Effects of Different Drying Methods on the Characterization, Dissolution Rate and Antioxidant Activity of Ursolic Acid-Loaded Chitosan Nanoparticles

Fabrication and characterization of responsible approach for targeted intestinal releasing and enhancing the effectivity of kidney tea saponin upon porous starch /xanthan gum /sodium alginate-based hydrogel bead

To enhance the intestinal targeted release of kidney tea saponins, a simple delivery system was designed through the use of porous starch (PS), sodium alginate (ALG) and xanthan gum (XG). Porous starch was prepared by hydrolysis with a combination of α-amylase and amyloglucosidase and it was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, which revealed the formation of porous structures in the starch granules. The results of one-way optimisation illustrated that this unique delivery system achieved 79.00 ± 1.22 % of the optimal encapsulation rate. The carrier structure was subjected to analysis using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The α-glucosidase inhibition assay showed better inhibition of kidney tea saponin compared to the positive control acarbose. In addition, the effectiveness of this delivery design was confirmed via an in vitro simulated digestion method. It was showed that only a 15.57 ± 1.27 % release rate of kidney tea saponin was observed in the upper gastrointestinal tract, whereas release rates of 17.51 ± 1.29 % and 41.07 ± 0.76 % were observed for xanthan gum/sodium alginate/kidney tea saponin and sodium alginate/kidney tea saponin beads, respectively. It was concluded that the utilization of PS and a xanthan gum/sodium alginate coating represents an efficacious methodology for the development of an intestinal targeted delivery system.

Chitosan: An overview of biological activities, derivatives, properties, and current advancements in biomedical applications

The second and most often utilized natural polymer is chitosan (CS), a naturally existing amino polysaccharide that is produced by deacetylating chitin. Numerous applications have been the subject of in-depth investigation due to its non-hazardous, biologically compatible, and biodegradable qualities. Chitosan's characteristics, such as mucoadhesion, improved permeability, controlled release of drugs, in situ gelation process, and antibacterial activity, depend on its amino (-NH2) and hydroxyl groups (-OH). This study examines the latest findings in chitosan research, including its characteristics, derivatives, preliminary research, toxic effects, pharmaceutical kinetics and chitosan nanoparticles (CS-NPs) based for non-parenteral delivery of drugs. Chitosan and its derivatives have a wide range of physical and chemical properties that make them highly promising for use in the medicinal and pharmaceutical industries. The characteristics and biological activities of chitosan and its derivative-based nanomaterials for the delivery of drugs, therapeutic gene transfer, delivery of vaccine, engineering tissues, evaluations, and other applications in medicine are highlighted in detail in the current review. Together with the techniques for binding medications to nanoparticles, the application of the nanoparticles was also dictated by their physical properties that were classified and specified. The most recent research investigations on delivery of drugs chitosan nanoparticle-based medication delivery methods applied topically, through the skin, and through the eyes were considered.

Microencapsulation of fish oil by spray drying, spray freeze-drying, freeze-drying, and microwave freeze-drying: Microcapsule characterization and storage stability

The objective of this paper was to evaluate the effect of spray drying (SD), spray freeze-drying (SFD), freeze-drying (FD), and microwave freeze-drying (MFD) on the characteristics of fish oil (FO) microcapsules. The physicochemical properties, morphology, fatty acid composition, and stability of the microcapsules were analyzed. The encapsulation efficiencies of microcapsules dried by SD, SFD, FD, and MFD were 86.98%, 77.79%, 63.29%, and 57.89%, respectively. SD microcapsules exhibited superior properties in terms of effective loading capacity, color, and flowability. Conversely, SFD microcapsules demonstrated improved solubility. Microencapsulation positively affected the thermal stability of FO, but the content of unsaturated fatty acids decreased. The findings from the storage experiment indicated that the oxidative stability of SD fish oil microcapsules was marginally lower compared to microcapsules produced through three alternative drying techniques, all of which were based on the FD concept. The comparison of various drying methods and their effects on the quality of FO microcapsules offers valuable insights that can serve as a foundation for the industrial production of high-quality microcapsules.

Polymeric nanocomposite hydrogel scaffold for jawbone regeneration: The role of rosuvastatin calcium-loaded silica nanoparticles

Bones are subject to different types of damages ranging from simple fatigue to profound defects. In serious cases, the endogenous healing mechanism is not capable of healing the damage or restoring the normal structure and function of the bony tissue. The aim of this research was to achieve a sustained delivery of rosuvastatin and assess its efficacy in healing bone tissue damage. Rosuvastatin was entrapped into silica nanoparticles and the system was loaded into an alginate hydrogel to be implanted in the damaged tissue. Silica nanoparticles were formulated based on a modified Stöber technique and alginate hydrogel was prepared via sprinkling alginate onto silica nanoparticle dispersion followed by addition of CaCl2 to promote crosslinking and hydrogel rigidification. The selected nanoparticle formulation possessed high % drug content (100.22± 0.67%), the smallest particle size (221.00± 7.30 nm) and a sustained drug release up to 4 weeks (98.72± 0.52%). The fabricated hydrogel exhibited a further delay in drug release (81.52± 4.81% after 4 weeks). FT-IR indicated the silica nanoparticle formation and hydrogel crosslinking. SEM visualized the porous and dense surface of hydrogel. In-vivo testing on induced bone defects in New Zealand rabbits revealed the enhanced rate of new bone tissue formation, its homogeneity in color as well as similarity in structure to the original tissue.

Ursolic acid-loaded chitosan nanoparticles suppress 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced oral tumor formation through their antilipid peroxidative potential in golden Syrian hamsters

Oral cancer, a disfiguring and life threatening cancer, significantly affects the day-to-day life of not only the patients but also their family members in terms of life quality and financial burden. India records higher incidence of oral cancer every year and is mainly due to the habituation of tobacco products and alcohol abuse. Delay in diagnosis and treatment influences India's higher incidence of oral cancer, where annually 50,000-60,000 oral carcinoma cases are reported. 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced cancer in the oral cavity mimics human oral cancer in histopathological, molecular, and morphological aspects, and thus, by using this paradigm, the tumor inhibiting efficacy of medicinal plants or herbs and their components is scientifically validated. Ursolic acid, due to its multiple pharmacological effects, has been attracted, in recent years, for chemoprevention research program. Though, ursolic acid has been shown to have beneficial effects, its poor water solubility and bioavailability hinder to exert its 100% efficacy. Therefore, ursolic acid is encapsulated in either natural or synthetic polymers to enhance its therapeutic efficacy. Chitosan is one of the natural polymers that have been employed in the synthesis of nanoparticles to improve the drug efficacy. The present study has thus chosen ursolic acid-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (UACNP) to assess its anticancer efficacy in the DMBA-induced oral carcinoma. The anticancer efficacy of UACNP in experimental oral carcinogenesis was assessed by employing the status of oxidative markers and detoxification cascade as an end point. DMBA-induced abnormalities in the status of oxidative markers and detoxification cascade were reversed by ursolic acid-loaded chitosan nanoparticles. The tumor inhibiting or suppressing effect of UACNP is thus explored in experimental oral carcinogenesis.

Synthesis of ursolic acid arylidene-hydrazide hybrid compounds and investigation of their cytotoxic and antimicrobial effects

In this study, 13 new hybrid compounds (7a-m) were synthesised starting from ursolic acid, and their cytotoxic activities were investigated on the BEAS-2B and A549 cell lines. In addition, the synthesised compounds were tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans to determine their anti-microbial properties. The hybrid compounds that exhibited the lowest cytotoxicity against the BEAS-2B were 7k, 7b, and 7g. The cytotoxicity of the compounds against A549 was evaluated, the IC50 value of 7k, 7b, and 7g are found as 0.15 µM, 0.31 µM, and 0.26 µM, respectively. The results showed that the selectivity of 7k was 7 times higher than doxorubicin against the A549 cells. According to the antimicrobial activity studies 7c is found as the most effective compound against S. aureus. Almost all compounds showed a similar inhibition potential against E. coli and C. albicans.

Artificial intelligence-based optimization for chitosan nanoparticles biosynthesis, characterization and in‑vitro assessment of its anti-biofilm potentiality

Chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs) are promising biopolymeric nanoparticles with excellent physicochemical, antimicrobial, and biological properties. CNPs have a wide range of applications due to their unique characteristics, including plant growth promotion and protection, drug delivery, antimicrobials, and encapsulation. The current study describes an alternative, biologically-based strategy for CNPs biosynthesis using Olea europaea leaves extract. Face centered central composite design (FCCCD), with 50 experiments was used for optimization of CNPs biosynthesis. The artificial neural network (ANN) was employed for analyzing, validating, and predicting CNPs biosynthesis using Olea europaea leaves extract. Using the desirability function, the optimum conditions for maximum CNPs biosynthesis were determined theoretically and verified experimentally. The highest experimental yield of CNPs (21.15 mg CNPs/mL) was obtained using chitosan solution of 1%, leaves extract solution of 100%, initial pH 4.47, and incubation time of 60 min at 53.83°C. The SEM and TEM images revealed that CNPs had a spherical form and varied in size between 6.91 and 11.14 nm. X-ray diffraction demonstrates the crystalline nature of CNPs. The surface of the CNPs is positively charged, having a Zeta potential of 33.1 mV. FTIR analysis revealed various functional groups including C-H, C-O, CONH2, NH2, C-OH and C-O-C. The thermogravimetric investigation indicated that CNPs are thermally stable. The CNPs were able to suppress biofilm formation by P. aeruginosa, S. aureus and C. albicans at concentrations ranging from 10 to 1500 µg/mL in a dose-dependent manner. Inhibition of biofilm formation was associated with suppression of metabolic activity, protein/exopolysaccharide moieties, and hydrophobicity of biofilm encased cells (r ˃ 0.9, P = 0.00). Due to their small size, in the range of 6.91 to 11.14 nm, CNPs produced using Olea europaea leaves extract are promising for applications in the medical and pharmaceutical industries, in addition to their potential application in controlling multidrug-resistant microorganisms, especially those associated with post COVID-19 pneumonia in immunosuppressed patients.

Impact of formulation design and lyophilisation on the physicochemical characteristics of finasteride nanosystems

The fundamental purpose of this study was to develop a stable lyophilised finasteride nanosystem (FNS-NS) for topical delivery. The FNS-NS was fabricated using an ultrasonication technique. The impact of two different cryoprotectants on the physicochemical characteristics of FNS-NS before and after lyophilisation was thoroughly investigated. The lyophilised FNS-NS had spherical shape with particle size lied between 188.6 nm ± 4.4 and 298.7 nm ± 4.7, low PDI values (0.26 ± 0.02 to 0.32 ± 0.02) and zeta potential ranging from -38.3 to +53.3 mV. The confocal laser microscopy depicted a comparatively higher cellular internalisation achieved for undecorated FNS-NS with respect to its chitosan-decorated counterpart. The lyophilised FNS-NS was stable for 90 days at proper storage conditions. The FNS-NS with 15% trehalose had appropriate physicochemical attributes that could be a promising carrier for topical delivery to treat androgenic alopecia.

Chitosan-Based Nanoparticles as Effective Drug Delivery Systems-A review

Chitosan-based nanoparticles (chitosan-based nanocomposites; chitosan nanoparticles; ChNPs) are promising materials that are receiving a lot of attention in the last decades. ChNPs have great potential as nanocarriers. They are able to encapsulate drugs as well as active compounds and deliver them to a specific place in the body providing a controlled release. In the article, an overview has been made of the most frequently used preparation methods, and the developed applications in medicine. The presentation of the most important information concerning ChNPs, especially chitosan's properties in drug delivery systems (DDS), as well as the method of NPs production was quoted. Additionally, the specification and classification of the NPs' morphological features determined their application together with the methods of attaching drugs to NPs. The latest scientific reports of the DDS using ChNPs administered orally, through the eye, on the skin and transdermally were taken into account.

Modification of Physio-Mechanical Properties of Chitosan-Based Films via Physical Treatment Approach

The premise of this work is the modification of the properties of chitosan-based film for possible use in food packaging applications. The biofilm was prepared via thermal and mechanical treatment through blending polymers with chitosan using Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) and loading different types of chemical agents, i.e., citric acid (CA), succinic acid (SA), and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). The modification was carried out under high-speed homogenization at elevated temperature to induce physical cross-linkage of chitosan polymer chains without a catalyst. The findings showed that PVA improved the chitosan films' Tensile strength (TS) and elongation at break (Eb). The presence of chemicals caused an increase in the film strength for all samples prepared, in which a 5% w/w of chemical in the optimum composition CS/PVA (75/25) provided the maximum strength, namely, 33.9 MPa, 44.0 MPa, and 41.9 MPa, for CA-5, SA-5, and TEOS-5, respectively. The chemical agents also increased the water contact angles for all tested films, indicating that they promoted hydrophobicity. The chemical structure analysis showed that, by incorporating three types of chemical agents into the CS/PVA blend films, no additional spectral bands were found, indicating that no covalent bonds were formed. The thermal properties showed enhancement in melting peak and degradation temperature of the blend films, compared to those without chemical agents at the optimum composition. The X-ray diffraction patterns exhibited that PVA led to an increasing crystallization tendency in the blend films. The morphological observation proved that no irregularities were detected in CS/PVA blend films, representing high compatibility with both polymers.

Effects of different proteins and maltodextrin combinations as wall material on the characteristics of Cornus officinalis flavonoids microcapsules

The flavonoids in Cornus officinalis (CO) have various pharmacological activities, however, the flavonoid instability limits its application in food and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, Cornus officinalis flavonoid (COF) microcapsules were prepared by using a combination of whey isolate protein (WPI), soy isolate protein (SPI), gelatin (GE), and maltodextrin (MD) as wall materials, respectively. Meanwhile, the encapsulation efficiency, solubility, color, particle size, thermal stability and microstructure as well as the antioxidant capacity of microcapsules were assessed. When the protein/MD ratio was 3:7, three kinds of combined wall materials realized high encapsulation efficiency (96.32–98.24%) and water solubility index (89.20–90.10%). Compared with other wall material combinations, the microcapsules with WPI-MD wall ratio at 3:7 had lower particle size (7.17 μm), lower moisture content (6.13%), higher encapsulation efficiency (98.24%), better water solubility index (90.1%), higher thermal stability (86.00°C), brightness L* (67.84) and higher 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging capacity (6.98 mgVc/g), and better flowability. Results suggested that WPI and MD could be better wall materials applied in encapsulating COF.

Microencapsulation of a Commercial Food-Grade Protease by Spray Drying in Cross-Linked Chitosan Particles

In this study, the use of spray-drying technology for encapsulating Flavourzyme® (protease–peptidase complex) was evaluated to overcome the limitations (low encapsulation efficiency and no large-scale production) of other encapsulation processes. To the best of our knowledge, spray drying has not been applied previously for the immobilization of this enzyme. Firstly, bovine serum albumin (BSA), as a model protein, was encapsulated by spray drying in chitosan and tripolyphoshate (TPP) cross-linked-chitosan shell matrices. The results showed that the chitosan–TPP microcapsules provided a high encapsulation efficiency and better protein stability compared to the non-crosslinked chitosan microcapsules. The effect of enzyme concentration and drying temperature were tested during the spray drying of Flavourzyme®. In this regard, an activity yield of 88.0% and encapsulation efficiency of 78.6% were obtained with a concentration of 0.1% (v/v) and an inlet temperature of 130 °C. Flavourzyme®-loaded chitosan microcapsules were also characterized in terms of their size and morphology using scanning electron microscopy and laser diffractometry.

The Chitosan-Based System with Scutellariae baicalensis radix Extract for the Local Treatment of Vaginal Infections

Scutellarie baicalensis radix, as a flavone-rich source, exhibits antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activity. It may be used as a therapeutic agent to treat various diseases, including vaginal infections. In this study, six binary mixtures of chitosan with stable S. baicalensis radix lyophilized extract were obtained and identified by spectral (ATR-FTIR, XRPD) and thermal (TG and DSC) methods. The changes in dissolution rates of active compounds and the significant increase in the biological properties towards metal chelating activity were observed, as well as the inhibition of hyaluronic acid degradation after mixing plant extract with chitosan. Moreover, the combination of S. baicalensis radix lyophilized extract with a carrier allowed us to obtain the binary systems with a higher antifungal activity than the pure extract, which may be effective in developing new strategies in the vaginal infections treatment, particularly vulvovaginal candidiasis.

Incorporation of Plant Extracted Hydroxyapatite and Chitosan Nanoparticles on the Surface of Orthodontic Micro-Implants: An In-Vitro Antibacterial Study

In our study, the structural and morphological applications of hydroxyapatite and chitosan nanoparticles and coated micro-implants were assessed for their ability to combat oral pathogenic bacteria. The hydroxyapatite, as well as chitosan nanoparticles, were synthesized from the Salvadora persica plant. The crystal morphology, phase composition, particle size, and surface functional groups of the nano-samples were analyzed via classical examinations and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The prepared nanoparticles have been examined for antibacterial activity against four common oral bacterial strains. The antimicrobial effect was also assessed by the Live/Dead BacLight technique in combination with confocal scanning laser microscopy. Titanium micro-implants were coated with regular hydroxyapatite (HAP) and chitosan nanoparticles, and the surface was characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The analysis asserted elemental composition of the prepared nanoparticles and their textural features, metal crystallization, and functional bonds. The antibacterial activity of the nanoparticles was evaluated against oral pathogenic microorganisms by the disc diffusion method, minimum bacterial concentration (MBC), and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Chitosan nanoparticles showed (MICs) of 8 μg mL⁻¹ for (Streptococcus salivarius, Streptococcus mutans and Enterococcus faecalis), and 16 μg mL⁻¹ for Streptococcus sanguinis. HAP nanoparticles showed (MICs) of 16 μg/mL for E. faecalis, and S. sanguis, 8 μg/mL for S. salivarius and finally 4 μg/mL for S. mutans. HAP nanoparticles showed enhanced antibacterial activity and more obvious damage in the bacterial cell membrane than that of synthesized chitosan nanoparticles. The prepared nanoparticles could successfully coat titanium microplates to enhance their efficiency.