. Further extensive in vivo studies are required to evaluate the efficacy of this approach.