Synthesis and characterization of novel organo-hydrogel based agar, glycerol and peppermint oil as a natural drug carrier/release material

One-Step Electrochemical Sensing of CA-125 Using Onion Oil-Based Novel Organohydrogels as the Matrices

To reduce the high mortality rates caused by ovarian cancer, creating high-sensitivity, quick, basic, and inexpensive methods for following cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) levels in blood tests is of extraordinary significance. CA-125 is known as the exclusive glycoprotein employed in clinical examinations to monitor and diagnose ovarian cancer and detect its relapses as a tumor marker. Elevated concentrations of this antigen are linked to the occurrence of ovarian cancer. Herein, we designed organohydrogels (ONOHs) for identifying the level of CA-125 antigen at fast and high sensitivity with electrochemical strategies in a serum medium. The ONOH structures are synthesized with glycerol, agar, and glutaraldehyde and at distinct ratios of onion oil, and then, the ONOHs are characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Electrochemical measurements are performed by cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in the absence and presence of CA-125 on the designed ONOHs. For the prepared ONOH-3 electrode, two distinct linear ranges are determined as 0.41-8.3 and 8.3-249.0 U/mL. The limit of quantitation and limit of detection values are calculated as 2.415 and 0.805 μU/mL, respectively, (S/N = 3). These results prove that the developed electrode material has high sensitivity, stability, and selectivity for the detection of the CA-125 antigen. In addition, this study can be reasonable for the practical detection of CA125 in serum, permitting early cancer diagnostics and convenient treatment.

Polysaccharides gums in drug delivery systems: A review

For the drug delivery system, drug carriers' selection is critical to the drug's success in reaching the desired target. Drug carriers from natural biopolymers are preferred over synthetic materials due to their biocompatibility. The use of polysaccharide gums in the drug delivery system has received considerable attention in recent years. Polysaccharide gums are renewable resources and abundantly found in nature. They could be isolated from marine algae, microorganisms, and higher plants. In terms of carbohydrates, the gums are water-soluble, non-starch polysaccharides with high commercial value. Polysaccharide gums are widely used for controlled-release products, capsules, medicinal binders, wound healing agents, capsules, and tablet excipients. One of the essential applications of polysaccharide gum is drug delivery systems. The various kinds of polysaccharide gums obtained from different plants, marine algae, and microorganisms for the drug delivery system application are discussed comprehensively in this review paper.

Unveiling the Rational Development of Stimuli-Responsive Silk Fibroin-Based Ionogel Formulations

We present an approach for the rational development of stimuli-responsive ionogels which can be formulated for precise control of multiple unique ionogel features and fill niche pharmaceutical applications. Ionogels are captivating materials, exhibiting self-healing characteristics, tunable mechanical and structural properties, high thermal stability, and electroconductivity. However, the majority of ionogels developed require complex chemistry, exhibit high viscosity, poor biocompatibility, and low biodegradability. In our work, we overcome these limitations. We employ a facile production process and strategically integrate silk fibroin, the biocompatible ionic liquids (ILs) choline acetate ([Cho][OAc]), choline dihydrogen phosphate ([Cho][DHP]), and choline chloride ([Cho][Cl]), traditional pharmaceutical excipients, and the model antiepileptic drug phenobarbital. In the absence of ILs, we failed to observe gel formation; yet in the presence of ILs, thermoresponsive ionogels formed. Systems were assessed via visual tests, transmission electron microscopy, confocal reflection microscopy, dynamic light scattering, zeta potential and rheology measurements. We formed diverse ionogels of strengths ranging between 18 and 642 Pa. Under 25 °C storage, formulations containing polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) showed an ionogel formation period ranging over 14 days, increasing in the order of [Cho][DHP], [Cho][OAc], and [Cho][Cl]. Formulations lacking PVP showed an ionogel formation period ranging over 32 days, increasing in the order of [Cho][OAc], [Cho][DHP] and [Cho][Cl]. By heating from 25 to 60 °C, immediately following preparation, thermoresponsive ionogels formed below 41 °C in the absence of PVP. Based on our experimental results and density functional theory calculations, we attribute ionogel formation to macromolecular crowding and confinement effects, further enhanced upon PVP inclusion. Holistically, applying our rational development strategy enables the production of ionogels of tunable physicochemical and rheological properties, enhanced drug solubility, and structural and energetic stability. We believe our rational development approach will advance the design of biomaterials and smart platforms for diverse drug delivery applications.

Unification of medicines and excipients: The roles of natural excipients for promoting drug delivery

INTRODUCTION

Drug delivery systems (DDSs) formed by natural active compounds be instrumental in developing new green excipients and novel DDS from natural active compounds (NACs). 'Unification of medicines and excipients'(UME), the special inherent nature of the natural active compounds, provides the inspiration and conduction to achieve this goal.

AREAS COVERED

This review summarizes the typical types of NACs from herbal medicine, such as saponins, flavonoids, polysaccharides, etc. that act as excipients and their main application in DDS. The comparison of the drug delivery systems formed by NACs and common materials and the primary formation mechanisms of these NACs are also introduced to provide a deepened understanding of their performance in DDS.

EXPERT OPINION

Many natural bioactive compounds, such as saponins, polysaccharides, etc. have been used in DDS. Diversity of structure and pharmacological effects of NACs turn out the unique advantages in improving the performance of DDSs like targeting ability, adhesion, encapsulation efficiency(EE), etc. and enhancing the bioavailability of loaded drugs.

Potential metal-related strategies for prevention and treatment of COVID-19

ABSTRACT

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has posed severe threats to human health, public safety, and the global economy. Metal nutrient elements can directly or indirectly take part in human immune responses, and metal-related drugs have served as antiviral drugs and/or enzyme inhibitors for many years, providing potential solutions to the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Metal-based drugs are currently under a variety of chemical structures and exhibit wide-range bioactivities, demonstrating irreplaceable advantages in pharmacology. This review is an intention to summarize recent progress in the prevention and treatment strategies against COVID-19 from the perspective of metal pharmacology. The current and potential utilization of metal-based drugs is briefly introduced. Specifically, metallohydrogels that have been shown to present superior antiviral activities are stressed in the paper as potential drugs for the treatment of COVID-19.

The Effect of Glycerin Content in Sodium Alginate/Poly(vinyl alcohol)-Based Hydrogels for Wound Dressing Application

The impact of different amounts of glycerin, which was used in the system of sodium alginate/poly(vinyl alcohol) (SA/PVA) hydrogel materials on the properties, such as gel fraction, swelling ability, degradation in simulated body fluids, morphological analysis, and elongation tests were presented. The study shows a significant decrease in the gel fraction from 80.5 ± 2.1% to 45.0 ± 1.2% with the increase of glycerin content. The T₅ values of the tested hydrogels were varied and range from 88.7 °C to 161.5 °C. The presence of glycerin in the matrices significantly decreased the thermal resistance, which was especially visible by T₁₀ changes (273.9 to 163.5 °C). The degradation tests indicate that most of the tested materials do not degrade throughout the incubation period and maintain a constant ion level after 7-day incubation. The swelling abilities in distilled water and phosphate buffer solution are approximately 200-300%. However, we noticed that these values decrease with the increase in glycerin content. All tested matrices are characterized by the maximum elongation rate at break in a range of 37.6-69.5%. The FT-IR analysis exhibits glycerin changes in hydrogel structures, which is associated with the cross-linking reaction. Additionally, cytotoxicity results indicate good adhesion properties and no toxicity towards normal human dermal fibroblasts.

A garlic oil-based organo-hydrogel for use in pH-sensitive drug release

In this study, six different organo-hydrogels containing agar-glycerol (AG)-based garlic oil (GO) were synthesized using two different crosslinkers (N,N, methylenebisacrylamide (MBA), glutaraldehyde (GA)) to ensure the controlled release of ceftriaxone (Ce) and carboplatin (Cp). Synthesized organo-hydrogels were characterized by FT-IR. Afterward, swelling behaviors were investigated in DI, tap water, ethanol, acetone, ethanol/DI water (1:1), acetone/DI water (1:1) and gasoline environments and different pH. As a result of hemolysis, blood clotting and antioxidant analysis, organo-hydrogels have been shown to have blood compatibility and antioxidant properties. Ce and Cp release properties of the prepared organo-hydrogels were also determined. The highest Ce release rate was obtained to be 37.8% for p (AG-g-GO)³ at pH 8.0 after 7 days. However, the highest Cp release rate was found to be 95.4% for p (AG-g-GO)³ at pH 7.4 after 1 day.

Application of Poly (Agar-Co-Glycerol-Co-Sweet Almond Oil) Based Organo-Hydrogels as a Drug Delivery Material

In this study, it was aimed to investigate the synthesis, characterization and drug release behaviors of organo-hydrogels containing pH-sensitive Agar (A), Glycerol (G), Sweet Almond oil (Wu et al. in J Mol Struct 882:107-115, 2008). Organo-hydrogels, which contained Agar, Glycerol and different amounts of Sweet Almond oil, were synthesized via the free-radical polymerization reaction with emulsion technique using glutaraldehyde or methylene bis acrylamide crosslinkers. Then, the degree of swelling, bond structures, blood compatibility and antioxidant properties of the synthesized organo-hydrogels were examined. In addition, Organo-hydrogels which loaded with Ceftriaxone and Oxaliplatin were synthesized with the same polymerization reaction and release kinetics were investigated. In vitro release studies were performed at media similar pH to gastric fluid (pH 2.0), skin surface (pH 5.5), blood fluid (pH 7.4) and intestinal fluid (pH 8.0), at 37 °C. The effects on release of crosslinker type and sweet almond oil amount were investigated. Kinetic parameters were determined using release results and these results were applied to zero and first-order equations and Korsmeyer-Peppas and Higuchi equations. Diffusion exponential was calculated for drug diffusion of organo-hydrogels and values consistent with release results were found.

Synthesis and Physicochemical Evaluation of Bees' Chitosan-Based Hydrogels Modified with Yellow Tea Extract

The novelty of the research involves designing the measurement methodology aimed at determining the structure-property relationships in the chitosan-based hydrogels containing yellow tea extract. Performed investigations allowed us to determine the swelling properties of hydrogels in selected time intervals, evaluate the mutual interactions between the hydrogels and simulated physiological liquids via pH measurements and directly assess the impact of such interactions on the chemical structure of hydrogels using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and their wettability by the measurements of the flatness of the drop on the surface of the tested samples via the static drop method. Next, the surface morphology of hydrogels was characterized by the Scanning Electron Miscorcopy (SEM) and their elasticity under the tension applied was also verified. It was proved that incubation in simulated physiological liquids resulted in a decrease in contact angles of hydrogels, even by 60%. This also caused their certain degradation which was reflected in lower intensities of bands on FT-IR spectra. Further, 23% v/v yellow tea extract in hydrogel matrices caused the decrease of their tensile strength. An increase in the amount of the crosslinker resulted in a decrease in the sorption capacity of hydrogels wherein their modification caused greater swelling ability. In general, the investigations performed provided much information on the tested materials which may be meaningful considering their application, e.g., as dressing materials.

Preparation of peppermint oil nanoemulsions: Investigation of stability, antibacterial mechanism and apoptosis effects

Peppermint oil (PO) is one of the most popular and widely used essential oils. However, due to volatile and poor water solubility of volatile oil, its application in the fields of medicine and food is limited. In order to solve this problem, the high speed shearing technology was used to prepare the nanoemulsion from PO. By using a series of characterization methods, such as turbiscan scanning spectrum, dynamic light scattering (DLS), confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), the best nanoemulsion formula was identified as PO 10 %, surfactant 8 % (Tween-60: EL-20 = 3:1) and deionized water 82 % (w/w). The inhibition strength of nanoemulsion on bacteria was evaluated by detecting the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) treated with peppermint oil nanoemulsion (PON) and observing the morphology of bacteria with biological scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that PON had strong inhibitory effect on E. coli. At the concentration range of 0.02 μg/μL-0.2 μg/μL, the apoptosis rate of BEAS-2B cells was less than 10 % compared with control cells. All in all, the PON prepared under this formula is stable, which provides a reference for further exploration of essential oil as natural antibacterial materials in the future.

Preparation of high-strength and high-toughness biomass medical films based on a polydopamine dynamically united calcium alginate/carboxymethyl chitosan dual network

A high-strength and high-toughness biomass medical film was prepared using a polydopamine dynamically united calcium alginate/carboxymethyl chitosan dual network.