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Ongoren B, Kara A, Casettari L, Tiboni M, Lalatsa A, Sanz-Perez A, Gonzalez-Burgos E, Romero A, Juberías A, Torrado JJ, Serrano DR. Leveraging 3D-printed microfluidic micromixers for the continuous manufacture of melatonin loaded SNEDDS with enhanced antioxidant activity and skin permeability. Int J Pharm 2024; 663:124536. [PMID: 39074648 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2024.124536] [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: 05/05/2024] [Revised: 07/25/2024] [Accepted: 07/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/31/2024]
Abstract
Vesicants are chemical warfare agents (CWAs) capable of causing severe skin damage and systemic toxicity. Melatonin, known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, can mitigate the effects of these agents. Self-nano-emulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS) containing a high melatonin concentration (5 %, 50 mg/g) were optimized using a quality-by-design approach from biocompatible, non-irritant excipients with a particle size of about 100 nm. The melatonin-loaded SNEDDS showed a 43-fold greater permeability than a conventional melatonin cream. Chemical stability at ambient temperature (25 °C) was maintained for one year. The preparation of optimised melatonin-loaded SNEDDS using a simple mixing method was compared to microfluidic micromixers. Mixing was successfully achieved using a 3D-printed (fused deposition modeling or stereolithography) T-shaped toroidal microfluidic chip (with a channel geometry optimized by computational fluid dynamics), resulting in a scalable, continuous process for the first time with a substantial reduction in preparation time compared to other conventional mixing approaches. No statistically significant differences were observed in the key quality attributes, such as particle size and melatonin loading, between mixing method till kinetic equilibrium solubility is reached and mixing using the 3D-printed micromixers. This scalable, continuous, cost-effective approach improves the overall efficiency of SNEDDS production, reduces the cost of quality control for multiple batches, and demonstrates the potential of continuous microfluidic manufacture with readily customizable 3D-printed micromixers at points of care, such as military bases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baris Ongoren
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Food Technology, School of Pharmacy, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Aytug Kara
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Food Technology, School of Pharmacy, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Luca Casettari
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Piazza del Rinascimento 6, 61029 Urbino, Italy
| | - Mattia Tiboni
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Piazza del Rinascimento 6, 61029 Urbino, Italy
| | - Aikaterini Lalatsa
- Cancer Research UK Formulation Unit, School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Robertson Wing, University of Strathclyde, 161, Cathedral Street, Glasgow G4 0RE, Scotland, UK
| | - Amadeo Sanz-Perez
- Department of Pharmacology, Pharmacognosy and Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Elena Gonzalez-Burgos
- Department of Pharmacology, Pharmacognosy and Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alejandro Romero
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Veterinary, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Antonio Juberías
- Dirección de Sanidad del Ejército del Aire, Princesa 87, 28008 Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan J Torrado
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Food Technology, School of Pharmacy, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; Institute of Industrial Pharmacy Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Dolores R Serrano
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Food Technology, School of Pharmacy, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; Institute of Industrial Pharmacy Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
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Ruszkiewicz J, Endig L, Güver E, Bürkle A, Mangerich A. Life-Cycle-Dependent Toxicities of Mono- and Bifunctional Alkylating Agents in the 3R-Compliant Model Organism C. elegans. Cells 2023; 12:2728. [PMID: 38067156 PMCID: PMC10705807 DOI: 10.3390/cells12232728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is gaining recognition and importance as an organismic model for toxicity testing in line with the 3Rs principle (replace, reduce, refine). In this study, we explored the use of C. elegans to examine the toxicities of alkylating sulphur mustard analogues, specifically the monofunctional agent 2-chloroethyl-ethyl sulphide (CEES) and the bifunctional, crosslinking agent mechlorethamine (HN2). We exposed wild-type worms at different life cycle stages (from larvae L1 to adulthood day 10) to CEES or HN2 and scored their viability 24 h later. The susceptibility of C. elegans to CEES and HN2 paralleled that of human cells, with HN2 exhibiting higher toxicity than CEES, reflected in LC50 values in the high µM to low mM range. Importantly, the effects were dependent on the worms' developmental stage as well as organismic age: the highest susceptibility was observed in L1, whereas the lowest was observed in L4 worms. In adult worms, susceptibility to alkylating agents increased with advanced age, especially to HN2. To examine reproductive effects, L4 worms were exposed to CEES and HN2, and both the offspring and the percentage of unhatched eggs were assessed. Moreover, germline apoptosis was assessed by using ced-1p::GFP (MD701) worms. In contrast to concentrations that elicited low toxicities to L4 worms, CEES and HN2 were highly toxic to germline cells, manifesting as increased germline apoptosis as well as reduced offspring number and percentage of eggs hatched. Again, HN2 exhibited stronger effects than CEES. Compound specificity was also evident in toxicities to dopaminergic neurons-HN2 exposure affected expression of dopamine transporter DAT-1 (strain BY200) at lower concentrations than CEES, suggesting a higher neurotoxic effect. Mechanistically, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) has been linked to mustard agent toxicities. Therefore, the NAD+-dependent system was investigated in the response to CEES and HN2 treatment. Overall NAD+ levels in worm extracts were revealed to be largely resistant to mustard exposure except for high concentrations, which lowered the NAD+ levels in L4 worms 24 h post-treatment. Interestingly, however, mutant worms lacking components of NAD+-dependent pathways involved in genome maintenance, namely pme-2, parg-2, and sirt-2.1 showed a higher and compound-specific susceptibility, indicating an active role of NAD+ in genotoxic stress response. In conclusion, the present results demonstrate that C. elegans represents an attractive model to study the toxicology of alkylating agents, which supports its use in mechanistic as well as intervention studies with major strength in the possibility to analyze toxicities at different life cycle stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna Ruszkiewicz
- Molecular Toxicology Group, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany (A.B.)
| | - Lisa Endig
- Molecular Toxicology Group, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany (A.B.)
| | - Ebru Güver
- Molecular Toxicology Group, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany (A.B.)
| | - Alexander Bürkle
- Molecular Toxicology Group, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany (A.B.)
| | - Aswin Mangerich
- Molecular Toxicology Group, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany (A.B.)
- Nutritional Toxicology, Institute Nutritional Science, University of Potsdam, 14469 Potsdam, Germany
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Shi J, Liu D, Jin Q, Chen X, Zhang R, Shi T, Zhu S, Zhang Y, Zong X, Wang C, Li L. Whole-Transcriptome Analysis of Repeated Low-Level Sarin-Exposed Rat Hippocampus and Identification of Cerna Networks to Investigate the Mechanism of Sarin-Induced Cognitive Impairment. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:biology12040627. [PMID: 37106826 PMCID: PMC10136365 DOI: 10.3390/biology12040627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
Sarin is a potent organophosphorus nerve agent that causes cognitive dysfunction, but its underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. In this study, a rat model of repeated low-level sarin exposure was established using the subcutaneous injection of 0.4 × LD50 for 21 consecutive days. Sarin-exposed rats showed persistent learning and memory impairment and reduced hippocampal dendritic spine density. A whole-transcriptome analysis was applied to study the mechanism of sarin-induced cognitive impairment, and a total of 1035 differentially expressed mRNA (DEmRNA), including 44 DEmiRNA, 305 DElncRNA, and 412 DEcircRNA, were found in the hippocampus of sarin-treated rats. According to Gene Ontology (GO) annotation, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment, and Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) analysis, these DERNAs were mainly involved in neuronal synaptic plasticity and were related to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. The circRNA/lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA network was constructed, in which Circ_Fmn1, miR-741-3p, miR-764-3p, miR-871-3p, KIF1A, PTPN11, SYN1, and MT-CO3 formed one circuit, and Circ_Cacna1c, miR-10b-5p, miR-18a-5p, CACNA1C, PRKCD, and RASGRP1 constituted another circuit. The balance between the two circuits was crucial for maintaining synaptic plasticity and may be the regulatory mechanism by which sarin causes cognitive impairment. Our study reveals the ceRNA regulation mechanism of sarin exposure for the first time and provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms of other organophosphorus toxicants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Shi
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilians, Beijing 102205, China
| | - Dongxin Liu
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilians, Beijing 102205, China
| | - Qian Jin
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilians, Beijing 102205, China
| | - Xuejun Chen
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilians, Beijing 102205, China
| | - Ruihua Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilians, Beijing 102205, China
| | - Tong Shi
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilians, Beijing 102205, China
| | - Siqing Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilians, Beijing 102205, China
| | - Yi Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilians, Beijing 102205, China
| | - Xingxing Zong
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilians, Beijing 102205, China
| | - Chen Wang
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilians, Beijing 102205, China
| | - Liqin Li
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilians, Beijing 102205, China
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