Identification of psoralen loaded PLGA microspheres in rat skin by light microscopy

Encapsulation of babchi essential oil into microsponges: Physicochemical properties, cytotoxic evaluation and anti-microbial activity

Babchi essential oil (BEO) is a valuable essential oil reported to possess a variety of biological activities such as antitumor, anti inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antioxidant, antifungal and antibacterial properties. Due to its anti-microbial properties, this oil possesses an immense potential for the treatment of dermatological disorders. Further, it has minimal tendency to develop resistance, a common issue with most of the antibiotics. However, its highly viscous nature and poor stability in the presence of light, air and high temperature, limits its practical applications. To surmount these issues, this research aims to encapsulate BEO in ethyl cellulose (EC) microsponges for enhanced stability, antibacterial effect and decreased dermal toxicity. The quasi emulsion solvent evaporation technique was used for fabrication of the BEO microsponges employing EC as polymer, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as stabilizer and dichloro methane (DCM) as solvent. The effect of formulation variables such as the amount of EC and PVA were also investigated. The prepared microformulations were evaluated for production yield, encapsulation efficiency, particle size and in vitro release. In vitro cytotoxicity was also checked to assess dermal safety of BEO microsponges. Results revealed that all the dispersions were in micro size range (20.44 ± 3.13 μmto 41.75 ± 3.65 μm), with good encapsulation efficiency (87.70 ± 1.20% of F2) and controlled release profile (cumulative drug release 73.34 ± 1.76%). Field emission scanning electron microscopy results showed that the microsponges possessed a spherical uniform shape with a spongy structure. Results of cytotoxicity study indicated that the prepared microsponges were safer on dermal cells in comparison to pure BEO. The optimized formulation was also evaluated for in vitro antimicrobial assay against dermal bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli, which confirmed their enhanced antibacterial activity. Furthermore, the results of photostability and stability analysis indicated improved stability of BEO loaded microsponges. Hence, encapsulation of BEO in microsponges resulted in efficacious carrier system in terms of stability as well as safety of this essential oil along with handling benefits.

Rheology and microstructure of myofibrillar protein-starch composite gels: Comparison of native and modified starches

Composite gels were prepared from 2% myofibrillar protein (MP) imbedded with native starch (potato or tapioca starch) or their modified starches in 0.6 M NaCl at pH 6.2. The role of native starch (potato or tapioca) and their modified counterparts in the rheology and microstructure of MP gels was evaluated. Dynamic rheological testing with temperature sweeping (20-80 °C) showed substantial increases in the storage modulus (G') of the MP sols/gels with the addition of starch. The increase in G' was inversely related to the pasting temperature of specific starch types. The strength and water-holding capacity (WHC) of the MP composite gels containing esterified starches were superior to those containing native or cross-linked esterified starches. Microstructural analysis showed that the "packing effect" of potato starch (PS) on MP gels was more remarkable than that of tapioca starch (TS) because of the larger granule size of the PS. However, esterified TS (ETS) and native TS made the greatest contribution to the WHC of the MP gels at 80 °C.

Nanotechnological approaches for the effective management of psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic disorder with erythematous scaly patches, which typically affects the exposed surfaces of the body and scalp. Various factors such as bacterial infection, genetic and environmental factors, and immune disorders play an important role in causing psoriasis. Different types of psoriasis can be observed, such as guttate psoriasis, inverse psoriasis, pustular psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis. Various ancient, topical, and systemic approaches have been used to control the disease, but have failed to achieve a complete reduction of the disease, besides causing toxic effects. Therefore, our main aim in this review article is to introduce the different advanced nanotechnological approaches for effective treatment of psoriasis.

Spectroscopic properties and singlet oxygen production by the compound ethyl 3,12-dioxopyran[3,2-a]xanthone-2-carboxylate

The steady state and time resolved experiments together with absorption and emission spectroscopies and quantum chemical calculations have been employed to investigate spectroscopic properties of a xanthone-type compound (ethyl 3,12-dioxopyran[3,2-a]xanthone-2-carboxylate). The spectroscopic data show good agreement with results obtained from quantum chemical calculations. Additionally, this compound shows expressive quantum efficiency for triplet population and a quantum efficiency of singlet oxygen generation very close to unity. Correlations between the nature of singlet and triplet excited states and spectroscopic properties were performed in order to understand the high quantum efficiency of singlet oxygen generation by this compound.

Bone induction by biomimetic PLGA copolymer loaded with a novel synthetic RADA16-P24 peptide in vivo

Bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) is a key bone morphogenetic protein, and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) has been widely used as scaffold for clinical use to carry treatment protein. In the previous studies, we have synthesized BMP-2-related peptide (P24) and found its capacity of inducing bone regeneration. In this research, we have synthesized a new amphiphilic peptide Ac-RADA RADA RADA RADA S[PO4]KIPKASSVPTELSAISTLYLDDD-CONH2 (RADA16-P24) with an assembly peptide RADA16-Ion the P24 item of BMP2 to form divalent ion-induced gelatin. Two methods of physisorption and chemical cross-linking were used to bind RADA16-P24 onto the surface of the copolymer PLGA to synthesize RADA16-P24-PLGA, and its capacity of attaching bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) was evaluated in vitro and inducing ectopic bone formation was examined in vivo. In vitro our results demonstrated that RADA16-P24-PLGA copolymer prepared by physisorbing or prepared by chemical cross-linking had a peptide binding rate of (2.0180±0.5296)% or (10.0820±0.8405)% respectively (P<0.05). In addition the BMSCs proliferated vigorously in the RADA16-P24-PLGA biomaterials. Significantly the percentage of BMSCs attached to RADA16-P24-PLGA composite prepared by chemical cross-linking and physisorbing were (71.4±7.5) % or (46.7±5.8) % (P<0.05). The in vivo study showed that RADA16-P24-PLGA chemical cross-linking could better induce ectopic bone formation compared with RADA16-P24-PLGA physisorbing and PLGA. It is concluded that the PLGA copolymer is a good RADA16-P24 carrier. This novel RADA16-P24-PLGA composite has strong osteogenic capability.

A rapid method for creating drug implants: translating laboratory-based methods into a scalable manufacturing process

Low compliance with medication is the major cause of poor outcome in schizophrenia treatment. While surgically implantable solvent-cast pellets were produced to improve outcome by increased compliance with medication, this process is laborious and time-consuming, inhibiting its broader application (Siegel et al., Eur J Pharm Biopharm 2006;64:287-293). In this study, the previous fabrication process was translated to a continuous and scalable extrusion method. Extrusion processes were modified based on in vitro release studies, drug load consistency examination, and surface morphology analysis using scanning electron microscopy. Afterward, optimized haloperidol implants were implanted into rats for preliminary analysis of biocompatibility. Barrel temperature, screw speed and resulting processing pressure influenced surface morphology and drug release. Data suggest that fewer surface pores shift the mechanism from bulk to surface PLGA degradation and longer lag period. Results demonstrate that extrusion is a viable process for manufacturing antipsychotic implants.