Daidzein-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers-PLGA nanofibers for transdermal delivery

Fabrication and characterization of anti-rosacea 3D nanofibrous customized sheet masks as a novel scaffold for repurposed use of spironolactone with pre-clinical studies

The repurposed oral use of spironolactone (SP) as an anti-rosacea drug faces many challenges that hinder its efficacy and compliance. In this study, a topically applied nanofibers (NFs) scaffold was evaluated as a promising nanocarrier that enhances SP activity and avoids the friction routine that exaggerates rosacea patients' inflamed, sensitive skin. SP-loaded poly-vinylpyrrolidone (40% PVP) nanofibers (SP-PVP NFs) were electrospun. Scanning electron microscopy showed that SP-PVP NFs have a smooth homogenous surface with a diameter of about 426.60 nm. Wettability, solid state, and mechanical properties of NFs were evaluated. Encapsulation efficiency and drug loading were 96.34% ± 1.20 and 11.89% ± 0.15, respectively. The in vitro release study showed a higher amount of SP released over pure SP with a controlled release pattern. Ex vivo results showed that the permeated amount of SP from SP-PVP NFs sheets was 4.1 times greater than that of pure SP gel. A higher percentage of SP was retained in different skin layers. Moreover, the in vivo anti-rosacea efficacy of SP-PVP NFs using croton oil challenge showed a significant reduction in erythema score compared to the pure SP. The stability and safety of NFs mats were proved, indicating that SP-PVP NFs are promising carriers of SP.

Preparation, optimization, and in vitro-in vivo evaluation of sorafenib-loaded polycaprolactone and cellulose acetate nanofibers for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis

The most common form of leishmaniasis is cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). The major difficulties in the treatment of leishmaniasis include emergence of resistance, toxicity, long-term treatment, and the high cost of the current drugs. Although the therapeutic effect of sorafenib (SF) has been demonstrated in both in vitro and in vivo models of Leishmania infection, the therapeutic applications are limited due to severe drug-related toxicity; this is, in turn, due to non-specific distribution in the body. Thus, topical delivery has the advantage of the site directed delivery of SF. This research study evaluated SF-loaded hybrid nanofibers (NFs) which were composed of polycaprolactone (PCL) and cellulose acetate (CA) for the CL topical treatment. Accordingly, SF-loaded hybrid NFs were prepared using the electrospinning method. Formulation variables including total polymer concentration, drug/polymer ratio, and CA concentration were optimized using a full factorial design. The prepared SF-loaded NFs were then characterized for morphology, diameter, encapsulation efficiency (EE)%, drug loading (DL) %, and percentage of release efficiency during a 24-h period (RE_24h%); the mechanical characteristics were also considered. The physical state of the drug in the optimized NF was evaluated by the X-ray diffraction analysis. Finally, its in vivo efficacy was determined in L. major-infected mice. The optimized formulation had a smooth, cylindrical, non-beaded shape fiber with a diameter of 281.44 nm, EE of 97.96%, DL of 7.48%, RE of 51.05%, ultimate tensile strength of 1.08 MPa, and Young's moduli of 74.96 MPa. The XRD analysis also demonstrated the amorphous state of SF in NF. Further, the in vivo results displayed the higher anti-leishmanial activity of the SF-loaded hybrid NF by efficiently healing lesion and successfully reducing the parasite burden. This, thus, indicated the potential of the clinical capability of the SF-loaded hybrid NF for the effective treatment of CL.

Formation of Hydrophilic Nanofibers from Nanostructural Design in the Co-Encapsulation of Celecoxib through Electrospinning

This study presents a method for a one-step co-encapsulation of PLGA nanoparticles in hydrophilic nanofibers. The aim is to effectively deliver the drug to the lesion site and achieve a longer release time. The celecoxib nanofiber membrane (Cel-NPs-NFs) was prepared by emulsion solvent evaporation and electrospinning with celecoxib as a model drug. By this method, nanodroplets of celecoxib PLGA are entrapped within polymer nanofibers during an electrospinning process. Moreover, Cel-NPs-NFs exhibited good mechanical strength and hydrophilicity, with a cumulative release of 67.74% for seven days, and the cell uptake at 0.5 h was 2.7 times higher than that of pure nanoparticles. Furthermore, pathological sections of the joint exhibited an apparent therapeutic effect on rat OA, and the drug was delivered effectively. According to the results, this solid matrix containing nanodroplets or nanoparticles could use hydrophilic materials as carriers to prolong drug release time.

Unveiling the Pharmacological and Nanotechnological Facets of Daidzein: Present State-of-the-Art and Future Perspectives

Herbal drugs have been attracting much scientific interest in the last few decades and nowadays, phytoconstituents-based research is in progress to disclose their unidentified medicinal potential. Daidzein (DAI) is the natural phytoestrogen isoflavone derived primarily from leguminous plants, such as the soybean and mung bean, and its IUPAC name is 4',7-dihydroxyisoflavone. This compound has received great attention as a fascinating pharmacophore with remarkable potential for the therapeutic management of several diseases. Certain pharmacokinetic properties of DAI such as less aqueous solubility, low permeability, and poor bioavailability are major obstacles restricting the therapeutic applications. In this review, distinctive physicochemical characteristics and pharmacokinetics of DAI has been elucidated. The pharmacological applications in treatment of several disorders like oxidative stress, cancer, obesity, cardiovascular, neuroprotective, diabetes, ovariectomy, anxiety, and inflammation with their mechanism of action are explained. Furthermore, this review article comprehensively focuses to provide up-to-date information about nanotechnology-based formulations which have been investigated for DAI in preceding years which includes polymeric nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carrier, polymer-lipid nanoparticles, nanocomplexes, polymeric micelles, nanoemulsion, nanosuspension, liposomes, and self-microemulsifying drug delivery systems.

Research Progress and Trends of Phenylethanoid Glycoside Delivery Systems

Background: Phenylethanoid glycosides (PhGs) are obtained from a wide range of sources and show strong biological and pharmacological activities, such as antioxidant, antibacterial and neuroprotective effects. However, intestinal malabsorption and the low bioavailability of PhGs seriously affect their application. Delivery systems are an effective method to improve the bioavailability of active substances. Scope and approach: In this article, the biological activities of and delivery systems for PhGs are introduced. The application statuses of delivery systems for echinacoside, acteoside and salidroside are reviewed. Finally, the problems of the lack of uniform standards for delivery systems and the poor targeted delivery accuracy of PhGs in the current research are proposed and suggestions for future research are put forward based on those problems. Key findings and conclusions: Although there are still some problems in the delivery system of phenylethanoside, such as inconsistent standards and inaccurate delivery, phenylethanoside itself has been proven to have a variety of physiological activities. Therefore, the action mechanism and application of phenylethanoside and its delivery system should be studied further.

Preparation of Daidzein microparticles through liquid antisolvent precipitation under ultrasonication

In this study, daidzein microparticles (DMP) were prepared using an improved ultrasound-assisted antisolvent precipitation method. Preliminary experiments were conducted using six single-factor experiments, and principal component analysis (PCA) was adopted to obtain the three staple elements of the ultrasonic power, solution concentration, and nozzle diameter. The response surface Box-Behnken (BBD) design was used to optimize the level of the above factors. The optimal preparation conditions of the DMP were obtained as follows: the flow rate was 4 mL/min, the concentration of the daidzein solution was 16 mg/mL, the ratio of antisolvent to solvent (liquid-to-liquid ratio) was 9, the nozzle diameter was 300 μm, the ultrasonic power was 180 W (665 W/L), and the system speed was 760 r/min. The minimum average particle size of DMP was 181 ± 2 nm. The properties of daidzein particles before and after preparation were analyzed via scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, Differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, no obvious change in its chemical structure was observed, but crystallinity was reduced. Compared with daidzein powder, DMP has a higher solubility and stronger antioxidant capacity. The above results indicate that the improved method of ultrasonication combined with antisolvent can reduce the size of daidzein particles and has a great potential in practical production.

Breaking the barriers for the delivery of amikacin: Challenges, strategies, and opportunities

Hypodermic delivery of amikacin is a widely adopted treatment modality for severe infections, including bacterial septicemia, meningitis, intra-abdominal infections, burns, postoperative complications, and urinary tract infections in both paediatric and adult populations. In most instances, the course of treatment requires repeated bolus doses of amikacin, prolonged hospitalization, and the presence of a skilled healthcare worker for administration and continuous therapeutic monitoring to manage the severe adverse effects. Amikacin is hydrophilic and exhibits a short half-life, which further challenges the delivery of sufficient systemic concentrations when administered by the oral or transdermal route. In this purview, the exploitation of novel controlled and sustained release drug delivery platforms is warranted. Furthermore, it has been shown that novel delivery systems are capable of increasing the antibacterial activity of amikacin at lower doses when compared to the conventional formulations and also aid in overcoming the development of drug-resistance, which currently is a significant threat to the healthcare system worldwide. The current review presents a comprehensive overview of the developmental history of amikacin, the mechanism of action in virulent strains as well as the occurrence of resistance, and various emerging drug delivery solutions developed both by the academia and the industry. The examples outlined within the review provides significant pieces of evidence on novel amikacin formulations in the field of antimicrobial research paving the path for future therapeutic interventions that will result in improved clinical outcome.

Preparation and characterization of poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanofibers containing simvastatin coated with hyaluronic acid for using in periodontal tissue engineering

Periodontal diseases can lead to soft tissue defects. Tissue engineering can provide functional replacements for damaged tissues. Recently, electrospun nanofibers have attracted great interest for tissue engineering and drug delivery applications. This has been revealed that statins exhibit positive impacts on the proliferation and regeneration of periodontal tissues. Electrospun simvastatin loaded poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (SIM-PLGA-NF) were prepared using electrospinning technique. Optimal conditions for preparation of SIM-PLGA-NF (PLGA concentration of 30 wt%, voltage of 15 kV, and flow rate of 1.5 ml h^-1 ) were identified using a 2³ factorial design. The optimized SIM-PLGA-NFs (diameter of 640.2 ± 32.5 nm and simvastatin entrapment efficacy of 99.6 ± 1.5%) were surface modified with 1% w/v hyaluronic acid solution (1%HA- SIM-PLGA-NF) to improve their compatibility with fibroblasts and potential application as a periodontal tissue engineering scaffold. HA-SIM-PLGA NFs were analyzed using SEM, FTIR, and XRD. 1%HA-SIM-PLGA-NF had uniform, bead-free and interwoven morphology, which is similar to the extracellular matrix. The mechanical performance of SIM-PLGA-NFs and release profile of simvastatin from these nanofibers have been also greatly improved after coating with HA. In vitro cellular tests showed that the proliferation, adhesion, and differentiation of fibroblast cells positively enhanced on the surface of 1%HA- SIM-PLGA-NF. These results demonstrate the potential application of 1%HA-SIM-PLGA-NFs as a scaffold for periodontal tissue engineering.

Drug-Eluting Medical Textiles: From Fiber Production and Textile Fabrication to Drug Loading and Delivery

Drug-eluting medical textiles have recently gained great attention to be used in different applications due to their cost effectiveness and unique physical and chemical properties. Using various fiber production and textile fabrication technologies, fibrous constructs with the required properties for the target drug delivery systems can be designed and fabricated. This review summarizes the current advances in the fabrication of drug-eluting medical textiles. Different fiber production methods such as melt-, wet-, and electro-spinning, and textile fabrication techniques such as knitting and weaving are explained. Moreover, various loading processes of bioactive agents to obtain drug-loaded fibrous structures with required physicochemical and morphological properties, drug delivery mechanisms, and drug release kinetics are discussed. Finally, the current applications of drug-eluting fibrous systems in wound care, tissue engineering, and transdermal drug delivery are highlighted.

Development of Ultradeformable Liposomes with Fatty Acids for Enhanced Dermal Rosmarinic Acid Delivery

This study aimed to develop ultradeformable liposomes (ULs) with fatty acids, namely, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acid, to improve the skin penetration of rosmarinic acid. This study also investigated the vesicle-skin interaction and skin penetration pathway of ULs with fatty acids using the co-localization technique of multifluorescently labeled particles. The prepared ULs were characterized in terms of size, surface charge, size distribution, shape, % entrapment efficiency (% EE), and % loading efficiency (% LE). The prepared ULs with fatty acids had an average particle size between 50.37 ± 0.3 and 59.82 ± 17.3 nm with a size distribution within an acceptable range and exhibited a negative surface charge. The average % EE and % LE were 9 and 24.02, respectively. The in vitro skin penetration study found that ULs with oleic acid could significantly increase the skin penetration of rosmarinic acid compared to ULs. According to confocal laser scanning microscopy observations, this study suggested that UL vesicles attach to the skin before releasing the entrapped drug to penetrate the skin. These findings suggested that ULs with oleic acid penetrated the skin via the transfollicular pathway as a major penetration pathway.

Development of daidzein nanosuspensions: Preparation, characterization, in vitro evaluation, and pharmacokinetic analysis

The purpose of this investigation was to improve the solubility and oral bioavailability of daidzein via preparing nanosuspensions (NS) with steric stabilizers, electrostatic stabilizers, or a combination of both. Based on particle size and zeta potential, daidzein NS stabilized by HP-β-CD, soy lecithin, HP-β-CD + soy lecithin, TPGS, TPGS + SBE-β-CD, SDS, or HPMC E5 + SDS were generated and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy. In addition, the stability, cytotoxicity, solubility, dissolution, and pharmacokinetics of NS were evaluated. The resulting daidzein NS were physically stable and biocompatible and presented as regular shapes with homogenous particle sizes of 360-600 nm and decreased crystallinity. Due to the increased solubility and dissolution rate, the oral bioavailability of daidzein NS in rats was 1.63-2.19 times greater than that of crude daidzein. In particular, among the investigated seven daidzein NS formulations, daidzein NS prepared with the costabilizers HPMC E5 + SDS is an optimal formulation for increased daidzein bioavailability. The present study proposes that the combined usage of steric and electrostatic stabilizers is a promising strategy for improving the bioavailability of water-insoluble flavonoid compounds by an NS approach.

In Vitro Drug Dissolution/Permeation Testing of Nanocarriers for Skin Application: a Comprehensive Review

This review highlights in vitro drug dissolution/permeation methods available for topical and transdermal nanocarriers that have been designed to modulate the propensity of drug release, drug penetration into skin, and permeation into systemic circulation. Presently, a few of USFDA-approved in vitro dissolution/permeation methods are available for skin product testing with no specific application to nanocarriers. Researchers are largely utilizing the in-house dissolution/permeation testing methods of nanocarriers. These drug release and permeation methods are pending to be standardized. Their biorelevance with reference to in vivo plasma concentration-time profiles requires further exploration to enable translation of in vitro data for in vivo or clinical performance prediction.

A New Antimicrobial Agent: Poly (3-hydroxybutyric acid) Oligomer

In this work, it is first reported that the poly (3-hydroxybutyric acid) (PHB) oligomer with a few degrees of polymerization possesses effective antibacterial and antifungal properties. Two preparation methods for the PHB oligomer are described, namely, one-step ring-opening polymerization of β-butyrolactone and extraction from the fermented PHB polymer. An appropriate amount of the synthesized PHB oligomer shows no physiological toxicity to the skin and major organs of mice. Topological application of the synthesized PHB oligomer imparts antimicrobial ability to non-antibacterial fabrics with washing resistance. The synthesized PHB oligomer offers effective sterilization and promotes wound healing in infected nude mice. Most importantly, the PHB oligomer is also reactive to drug-resistant bacteria. These results suggest that the PHB oligomer is not only a great candidate for antimicrobial modification but also a promising one for biomedical applications. Finally, the antimicrobial mechanisms of the PHB oligomer are revealed, and these include disruption of biofilm and the bacterial wall/membrane, leakage of the intracellular content, inhibition of protein activity, and change in the transmembrane potential.

Recent Advances in Drug Delivery System for Bioactive Glycosides from Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been used in China for thousands of years for the prevention and treatment of various diseases. The materials that exert a therapeutic effect are called the active ingredients. The bioactive glycosides are important active ingredients from TCM that can make significant contributions to treating diseases. Because of the possibilities of various clinical applications, the properties and administration of these bioactive glycosides deserve further investigation. Their promising treatment effects, however, are hindered by their poor solubility, poor stability and rapid elimination. Therefore, it is necessary that we improve the therapeutic efficacy of bioactive glycosides by overcoming these problems. Meanwhile, some practical design strategies and novel drug delivery vehicles based on drug delivery systems provide favorable support in clinical practice for these active ingredients. This review summarizes diverse pharmacological activities of bioactive glycosides and focuses on recent advances in delivery system for these active constitutes; in particular, some glycol glycosides can effectively cure intractable diseases through targeted drug delivery. This review elucidates some design strategies for drug delivery system that are mainly based on two methods (avoiding physical barriers by changing dosage forms and enhancing the ability to bind to receptors or proteins after administration) and indicate the current challenges during the combination of delivery vehicles and these glycosides in hopes of promoting the process of receiving ideal therapeutic efficacy of them in future studies.

Hyaluronic acid modified nanostructured lipid carriers for transdermal bupivacaine delivery: In vitro and in vivo anesthesia evaluation

For effective transdermal local anesthetic therapy, to reduce the barrier of stratum corneum and improve the antinociceptive effect, hyaluronic acid (HA) modified, bupivacaine (BPV) loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) were designed. HA and linoleic acid (LOA) conjugated propylene glycol (PEG) was synthesized (HA-PEG-LOA). HA-PEG-LOA was added during the preparation process of NLCs, thus LOA was inserted into the NLCs, The physicochemical properties of NLCs, particle size, zeta potential, drug loading capacity, in vitro skin permeation, drug release profiles and in vivo therapeutic effect were evaluated. HA-BPV/NLCs have small particle size of 150?nm, with a zeta potential of ?40?mV. Nearly 90% high drug encapsulation efficiency and good stability were also observed. In vitro release rate of BPV from HA-BPV/NLCs was complying with a sustained behavior until 72?h of study. HA-BPV/NLCs and BPV/NLCs exhibited 2.5 and 1.6 fold of percutaneous penetration improvement than free BPV. BPV loaded NLCs produced a more prolonged antinociceptive effect when compared with free BPV. In vitro and in vivo results pointed out HA modified NLCs have the capability to act as effective drug carriers, thus prolonging and enhancing the anesthetic effect of BPV. The NLCs developed in this study might provide a useful platform for developing a sophisticated dermal delivery system for analgesic.

Local anaesthetic pain relief therapy: In vitro and in vivo evaluation of a nanotechnological formulation co-loaded with ropivacaine and dexamethasone

Combination therapy is frequently applied to anesthesia and analgesia for its benefits, which includes prolonged analgesia following peripheral nerve blockade, and reduced side effects. The aim of this study was to develop chitosan (CH) coated poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) nanoparticles to co-deliver ropivacaine (RPV) and dexamethasone (DEM) (RPV/DEM CH-PCL NPs) for the prolongation of anesthesia and pain relief. In the present study, RPV/DEM CH-PCL NPs were fabricated. The properties of CH-PCL NPs were evaluated for their particle sizes, zeta potential, drug loading capacity and in vitro drug release profile. In vitro skin permeation and in vivo therapeutic effect in an animal model were further investigated. The results showed that the NPs was around 190nm, with PDI of less than 0.20. The zeta potentials of NPs were about 36mV. In vitro drug release of both RPV and DEM from NPs complied with sustained behaviors. All of the drugs loaded NPs samples studied exhibited no obvious L929 cells cytotoxicity. In vitro skin penetration profiles showed the amount of RPV permeated through the skin from NPs was significantly higher than free RPV. RPV and DEM co-loaded NPs induced remarkably better anesthetic effect than non DEM loaded RPV CH-PCL NPs. The results suggested that adding a small dosage of DEM could improve the anesthesia efficacy of RVP to a large content. The resulting formulation could be applied as a promising anesthesia system for local anesthetics therapy.

Tumor-targeted polymeric nanostructured lipid carriers with precise ratiometric control over dual-drug loading for combination therapy in non-small-cell lung cancer

Gemcitabine (GEM) and paclitaxel (PTX) are effective combination anticancer agents against non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). At the present time, a main challenge of combination treatment is the precision of control that will maximize the combined effects. Here, we report a novel method to load GEM (hydrophilic) and PTX (hydrophobic) into simplex tumor-targeted nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) for accurate control of the ratio of the two drugs. We covalently preconjugated the dual drugs through a hydrolyzable ester linker to form drug conjugates. N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (NAG) is a glucose receptor-targeting ligand. We added NAG to the formation of NAG-NLCs. In general, synthesis of poly(6-O-methacryloyl-d-galactopyranose)–GEM/PTX (PMAGP-GEM/PTX) conjugates was demonstrated, and NAG-NLCs were prepared using emulsification and solvent evaporation. NAG-NLCs displayed sphericity with an average diameter of 120.3±1.3 nm, a low polydispersity index of 0.233±0.04, and accurate ratiometric control over the two drugs. A cytotoxicity assay showed that the NAG-NLCs had better antitumor activity on NSCLC cells than normal cells. There was an optimal ratio of the two drugs, exhibiting the best cytotoxicity and combinatorial effects among all the formulations we tested. In comparison with both the free-drug combinations and separately nanopackaged drug conjugates, PMAGP-GEM/PTX NAG-NLCs (3:1) exhibited superior synergism. Flow cytometry and confocal laser scanning microscopy showed that NAG-NLCs exhibited higher uptake efficiency in A549 cells via glucose receptor-mediated endocytosis. This combinatorial delivery system settles problems with ratiometric coloading of hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs for tumor-targeted combination therapy to achieve maximal anticancer efficacy in NSCLC.