Transdermal delivery of glyceryl trinitrate: clinical applications in acute stroke

Bibliometric analysis and visualization of transdermal drug delivery research in the last decade: global research trends and hotspots

Background: Transdermal delivery has become a crucial field in pharmaceutical research. There has been a proliferation of innovative methods for transdermal drug delivery. In recent years, the number of publications regarding transdermal drug delivery has been rising rapidly. To investigate the current research trends and hotspots in transdermal drug delivery, a comprehensive bibliometric analysis was performed. Methods: An extensive literature review was conducted to gather information on transdermal drug delivery that had been published between 2003 and 2022. The articles were obtained from the Web of Science (WOS) and the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) databases. Subsequently, the collected data underwent analysis and visualization using a variety of software tools. This approach enables a deeper exploration of the hotspots and emerging trends within this particular research domain. Results: The results showed that the number of articles published on transdermal delivery has increased steadily over the years, with a total of 2,555 articles being analyzed. The most frequently cited articles were related to the optimization of drug delivery and the use of nanotechnology in transdermal drug delivery. The most active countries in the field of transdermal delivery research were the China, United States, and India. Furthermore, the hotspots over the past 2 decades were identified (e.g., drug therapy, drug delivery, and pharmaceutical preparations and drug design). The shift in research focus reflects an increasing emphasis on drug delivery and control release, rather than simply absorption and penetration, and suggests a growing interest in engineering approaches to transdermal drug delivery. Conclusion: This study provided a comprehensive overview of transdermal delivery research. The research indicated that transdermal delivery would be a rapidly evolving field with many opportunities for future research and development. Moreover, this bibliometric analysis will help researchers gain insights into transdermal drug delivery research's hotspots and trends accurately and quickly.

Nrf2 protects against cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury by suppressing programmed necrosis and inflammatory signaling pathways

Background

The NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) -mediated neuroinflammation is linked to neuronal necroptosis in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury, especially in cerebral ischemic penumbra. This study was designed to investigate the regulation of nuclear factor E2-related factor-2 (Nrf2) on NLRP3 inflammasome in necroptosis signal pathway induced by I/R injury.

Methods

We investigated the mechanisms of Nrf2-negative regulation in necroptosis signaling pathway by using middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) with Q-VD-OPH injected intraperitoneally. The protein level of the NLRP3 inflammasome was detected by western blot with Nrf2 knockdown and overexpression. NLRP3 inflammasome activation was Reactive oxygen species (ROS) dependent, and the protein level was regulated when N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) were selected as tools for regulating ROS.

Results

We demonstrated the negative regulation of Nrf2 on NLRP3 inflammasome activation in Q-VD-OPH-induced necroptosis in cerebral artery I/R injury through Lentivirus-mediated RNA Interferenc, which mediated knockdown and overexpression of Nrf2. NLRP3 inflammasome activation was sensitive to both ATP-mediated ROS level increases and NAC-mediated ROS inhibition, suggesting that ROS is associated with the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome in necroptosis. In addition, Nrf2-induced NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase 1 (NQO1) was involved in the inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome activation. These results suggest that Nrf2 regulates NQO1 to attenuate ROS, which negatively regulates NLRP3 inflammasome.

Conclusions

Nrf2/NQO1 was an inhibitor of ROS-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation in Q-VD-OPH-induced necroptosis following cerebral I/R injury. Therefore, NLRP3 inflammasome could be a potential therapeutic target for cerebral ischemia.

Synthetic, Natural, and Semisynthetic Polymer Carriers for Controlled Nitric Oxide Release in Dermal Applications: A Review

Nitric oxide (NO•) is a free radical gas, produced in the human body to regulate physiological processes, such as inflammatory and immune responses. It is required for skin health; therefore, a lack of NO• is known to cause or worsen skin conditions related to three biomedical applications- infection treatment, injury healing, and blood circulation. Therefore, research on its topical release has been increasing for the last two decades. The storage and delivery of nitric oxide in physiological conditions to compensate for its deficiency is achieved through pharmacological compounds called NO-donors. These are further incorporated into scaffolds to enhance therapeutic treatment. A wide range of polymeric scaffolds has been developed and tested for this purpose. Hence, this review aims to give a detailed overview of the natural, synthetic, and semisynthetic polymeric matrices that have been evaluated for antimicrobial, wound healing, and circulatory dermal applications. These matrices have already set a solid foundation in nitric oxide release and their future perspective is headed toward an enhanced controlled release by novel functionalized semisynthetic polymer carriers and co-delivery synergetic platforms. Finally, further clinical tests on patients with the targeted condition will hopefully enable the eventual commercialization of these systems.