Simultaneous release of two drugs from polymer nano-implant inhibits recurrence in glioblastoma spheroids

Development of Biocompatible Ciprofloxacin-Gold Nanoparticle Coated Sutures for Surgical Site Infections

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are mainly observed after surgeries that use biomaterials. The aim of this present work was to develop ciprofloxacin hydrochloride (CPH)-loaded gold nanoparticles. These ciprofloxacin-gold nanoparticles were coated onto a sterile surgical suture using an adsorption technique, followed by rigidization via ionotropic crosslinking using sodium alginate. Furthermore, UV-visible spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the samples. The particle size of the nanoparticles was 126.2 ± 13.35 nm with a polydispersity index of 0.134 ± 0.03, indicating nanosize formation with a monodispersed system. As per the International Council for Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) guidelines, stability studies were performed for 30 days under the following conditions: 2-8 °C, 25 ± 2 °C/60 ± 5% RH, and 40 ± 2 °C/75 ± 5% RH. For both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, the drug-coupled nanoparticle-laden sutures showed a twofold higher zone of inhibition compared with plain drug-coated sutures. In vitro drug release studies showed a prolonged release of up to 180 h. Hemolysis and histopathology studies displayed these sutures' acceptable biocompatibility with the healing of tissue in Albino Swiss mice. The results depict that the use of antibiotic-coated sutures for preventing surgical site infection for a long duration could be a viable clinical option.

Review on the Scale-Up Methods for the Preparation of Solid Lipid Nanoparticles

Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) are an alternate carrier system to liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, and inorganic carriers. SLNs have attracted increasing attention in recent years for delivering drugs, nucleic acids, proteins, peptides, nutraceuticals, and cosmetics. These nanocarriers have attracted industrial attention due to their ease of preparation, physicochemical stability, and scalability. These characteristics make SLNs attractive for manufacture on a large scale. Currently, several products with SLNs are in clinical trials, and there is a high possibility that SLN carriers will quickly increase their presence in the market. A large-scale manufacturing unit is required for commercial applications to prepare enough formulations for clinical studies. Furthermore, continuous processing is becoming more popular in the pharmaceutical sector to reduce product batch-to-batch differences. This review paper discusses some conventional methods and the rationale for large-scale production. It further covers recent progress in scale-up methods for the synthesis of SLNs, including high-pressure homogenization (HPH), hot melt extrusion coupled with HPH, microchannels, nanoprecipitation using static mixers, and microemulsion-based methods. These scale-up technologies enable the possibility of commercialization of SLNs. Furthermore, ongoing studies indicate that these technologies will eventually reach the pharmaceutical market.

Polymeric Micelles for Breast Cancer Therapy: Recent Updates, Clinical Translation and Regulatory Considerations

With the growing burden of cancer, parallel advancements in anticancer nanotechnological solutions have been witnessed. Among the different types of cancers, breast cancer accounts for approximately 25% and leads to 15% of deaths. Nanomedicine and its allied fields of material science have revolutionized the science of medicine in the 21st century. Novel treatments have paved the way for improved drug delivery systems that have better efficacy and reduced adverse effects. A variety of nanoformulations using lipids, polymers, inorganic, and peptide-based nanomedicines with various functionalities are being synthesized. Thus, elaborate knowledge of these intelligent nanomedicines for highly promising drug delivery systems is of prime importance. Polymeric micelles (PMs) are generally easy to prepare with good solubilization properties; hence, they appear to be an attractive alternative over the other nanosystems. Although an overall perspective of PM systems has been presented in recent reviews, a brief discussion has been provided on PMs for breast cancer. This review provides a discussion of the state-of-the-art PMs together with the most recent advances in this field. Furthermore, special emphasis is placed on regulatory guidelines, clinical translation potential, and future aspects of the use of PMs in breast cancer treatment. The recent developments in micelle formulations look promising, with regulatory guidelines that are now more clearly defined; hence, we anticipate early clinical translation in the near future.

Structural Elucidation of Alkali Degradation Impurities of Favipiravir from the Oral Suspension: UPLC-TQ-ESI-MS/MS and NMR

A novel stability-indicating, reversed-phase, high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method was developed and validated for the determination of favipiravir in an oral suspension. The effective separation of favipiravir and its degradation products was achieved on a Zorbax Eclipse Plus C18 column (5 μm particle size, 150 mm length × 4.6 mm diameter). The mobile phase was prepared by mixing 5 mM of phosphate buffer (pH 3.5) and methanol in a 75:25 v/v ratio delivered at a 1.0 mL/min flow rate. The eluents were monitored using a photodiode array detector at a wavelength of 322 nm. The stability-indicating nature of this method was evaluated by performing force degradation studies under various stress conditions, such as acidic, alkali, oxidative, thermal, and photolytic degradation. Significant degradation was observed during the alkali stress degradation condition. The degradation products generated during various stress conditions were well separated from the favipiravir peak. In addition, the major degradation product formed under alkali stress conditions was identified using UPLC-ESI-TQ-MS/MS and NMR. Method validation was performed according to the ICH Q2 (R1) guideline requirements. The developed method is simple, accurate, robust, and reliable for routine quality control analysis of favipiravir oral suspensions.

Fast-Fed Variability: Insights into Drug Delivery, Molecular Manifestations, and Regulatory Aspects

Among various drug administration routes, oral drug delivery is preferred and is considered patient-friendly; hence, most of the marketed drugs are available as conventional tablets or capsules. In such cases, the administration of drugs with or without food has tremendous importance on the bioavailability of the drugs. The presence of food may increase (positive effect) or decrease (negative effect) the bioavailability of the drug. Such a positive or negative effect is undesirable since it makes dosage estimation difficult in several diseases. This may lead to an increased propensity for adverse effects of drugs when a positive food effect is perceived. However, a negative food effect may lead to therapeutic insufficiency for patients suffering from life-threatening disorders. This review emphasizes the causes of food effects, formulation strategies to overcome the fast-fed variability, and the regulatory aspects of drugs with food effects, which may open new avenues for researchers to design products that may help to eliminate fast-fed variability.

Dissolvable wound dressing loaded with silver nanoparticles together with ampicillin and ciprofloxacin

Aim: The current study is focused on the development of water-soluble wound dressings, which are potential dressings for the treatment of burn wounds. Materials & methods: Sodium alginate-based dissolvable wound dressings were prepared and loaded with silver nanoparticles and various antibiotics (ampicillin and ciprofloxacin) followed by characterization and in vitro antibacterial studies. Results & conclusions: The prepared sodium alginate-based dissolvable wound dressing exhibited good porosity, water uptake and moisture content, promising antibacterial activity, high absorption capacity of simulated wound exudates, excellent water vapor transmission rate in the range of 2000 to 5000 g/m² day^-1, sustained drug-release profiles and water solubility. The wound dressings were active against Proteus mirabilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus vulgaris, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella aeruginosa strains of bacteria. The results obtained revealed the wound dressing as potential wound dressings for burn wounds and sensitive skin.

Therapeutic Potential of Naringenin Nanosuspension: In Vitro and In Vivo Anti-Osteoporotic Studies

Naringenin (NRG) is a flavonoid and has been reported as an anti-osteoporotic agent. However, poor bioavailability may limit the anti-osteoporotic potential of the drug. The purpose of the study was to compare the anti-osteoporotic activity of naringenin nanosuspension (NRG-NS) with the NRG and standard therapeutic drug, raloxifene hydrochloride (RLX). Here, NRG-NS showed anti-osteoporotic activity in MG-63 cells by upregulating the osteocalcin levels. The in vivo anti-osteoporotic activity of NRG-NS was further investigated in an osteoporotic rat model to mimic the post-menopausal condition. The animals were randomized and separated into six groups. The animals were treated with RLX (p.o., 5.4 mg/kg), NRG (p.o., 20 mg/kg), NRG-NS (p.o., 20 mg/kg), and blank-NS for 60 days after completion of a 30-day post-surgery period and compared with control and ovariectomized (OVX) groups. After the treatment, body and uterine weights, biochemical estimation in serum (calcium, phosphorus, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin), bone parameters (length, diameter, dry weight, density, ash weight, bone mineral content) and bone microarchitecture by histopathology were determined. The results showed the protective effects of NRG-NS on osteoblast-like MG-63 cells. The biochemical estimations confirmed the normalization of parameters viz., alkaline phosphatase, calcium concentrations, and bone density with a decrease in levels of acid phosphatase and inorganic phosphorus with NRG-NS as compared to plain NRG. The results indicated that the oral administration of NRG-NS could be a potential therapeutic formulation for the treatment of osteoporosis.

Bionanofactories for Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles: Toward Antimicrobial Applications

Among the various types of nanoparticles and their strategy for synthesis, the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles has gained much attention in the biomedical, cellular imaging, cosmetics, drug delivery, food, and agrochemical industries due to their unique physicochemical and biological properties. The green synthesis strategies incorporate the use of plant extracts, living organisms, or biomolecules as bioreducing and biocapping agents, also known as bionanofactories for the synthesis of nanoparticles. The use of green chemistry is ecofriendly, biocompatible, nontoxic, and cost-effective. We shed light on the recent advances in green synthesis and physicochemical properties of green silver nanoparticles by considering the outcomes from recent studies applying SEM, TEM, AFM, UV/Vis spectrophotometry, FTIR, and XRD techniques. Furthermore, we cover the antibacterial, antifungal, and antiparasitic activities of silver nanoparticles.