Nanomedicine formulations for respiratory infections by inhalation delivery: Covid-19 and beyond

Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery Systems in Inhaled Therapy: Improving Respiratory Medicine

Inhaled nanoparticle (NP) therapy poses intricate challenges in clinical and pharmacodynamic realms. Recent strides have revolutionized NP technology by enabling the incorporation of diverse molecules, thus circumventing systemic clearance mechanisms and enhancing drug effectiveness while mitigating systemic side effects. Despite the established success of systemic NP delivery in oncology and other disciplines, the exploration of inhaled NP therapies remains relatively nascent. NPs loaded with bronchodilators or anti-inflammatory agents exhibit promising potential for precise distribution throughout the bronchial tree, offering targeted treatment for respiratory diseases. This article conducts a comprehensive review of NP applications in respiratory medicine, highlighting their merits, ranging from heightened stability to exacting lung-specific delivery. It also explores cutting-edge technologies optimizing NP-loaded aerosol systems, complemented by insights gleaned from clinical trials. Furthermore, the review examines the current challenges and future prospects in NP-based therapies. By synthesizing current data and perspectives, the article underscores the transformative promise of NP-mediated drug delivery in addressing chronic conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a pressing global health concern ranked third in mortality rates. This overview illuminates the evolving landscape of NP inhalation therapies, presenting optimistic avenues for advancing respiratory medicine and improving patient outcomes.

COVID-19 cooling: Nanostrategies targeting cytokine storm for controlling severe and critical symptoms

As severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants continue to wreak havoc worldwide, the "Cytokine Storm" (CS, also known as the inflammatory storm) or Cytokine Release Syndrome has reemerged in the public consciousness. CS is a significant contributor to the deterioration of infected individuals. Therefore, CS control is of great significance for the treatment of critically ill patients and the reduction of mortality rates. With the occurrence of variants, concerns regarding the efficacy of vaccines and antiviral drugs with a broad spectrum have grown. We should make an effort to modernize treatment strategies to address the challenges posed by mutations. Thus, in addition to the requirement for additional clinical data to monitor the long-term effects of vaccines and broad-spectrum antiviral drugs, we can use CS as an entry point and therapeutic target to alleviate the severity of the disease in patients. To effectively combat the mutation, new technologies for neutralizing or controlling CS must be developed. In recent years, nanotechnology has been widely applied in the biomedical field, opening up a plethora of opportunities for CS. Here, we put forward the view of cytokine storm as a therapeutic target can be used to treat critically ill patients by expounding the relationship between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and CS and the mechanisms associated with CS. We pay special attention to the representative strategies of nanomaterials in current neutral and CS research, as well as their potential chemical design and principles. We hope that the nanostrategies described in this review provide attractive treatment options for severe and critical COVID-19 caused by CS.

A Comprehensive Survey on the Expediated Anti-COVID-19 Options Enabled by Metal Complexes-Tasks and Trials

Contemporary pharmacology dating back to the late 19th/early 20th centuries has benefitted largely from the incorporation of metal complexes. Various biological attributes have been successfully realized using metal/metal complex-based drugs. Among anticancer, antimicrobial, and antiviral applications, anticancer applications have extracted the maximum benefit from the metal complex, Cisplatin. The following review has compiled the various antiviral benefits harnessed through inputs from metal complexes. As a result of exploiting the pharmacological aspects of metal complexes, the anti-COVID-19 deliverables have been summarized. The challenges ahead, the gaps in this research area, the need to improvise incorporating nanoaspects in metal complexes, and the need to test metal complex-based drugs in clinical trials have been discussed and deliberated. The pandemic shook the entire world and claimed quite a percentage of the global population. Metal complex-based drugs are already established for their antiviral property with respect to enveloped viruses and extrapolating them for COVID-19 can be an effective way to manipulate drug resistance and mutant issues that the current anti-COVID-19 drugs are facing.

Application of PLGA as a Biodegradable and Biocompatible Polymer for Pulmonary Delivery of Drugs

Pulmonary administration of biodegradable polymeric formulation is beneficial in the treatment of various respiratory diseases. For respiratory delivery, the polymer must be non-toxic, biodegradable, biocompatible, and stable. Poly D, L-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) is a widely used polymer for inhalable formulations because of its attractive mechanical and processing characteristics which give great opportunities to pharmaceutical industries to formulate novel inhalable products. PLGA has many pharmaceutical applications and its biocompatible nature produces non-toxic degradation products. The degradation of PLGA takes place through the non-enzymatic hydrolytic breakdown of ester bonds to produce free lactic acid and glycolic acid. The biodegradation products of PLGA are eliminated in the form of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water (H₂O) by the Krebs cycle. The biocompatible properties of PLGA are investigated in various in vivo and in vitro studies. The high structural integrity of PLGA particles provides better stability, excellent drug loading, and sustained drug release. This review provides detailed information about PLGA as an inhalable grade polymer, its synthesis, advantages, physicochemical properties, biodegradability, and biocompatible characteristics. The important formulation aspects that must be considered during the manufacturing of inhalable PLGA formulations and the toxicity of PLGA in the lungs are also discussed in this paper. Additionally, a thorough overview is given on the application of PLGA as a particulate carrier in the treatment of major respiratory diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, lung cancer, tuberculosis, asthma, and pulmonary hypertension.

Uncovering the information immunology journals transmitted for COVID-19: A bibliometric and visualization analysis

BACKGROUND

Since the global epidemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a large number of immunological studies related to COVID-19 have been published in various immunology journals. However, the results from these studies were discrete, and no study summarized the important immunological information about COVID-19 released by these immunology journals. This study aimed to comprehensively summarize the knowledge structure and research hotspots of COVID-19 published in major immunology journals through bibliometrics.

METHODS

Publications on COVID-19 in major immunology journals were obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection. CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and R-bibliometrix were comprehensively used for bibliometric and visual analysis.

RESULTS

1,331 and 5,000 publications of 10 journals with high impact factors and 10 journals with the most papers were included, respectively. The USA, China, England, and Italy made the most significant contributions to these papers. University College London, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Harvard Medical School, University California San Diego, and University of Pennsylvania played a central role in international cooperation in the immunology research field of COVID-19. Yuen Kwok Yung was the most important author in terms of the number of publications and citations, and the H-index. CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES and FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY were the most essential immunology journals. These immunology journals mostly focused on the following topics: "Delta/Omicron variants", "cytokine storm", "neutralization/neutralizing antibody", "T cell", "BNT162b2", "mRNA vaccine", "vaccine effectiveness/safety", and "long COVID".

CONCLUSION

This study systematically uncovered a holistic picture of the current research on COVID-19 published in major immunology journals from the perspective of bibliometrics, which will provide a reference for future research in this field.

Metal-Based Compounds in Antiviral Therapy

In recent years, the study of metal complexes and metal-based nanomaterials has aroused particular interest, leading to the promotion of new effective systems for the abatement of various viral diseases. Starting from the analysis of chemical properties, this review focuses on the employment of metal-based nanoparticles as antiviral drugs and how this interaction leads to a substantial enhancement in antiviral activity. The use of metal-based antiviral drugs has also spread for the formulation of antiviral vaccines, thanks especially to the remarkable adjuvant activities of some of the metal complexes. In particular, the small size and inert nature of Au- and Ag-based nanoparticles have been exploited for the design of systems for antiviral drug delivery, leading to the development of specific and safe therapies that lead to a decrease in side effects.