Formulation optimization of galantamine hydrobromide loaded gel drug reservoirs in transdermal patch for Alzheimer's disease

Fabrication, evaluation, and enhanced penetration of vinyl and cellulose-engineered transdermal patch of nifedipine using essential oil as penetration enhancer

The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the transdermal patch formulations of nifedipine. The patch formulations containing nifedipine were prepared and optimized with different ratios of vinyl and cellulose-derived polymers, drug contents, and permeation enhancers. Among the various formulations, the patch formulation containing a 1:5 ratio of ethyl cellulose and polyvinyl pyrrolidone was selected for ex vivo pharmacokinetic study based on in vitro permeation studies using stratum corneum of the pig's skin. The cumulative percentage release after the transdermal administration of the optimized patch formulation was 71.43%, and the plasma concentration of nifedipine was maintained for 16 hrs. The physicochemical evaluation study including flatness, thickness, moisture content and uptake, drug content in vitro release, and ex vivo permeation indicated satisfactory results. The formulation batch with clove oil as a penetration enhancer has shown better ex vivo permeation as compared to the formulations without enhancers and another synthetic enhancer. These results suggest that the optimized patch formulation Q3 could be further developed for clinical applications, providing the therapeutic plasma level of nifedipine over an extended period. Hence analyzing the results of the evaluation tests, in vitro and ex vivo data on the preparation and optimization of nifedipine-loaded transdermal patch, it can be concluded that the formulation shows its feasibility as an effective transdermal delivery system for nifedipine.

Translation from Preclinical Research to Clinical Trials: Transdermal Drug Delivery for Neurodegenerative and Mental Disorders

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), particularly dementia, provide significant problems to worldwide healthcare systems. The development of therapeutic materials for various diseases has a severe challenge in the form of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Transdermal treatment has recently garnered widespread favor as an alternative method of delivering active chemicals to the brain. This approach has several advantages, including low invasiveness, self-administration, avoidance of first-pass metabolism, preservation of steady plasma concentrations, regulated release, safety, efficacy, and better patient compliance. Topics include the transdermal method for therapeutic NDs, their classification, and the mechanisms that allow the medicine to enter the bloodstream through the skin. The paper also discusses the obstacles and potential outcomes of transdermal therapy, emphasizing the benefits and drawbacks of different approaches.

A systematic study of nano-based fibrous systems: Diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for dementia control

Nano-based systems provide many advantages, including eluding gastrointestinal and first-pass metabolism of the drug and improving the potential advantage of reduced doses of drugs for an equal or better therapeutic effect compared to other parts of oral administration. Over the last few years, protein-based nanofibrous biomaterials have been used for better controlling dementia. PubMed, Scopus, and ISI Web of Science were consulted for available articles on nano-based fibrous systems for the treatment and diagnosis of dementia (up to October 2022). Of 725 articles that were identified and evaluated, only 19 were included. Eleven studies evaluated nanofibrous electrospun biomaterials for better dementia control. Among these, four investigated marker/biomarker detection for the early diagnosis of dementia. Two from four studies conducted hydrogel-based nanofibrous for Alzheimer's disease (AD) treatment. Additionally, four studies inspected stem cell (SC) transplantation on nano-based fibrous scaffolds for better treatment of dementia. Finally, two from the final four studies considered nano-based fibrous systems for the enhanced treatment of dementia. Our study concluded that nano-based fibrous platforms, exclusively peptide/protein-based nanofibrous scaffolds made from biomaterials, can be applied for dementia management by either diagnostic or therapeutic approaches specific in purpose-designed electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds.

Current and Future Nano-Carrier-Based Approaches in the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease

It is a very alarming situation for the globe because 55 million humans are estimated to be affected by Alzheimer's disease (AD) worldwide, and still it is increasing at the rapid speed of 10 million cases per year worldwide. This is an urgent reminder for better research and treatment due to the unavailability of a permanent medication for neurodegenerative disorders like AD. The lack of drugs for neurodegenerative disorder treatment is due to the complexity of the structure of the brain, mainly due to blood-brain barrier, because blood-brain drug molecules must enter the brain compartment. There are several novel and conventional formulation approaches that can be employed for the transportation of drug molecules to the target site in the brain, such as oral, intravenous, gene delivery, surgically implanted intraventricular catheter, nasal and liposomal hydrogels, and repurposing old drugs. A drug's lipophilicity influences metabolic activity in addition to membrane permeability because lipophilic substances have a higher affinity for metabolic enzymes. As a result, the higher a drug's lipophilicity is, the higher its permeability and metabolic clearance. AD is currently incurable, and the medicines available merely cure the symptoms or slow the illness's progression. In the next 20 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that neurodegenerative illnesses affecting motor function will become the second-leading cause of mortality. The current article provides a brief overview of recent advances in brain drug delivery for AD therapy.

LC-MS bioanalysis of targeted nasal galantamine bound chitosan nanoparticles in rats' brain homogenate and plasma

Validated LC-MS method for the direct quantitative analysis of galantamine (acetylcholinesterase inhibitor) was developed in rat cerebrospinal fluid and brain homogenate besides rat plasma, utilizing structurally close nalbuphine as an internal standard. After a simple protein precipitation step, samples are separated on 2-μm C18 column kept at 40 °C, using isocratic flow of 80% methanol in pH 9.5 ammonium formate buffer, and retention times were about 1.8 and 2.9 min for galantamine and nalbuphine, respectively. Mass detection with electrospray ionization (ESI) and positive polarity was able to detect 0.2 ng mL^-1 galantamine using single ion monitoring mode (SIM) at m/z 288 for galantamine and m/z 358 for nalbuphine. The method showed linearity within the range of 0.5 - 300 ng mL^-1. The proposed method was validated according to FDA guidelines. Trueness and precision showed acceptable values at all quality control levels, and recoveries were within 85.6 - 114.3% in all matrices at all runs and with relative standard deviations within 0.2 - 12.4%. The method was used to study in vivo brain uptake and pharmacokinetics of galantamine from brain homogenate and plasma samples following the administration of nasal galantamine-bound chitosan nanoparticles compared to oral and nasal galantamine solutions, in scopolamine-induced Alzheimer's disease rat model.

Current advances in transdermal delivery of drugs for Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common, progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disorder, which will play an increasingly important role both socially and financially in the aging populations. Treatments for AD show modest improvements in cognition and global functioning among patients. Furthermore, the oral administration of treating AD has had some drawbacks that decrease the medication adherence and efficacy of the therapy. Transdermal drugs are proposed as an alternative remedy to overcome the disadvantages of current pharmaceutical dosage options for this chronic disorder. They could have different strengths, such as offering a stable diffusion of active substance, avoiding the first pass metabolism, and reducing system adverse reactions. This article reviews the technical principles, novel techniques of transdermal delivery drug, and prospects for future development for the management of cognitive and behavioral dysfunctions in AD patients.

Role of Plant Derived Alkaloids and Their Mechanism in Neurodegenerative Disorders

Neurodegenerative diseases are conventionally demarcated as disorders with selective loss of neurons. Conventional as well as newer molecules have been tested but they offer just symptomatic advantages along with abundant side effects. The discovery of more compelling molecules that can halt the pathology of these diseases will be considered as a miracle of present time. Several synthetic compounds are available but they may cause several other health issues. Therefore, natural molecules from the plants and other sources are being discovered to replace available medicines. In conventional medicational therapies, several plants have been reported to bestow remedial effects. Phytochemicals from medicinal plants can provide a better and safer alternative to synthetic molecules. Many phytochemicals have been identified that cure the human body from a number of diseases. The present article reviews the potential efficacy of plant-derived alkaloids, which possess potential therapeutic effects against several NDDs including Alzheimer's disease (AD), Huntington disease (HD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Epilepsy, Schizophrenia, and stroke. Alkaloids include isoquinoline, indole, pyrroloindole, oxindole, piperidine, pyridine, aporphine, vinca, β-carboline, methylxanthene, lycopodium, and erythrine byproducts. Alkaloids constitute positive roles in ameliorating pathophysiology of these illnesses by functioning as muscarinic and adenosine receptors agonists, anti-oxidant, anti-amyloid and MAO inhibitors, acetylcholinestrase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitor, inhibitor of α-synuclein aggregation, dopaminergic and nicotine agonist, and NMDA antagonist.

Enhancement of encapsulation efficiency of nanoemulsion-containing aripiprazole for the treatment of schizophrenia using mixture experimental design

Aripiprazole is considered as a third-generation antipsychotic drug with excellent therapeutic efficacy in controlling schizophrenia symptoms and was the first atypical anti-psychotic agent to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Formulation of nanoemulsion-containing aripiprazole was carried out using high shear and high pressure homogenizers. Mixture experimental design was selected to optimize the composition of nanoemulsion. A very small droplet size of emulsion can provide an effective encapsulation for delivery system in the body. The effects of palm kernel oil ester (3–6 wt%), lecithin (2–3 wt%), Tween 80 (0.5–1 wt%), glycerol (1.5–3 wt%), and water (87–93 wt%) on the droplet size of aripiprazole nanoemulsions were investigated. The mathematical model showed that the optimum formulation for preparation of aripiprazole nanoemulsion having the desirable criteria was 3.00% of palm kernel oil ester, 2.00% of lecithin, 1.00% of Tween 80, 2.25% of glycerol, and 91.75% of water. Under optimum formulation, the corresponding predicted response value for droplet size was 64.24 nm, which showed an excellent agreement with the actual value (62.23 nm) with residual standard error <3.2%.