Optimized formulation of multivesicular liposomes loaded with oleanolic acid enhanced anticancer effect in vitro

Enhancement of oleanolic acid concentration through acid hydrolysis of saponin-rich extracts from Chenopodium berlandieri

The study investigated Chenopodium berlandieri to analyze its oleanolic acid (OA) content. Response surface methodology with central composite design was used to improve saponin extraction, varying temperature, ethanol, and sample-to-solvent ratio. Best conditions (65 °C, 50% ethanol, 1:10 ratio) yielded 53.45 ± 0.63 mg/g of extract from Huauzontle seeds. Temperature linearly impacted extract yield, while temperature and ethanol influenced total saponin content. Hydrolyzing saponin-rich extracts produced OA-rich extracts. Characterization via HPLC-ELSD and LC-MS identified OA4 as the most concentrated OA saponin (5.54 ± 0.16 mg/g). OA alone reached 2.02 ± 0.12 mg/g. Acid hydrolysis increased OA content by up to 3.27×, highlighting the potential of hydrolyzed Huauzontle extracts as a natural ingredient for various industries due to enhanced OA content.

Multi-vesicular Liposome and its Applications: A Novel Chemically Modified Approach for Drug Delivery Application

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to elaborate on all the aspects of multivesicular liposomes, including structure, function, topology, etc. Liposomes are a unique drug delivery system, in which both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drug molecules can be incorporated. Particularly, multivesicular liposomes have more advantages than other liposomes because of their unique structure. This study provides an overview of several works already performed by various researchers in this field. Numerous studies have reported on preparing and evaluating multivesicular liposomes for drug delivery applications. This study summarizes the process of formulating multivesicular liposomes and their application in drug delivery systems and provides details about how to resolve the problem of limited solubility and stability of biomolecules, along with controlled drug release kinetics, with the possibility of loading various drugs. There is no doubt that multivesicular liposome opens new avenues to develop novel drug delivery system for achieving the desired functional performances and expanding the applications in the drug delivery area.

The Optimized Delivery of Triterpenes by Liposomal Nanoformulations: Overcoming the Challenges

The last decade has witnessed a sustained increase in the research development of modern-day chemo-therapeutics, especially for those used for high mortality rate pathologies. However, the therapeutic landscape is continuously changing as a result of the currently existing toxic side effects induced by a substantial range of drug classes. One growing research direction driven to mitigate such inconveniences has converged towards the study of natural molecules for their promising therapeutic potential. Triterpenes are one such class of compounds, intensively investigated for their therapeutic versatility. Although the pharmacological effects reported for several representatives of this class has come as a well-deserved encouragement, the pharmacokinetic profile of these molecules has turned out to be an unwelcomed disappointment. Nevertheless, the light at the end of the tunnel arrived with the development of nanotechnology, more specifically, the use of liposomes as drug delivery systems. Liposomes are easily synthesizable phospholipid-based vesicles, with highly tunable surfaces, that have the ability to transport both hydrophilic and lipophilic structures ensuring superior drug bioavailability at the action site as well as an increased selectivity. This study aims to report the results related to the development of different types of liposomes, used as targeted vectors for the delivery of various triterpenes of high pharmacological interest.

Multivesicular liposome: A lipid-based drug delivery system for efficient drug delivery

The advancement of delivery tools for therapeutic agents has brought several novel formulations with increased drug loading, sustained release, targeted delivery, and prolonged efficacy. Amongst the several novel delivery approaches, multivesicular liposome has gained potential interest because this delivery system possesses the above advantages. In addition, this multivesicular liposomal delivery prevents degradation of the entrapped drug within the physiological environment while administered. The special structure of the vesicles allowed successful entrapment of hydrophobic and hydrophilic therapeutic agents, including proteins and peptides. Furthermore, this novel formulation could maintain the desired drug concentration in the plasma for a prolonged period, which helps to reduce the dosing frequencies, improve bioavailability, and safety. This tool could also provide stability of the formulation, and finally gaining patient compliance. Several multivesicular liposomes received approval for clinical research, while others are at different stages of laboratory research. In this review, we have focused on the preparation of multivesicular liposomes along with their application in different ailments for the improvement of the performance of the entrapped drug. Moreover, the challenges of delivering multivesicular vesicles have also been emphasized. Overall, it could be inferred that multivesicular liposomal delivery is a novel platform of advanced drug delivery with improved efficacy and safety.

Development and Evaluation of Oleanolic Acid Dosage Forms and Its Derivatives

Oleanolic acid is a pentacyclic triterpenoid compound that exists widely in medicinal herbs and other plants. Because of the extensive pharmacological activity, oleanolic acid has attracted more and more attention. However, the structural characteristics of oleanolic acid prevent it from being directly made into new drugs, which limits the application of oleanolic acid. Through the application of modern preparation techniques and methods, different oleanolic acid dosage forms and derivatives have been designed and synthesized. These techniques can improve the water solubility and bioavailability of oleanolic acid and lay a foundation for the new drug development. In this review, the recent progress in understanding the oleanolic acid dosage forms and its derivatives are discussed. Furthermore, these products were evaluated comprehensively from the perspective of characterization and pharmacokinetics, and this work may provide ideas and references for the development of oleanolic acid preparations.

Injectable Lipid-Based Depot Formulations: Where Do We Stand?

The remarkable number of new molecular entities approved per year as parenteral drugs, such as biologics and complex active pharmaceutical ingredients, calls for innovative and tunable drug delivery systems. Besides making these classes of drugs available in the body, injectable depot formulations offer the unique advantage in the parenteral world of reducing the number of required injections, thus increasing effectiveness as well as patient compliance. To date, a plethora of excipients has been proposed to formulate depot systems, and among those, lipids stand out due to their unique biocompatibility properties and safety profile. Looking at the several long-acting drug delivery systems based on lipids designed so far, a legitimate question may arise: How far away are we from an ideal depot formulation? Here, we review sustained release lipid-based platforms developed in the last 5 years, namely oil-based solutions, liposomal systems, in situ forming systems, solid particles, and implants, and we critically discuss the requirements for an ideal depot formulation with respect to the used excipients, biocompatibility, and the challenges presented by the manufacturing process. Finally, we delve into lights and shadows originating from the current setups of in vitro release assays developed with the aim of assessing the translational potential of depot injectables.

Farnesal-loaded pH-sensitive polymeric micelles provided effective prevention and treatment on dental caries

BACKGROUND

Farnesol is a sesquiterpene from propolis and citrus fruit that shows promising anti-bacterial activity for caries treatment and prevention, but its hydrophobicity limits the clinical application. We aimed to develop the novel polymeric micelles (PMs) containing a kind of derivative of farnesol and a ligand of pyrophosphate (PPi) that mediated PMs to adhere tightly with the tooth enamel.

RESULTS

Farnesal (Far) was derived from farnesol and successfully linked to PEG via an acid-labile hydrazone bond to form PEG-hyd-Far, which was then conjugated to PPi and loaded into PMs to form the aimed novel drug delivery system, PPi-Far-PMs. The in vitro test about the binding of PPi-Far-PMs to hydroxyapatite showed that PPi-Far-PMs could bind rapidly to hydroxyapatite and quickly release Far under the acidic conditions. Results from the mechanical testing and the micro-computed tomography indicated that PPi-Far-PMs could restore the microarchitecture of teeth with caries. Moreover, PPi-Far-PMs diminished the incidence and severity of smooth and sulcal surface caries in rats that were infected with Streptococcus mutans while being fed with a high-sucrose diet. The anti-caries efficacy of free Far can be improved significantly by PPi-Far-PMs through the effective binding of it with tooth enamel via PPi.

CONCLUSIONS

This novel drug-delivery system may be useful for the treatment and prevention of dental caries as well as the targeting therapy of anti-bacterial drugs in the oral disease.

Multivesicular Liposomes for the Sustained Release of Angiotensin I-Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitory Peptides from Peanuts: Design, Characterization, and In Vitro Evaluation

The multivesicular liposome (MVL) provides a potential delivery approach to avoid the destruction of the structure of drugs by digestive enzymes of the oral cavity and gastrointestinal system. It also serves as a sustained-release drug delivery system. In this study, we aimed to incorporate a water-soluble substance into MVLs to enhance sustained release, prevent the destruction of drugs, and to expound the function of different components and their mechanism. MVLs were prepared using the spherical packing model. The morphology, structure, size distribution, and zeta potential of MVLs were examined using an optical microscope (OM), confocal microscopy (CLSM), transmission electron cryomicroscope (cryo-EM) micrograph, a Master Sizer 2000, and a zeta sizer, respectively. The digestion experiment was conducted using a bionic mouse digestive system model in vitro. An in vitro release and releasing mechanism were investigated using a dialysis method. The average particle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, and encapsulation efficiency are 47.6 nm, 1.880, −70.5 ± 2.88 mV, and 82.00 ± 0.25%, respectively. The studies on the controlled release in vitro shows that MVLs have excellent controlled release and outstanding thermal stability. The angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity of ACE-inhibitory peptide (AP)-MVLs decreased only 2.84% after oral administration, and ACE inhibitory activity decreased by 5.03% after passing through the stomach. Therefore, it could serve as a promising sustained-release drug delivery system.

Bone-targeting drug delivery system of biomineral-binding liposomes loaded with icariin enhances the treatment for osteoporosis

Background

Osteoporosis is a bone-incapacitating malady and it is characterized by obvious bone mass loss and bone microarchitecture deterioration. Current treatments for osteoporosis have many limitations, including the non-obvious therapeutic effect and long-term safety issues. Icariin is a pharmacologically active flavonoid glycoside, which shows potential application in treatment of osteoporosis. But its clinical application is limited by the inherent disadvantages such as poor water solubility, first pass effect after oral administration, and low bioavailability. Moreover, due to lack of targeting ability, icariin cannot accumulate at the local diseased region to provide early protection from fractures. To solve the application problems of icariin and enhance its therapeutic effects on osteoporosis, this work aimed to design a targeting drug delivery system of biomineral-binding liposomes (BBL) mediated by pyrophosphate ions.

Results

Biomineral-binding liposomes enhanced the binding ability of liposomes with hydroxyapatite particles. It increased the serum level of alkaline phosphatase and reduced that of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b. Meanwhile, BBL increased the mechanical strength of femoral midshaft, preserving the trabecular bone microarchitecture. Moreover, BBL could initiate bone turnover/remodeling of rats with osteoporosis.

Conclusions

This drug targeting delivery system of BBL loading with icariin showed more therapeutic advantages than the free icariin for the treatment of osteoporosis, which may be a kind of valid candidate in future osteoporosis therapy.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12951-019-0447-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.