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Nesterkina M, Kravchenko I, Hirsch AKH, Lehr CM. Thermotropic liquid crystals in drug delivery: A versatile carrier for controlled release. Eur J Pharm Biopharm 2024; 200:114343. [PMID: 38801980 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2024.114343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2024] [Revised: 05/22/2024] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Responsive and adaptive soft-matter systems represent an advanced category of materials with potential applications in drug delivery. Among these, liquid crystals (LCs) emerge as multifunctional anisotropic scaffolds capable of reacting to temperature, light, electric or magnetic fields. Specifically, the ordering and physical characteristics of thermotropic LCs are primarily contingent on temperature as an external stimulus. This comprehensive review aims to bridge a notable gap in the biomedical application of thermotropic mesogens by exclusively focusing on drug delivery. Anticipated to inspire diverse ideas, the review intends to facilitate the elegant exploitation of controllable and temperature-induced characteristics of LCs to enhance drug permeation. Here, we delineate recent advancements in thermally-driven LCs with a substantial emphasis on LC monomer mixtures, elastomers, polymers, microcapsules and membranes. Moreover, special emphasis is placed on the biocompatibility and toxicity of LCs as the foremost prerequisite for their application in healthcare. Given the promising prospect of thermotropic LC formulations in a clinical context, a special section is devoted to skin drug delivery. The review covers content from multiple disciplines, primarily targeting researchers interested in innovative strategies in drug delivery. It also appeals to those enthusiastic about firsthand exploration of the feasible biomedical applications of thermotropic LCs. To the best of our knowledge, this marks the first review addressing thermotropic LCs as tunable soft-matter systems for drug delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariia Nesterkina
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) - Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Campus Building E 8.1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany.
| | - Iryna Kravchenko
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) - Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Campus Building E 8.1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Anna K H Hirsch
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) - Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Campus Building E 8.1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany; Department of Pharmacy, Saarland University, Campus Building E8.1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Claus-Michael Lehr
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) - Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Campus Building E 8.1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany; Department of Pharmacy, Saarland University, Campus Building E8.1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
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Nesterkina M, Vashchenko O, Vashchenko P, Lisetski L, Kravchenko I, K H Hirsch A, Lehr CM. Thermoresponsive cholesteric liquid-crystal systems doped with terpenoids as drug delivery systems for skin applications. Eur J Pharm Biopharm 2023; 191:139-149. [PMID: 37669726 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2023.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Revised: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 09/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023]
Abstract
Stimuli-responsive and tunable soft-matter systems are an advanced class of materials applicable for drug delivery. Liquid crystals (LCs) are promising candidates as multifunctional materials that can respond to temperature, light or magnetic field. Particularly, ordering and physical properties of thermoresponsive LCs depend predominantly on temperature as external trigger. The current work addresses an elegant strategy to implement the anisotropic properties of thermoresponsive LCs with a view to extending their application for drug delivery. We firstly fabricated novel compositions with a thermotropic core based on natural products - cholesteryl esters and mono-/bicyclic terpenoids. The distinctive feature of aforementioned systems is their temperature-induced switchability of drug release by transition to the LC state, depending on the skin temperature. Their mesomorphic and optical behavior was characterized via differential scanning calorimetry and polarizing optical microscopy. Furthermore, we describe the dependence of helical pitch on LC formulation for various ternary cholesteric systems doped with terpenoids, suggesting that these stimuli-responsive chiral dopants are nominally untwisting. Data from fluorescence probe technique indicate that cholesteryl esters and terpenoids as essential components of those LC systems jointly disrupt the tight structure of phospholipid bilayer packing enabling the facilitated penetration of drugs. The potential of LC formulations was explored for several model drugs with diverse physicochemical properties by in vitro and ex vivo penetration tests using artificial membranes and full human skin. Our findings confirm the potential of LC systems for various applications in skin drug delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariia Nesterkina
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Campus Building E 8.1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany.
| | - Olga Vashchenko
- Institute for Scintillation Materials of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Nauky Ave. 60, 61072 Kharkiv, Ukraine
| | - Pavlo Vashchenko
- Institute for Scintillation Materials of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Nauky Ave. 60, 61072 Kharkiv, Ukraine
| | - Longin Lisetski
- Institute for Scintillation Materials of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Nauky Ave. 60, 61072 Kharkiv, Ukraine
| | - Iryna Kravchenko
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Campus Building E 8.1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Anna K H Hirsch
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Campus Building E 8.1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany; Department of Pharmacy, Saarland University, Campus Building E8.1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Claus-Michael Lehr
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Campus Building E 8.1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany; Department of Pharmacy, Saarland University, Campus Building E8.1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
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Leu JSL, Teoh JJX, Ling ALQ, Chong J, Loo YS, Mat Azmi ID, Zahid NI, Bose RJC, Madheswaran T. Recent Advances in the Development of Liquid Crystalline Nanoparticles as Drug Delivery Systems. Pharmaceutics 2023; 15:pharmaceutics15051421. [PMID: 37242663 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15051421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Revised: 04/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Due to their distinctive structural features, lyotropic nonlamellar liquid crystalline nanoparticles (LCNPs), such as cubosomes and hexosomes, are considered effective drug delivery systems. Cubosomes have a lipid bilayer that makes a membrane lattice with two water channels that are intertwined. Hexosomes are inverse hexagonal phases made of an infinite number of hexagonal lattices that are tightly connected with water channels. These nanostructures are often stabilized by surfactants. The structure's membrane has a much larger surface area than that of other lipid nanoparticles, which makes it possible to load therapeutic molecules. In addition, the composition of mesophases can be modified by pore diameters, thus influencing drug release. Much research has been conducted in recent years to improve their preparation and characterization, as well as to control drug release and improve the efficacy of loaded bioactive chemicals. This article reviews current advances in LCNP technology that permit their application, as well as design ideas for revolutionary biomedical applications. Furthermore, we have provided a summary of the application of LCNPs based on the administration routes, including the pharmacokinetic modulation property.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jassica S L Leu
- School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Jalan Jalil Perkasa 19, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Jasy J X Teoh
- School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Jalan Jalil Perkasa 19, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Angel L Q Ling
- School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Jalan Jalil Perkasa 19, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Joey Chong
- School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Jalan Jalil Perkasa 19, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Yan Shan Loo
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Intan Diana Mat Azmi
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Noor Idayu Zahid
- Centre for Fundamental and Frontier Sciences in Nanostructure Self-Assembly, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Rajendran J C Bose
- Masonic Medical Research Institute, 2150 Bleecker St, Utica, NY 13501, USA
| | - Thiagarajan Madheswaran
- Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Jalan Jalil Perkasa 19, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Selangor, Malaysia
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Blanco-Fernández G, Blanco-Fernandez B, Fernández-Ferreiro A, Otero-Espinar FJ. Lipidic lyotropic liquid crystals: Insights on biomedical applications. Adv Colloid Interface Sci 2023; 313:102867. [PMID: 36889183 DOI: 10.1016/j.cis.2023.102867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 02/26/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2023] [Indexed: 03/04/2023]
Abstract
Liquid crystals (LCs) possess unique physicochemical properties, translatable into a wide range of applications. To date, lipidic lyotropic LCs (LLCs) have been extensively explored in drug delivery and imaging owing to the capability to encapsulate and release payloads with different characteristics. The current landscape of lipidic LLCs in biomedical applications is provided in this review. Initially, the main properties, types, methods of fabrication and applications of LCs are showcased. Then, a comprehensive discussion of the main biomedical applications of lipidic LLCs accordingly to the application (drug and biomacromolecule delivery, tissue engineering and molecular imaging) and route of administration is examined. Further discussion of the main limitations and perspectives of lipidic LLCs in biomedical applications are also provided. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Liquid crystals (LCs) are those systems between a solid and liquid state that possess unique morphological and physicochemical properties, translatable into a wide range of biomedical applications. A short description of the properties of LCs, their types and manufacturing procedures is given to serve as a background to the topic. Then, the latest and most innovative research in the field of biomedicine is examined, specifically the areas of drug and biomacromolecule delivery, tissue engineering and molecular imaging. Finally, prospects of LCs in biomedicine are discussed to show future trends and perspectives that might be utilized. This article is an ampliation, improvement and actualization of our previous short forum article "Bringing lipidic lyotropic liquid crystal technology into biomedicine" published in TIPS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillermo Blanco-Fernández
- Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Paraquasil Group, Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (FIDIS), Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Institute of Materials (iMATUS), University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Bárbara Blanco-Fernandez
- CIBER in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine, CIBER-BBN, Madrid, Spain; Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Baldiri Reixac 10-12, Barcelona 08028, Spain.
| | - Anxo Fernández-Ferreiro
- Pharmacology Group, Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (FIDIS), Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Pharmacy Department, University Clinical Hospital of Santiago de Compostela (SERGAS), Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
| | - Francisco J Otero-Espinar
- Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Paraquasil Group, Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (FIDIS), Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Institute of Materials (iMATUS), University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
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Chavda VP, Dawre S, Pandya A, Vora LK, Modh DH, Shah V, Dave DJ, Patravale V. Lyotropic liquid crystals for parenteral drug delivery. J Control Release 2022; 349:533-549. [PMID: 35792188 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2022.06.062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2022] [Revised: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
The necessity for long-term treatments of chronic diseases has encouraged the development of novel long-acting parenteral formulations intending to improve drug pharmacokinetics and therapeutic efficacy. Lately, one of the novel approaches has been developed based on lipid-based liquid crystals. The lyotropic liquid crystal (LLC) systems consist of amphiphilic molecules and are formed in presence of solvents with the most common types being cubic, hexagonal and lamellar mesophases. LC injectables have been recently developed based on polar lipids that spontaneously form liquid crystal nanoparticles in aqueous tissue environments to create the in-situ long-acting sustained-release depot to provide treatment efficacy over extended periods. In this manuscript, we have consolidated and summarized the various type of liquid crystals, recent formulation advancements, analytical evaluation, and therapeutic application of lyotropic liquid crystals in the field of parenteral sustained release drug delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vivek P Chavda
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, L M College of Pharmacy, Ahmedabad 380009, India; Department of Pharmaceutics & Pharm, Technology, K. B. Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Kadi Sarva Vishwavidyalaya, Gandhinagar 382023, Gujarat, India.
| | - Shilpa Dawre
- Department of Pharmaceutics, SVKM's Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Shirpur, India
| | - Anjali Pandya
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai 400 019, India
| | - Lalitkumar K Vora
- School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, BT9 7BL, UK.
| | - Dharti H Modh
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Bharati Vidyapeeth's Poona College of Pharmacy, Pune, India
| | - Vidhi Shah
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, L M College of Pharmacy, Ahmedabad 380009, India
| | - Divyang J Dave
- Department of Pharmaceutics & Pharm, Technology, K. B. Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Kadi Sarva Vishwavidyalaya, Gandhinagar 382023, Gujarat, India
| | - Vandana Patravale
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai 400 019, India
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Kozaka S, Wakabayashi R, Kamiya N, Goto M. Lyotropic liquid crystal-based transcutaneous peptide delivery system: Evaluation of skin permeability and potential for transcutaneous vaccination. Acta Biomater 2022; 138:273-284. [PMID: 34774785 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2021.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Revised: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 11/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Transcutaneous drug delivery is a promising method in terms of drug repositioning and reformulation because of its non-invasive and easy-to-use features. To overcome the skin barrier, which is the biggest challenge in transcutaneous drug delivery, a number of techniques, such as microemulsion, solid-in-oil dispersions and liposomes, have been studied extensively. However, the low viscosity of these formulations limits drug retention on the skin and reduces patient acceptability. Although viscosity can be increased by adding a thickening reagent, such an addition often alters formulation nanostructures and drug solubility, and importantly, decreases skin permeability. In this study, a gel-like lyotropic liquid crystal (LLC) was used as a tool to enhance skin permeability. In particular, we prepared 1-monolinolein (ML)-based LLCs with different water contents. All LLCs significantly enhanced skin permeation of a peptide drug, an epitope peptide of melanoma, despite their high viscoelasticity. Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopic analysis of the skin surface treated with the LLCs revealed that the gyroid geometry more strongly interacted with the lamellar structure inside the stratum corneum (SC) than the diamond geometry. Finally, as the result of the in vivo tumor challenge experiment using B16F10 melanoma-bearing mice, the LLC with the gyroid geometry showed stronger vaccine effect against tumor than a subcutaneous injection. Collectively, ML-based LLCs, especially with the gyroid geometry, are a promising strategy to deliver biomacromolecules into skin. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Transcutaneous drug delivery is a promising method for drug repositioning and reformulation because of its non-invasive and easy-to-use features. To overcome the skin barrier, which is the biggest challenge in transcutaneous drug delivery, we used a gel-like lyotropic liquid crystal (LLC) as a novel tool to enhance skin permeability. In this paper, we demonstrated that an LLC with a specific liquid crystalline structure has the highest skin permeation enhancement effect for a peptide antigen as a model drug. Moreover, the peptide antigen-loaded LLC showed a vaccine effect that was comparable to a subcutaneous injection in vivo. This study provides a basis for designing a transcutaneous delivery system of peptide drugs with LLC.
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Ibaraki H, Hatakeyama N, Arima N, Takeda A, Seta Y, Kanazawa T. Systemic delivery of siRNA to the colon using peptide modified PEG-PCL polymer micelles for the treatment of ulcerative colitis. Eur J Pharm Biopharm 2021; 170:170-178. [PMID: 34963657 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2021.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2021] [Revised: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a refractory inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation and ulcers in the digestive tract, and significantly reduces the patient's quality of life. While existing UC treatments have many challenges, nanotechnology, and small interfering RNA (siRNA) based formulations are novel and promising for UC treatment. We previously reported that intravenous administration of MPEG-PCL-CH2R4H2C nanomicelles had high inflammatory site accumulation and remarkable therapeutic effects on rheumatoid arthritis by a phenomenon similar to enhanced permeability and retention effect. In this study, we investigated the effects of siRNA delivered using MPEG-PCL-CH2R4H2C nanomicelles through intravenous administration to the inflammation site of dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis mice. The MPEG-PCL-CH2R4H2C micelles had optimum physical properties and high siRNA compaction ability. Moreover, model-siRNA delivered through MPEG-PCL-CH2R4H2C showed higher accumulation in the inflammatory site than that of the naked siRNA. Furthermore, intravenous administration of MPEG-PCL-CH2R4H2C/siRelA micelles, targeting siRelA, a subunit of NF-κB, significantly decreased the shortening of large intestine, clinical score, and production of inflammatory cytokines compared the 5-ASA and naked siRelA. These results suggest that MPEG-PCL-CH2R4H2C is a useful carrier for the systemic delivery and accumulation of siRNA, thus improving its therapeutic effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hisako Ibaraki
- School of Pharmacy, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences 1432-1 Horinouchi, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0392, Japan
| | - Naruhiro Hatakeyama
- School of Pharmacy, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences 1432-1 Horinouchi, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0392, Japan
| | - Naoki Arima
- School of Pharmacy, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences 1432-1 Horinouchi, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0392, Japan
| | - Akihiro Takeda
- School of Pharmacy, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences 1432-1 Horinouchi, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0392, Japan
| | - Yasuo Seta
- School of Pharmacy, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences 1432-1 Horinouchi, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0392, Japan
| | - Takanori Kanazawa
- School of Pharmacy, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences 1432-1 Horinouchi, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0392, Japan,; School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, 422-8526, Japan.
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