Application of Green Nanoemulsion for Elimination of Rifampicin from a Bulk Aqueous Solution

Formulation, Characterization, and Evaluation of β-Cyclodextrin Functionalized Hypericin Loaded Nanocarriers

St. John's wort in western Europe has been extensively utilized for the treatment of mild to moderate depression. Hypericin, a red pigment, is found to be responsible for its antidepressant activity. The aim of the current study was to prepare a nanoemulsion (O/W) of hypericin designed for immediate delivery of the drug to the brain for the treatment of depression. The nanoemulsion was prepared by means of a homogenization technique, and that was followed by its physicochemical evaluation. Tween-80, Span-80, β-cyclodextrin, ethanol, and eucalyptus oil were utilized for the manufacturing of the nanoemulsion. Morphological studies have revealed globular structures of nanosize that were confirmed by the zeta analysis. The consistency of particles was revealed by the low polydispersity values. pH values of all formulations lay within the range of nasal pH. The viscosity of the prepared formulations was affected by the increase in concentrations of β-cyclodextrin. After passing from the centrifugation and freeze-thaw studies, the prepared formulations showed good stability. Formulation F2 having a composition of oil phase (0.125 mL), aqueous phase (1.25 mL), and β-cyclodextrin (8%) showed the best results out of all the formulations, and F2 had a pH of 5.7, 5.35 cP viscosity, 1.332 refractive index, 148.8 globule size, and -10.8 zeta potential. The mean percentage drug release and in vitro and ex vivo percentage drug permeations were observed to be 71.75, 76, and 75.07%, respectively. Meanwhile, formulation F2 showed the maximum drug release and permeation. In vivo behavior studies including the open field test, elevated plus maze test, and tail suspension test were conducted to see the antidepressant effect of hypericin along with comparison with a commercially available treatment. In conclusion, the prepared formulation shows good efficacy as an antidepressant and can be considered as a natural alternative over synthetic drugs.

Optimized Green Nanoemulsions to Remove Pharmaceutical Enoxacin from Contaminated Bulk Aqueous Solution

We attempted to develop green nanoemulsions (ENE1-ENE5) using capryol-C90 (C90), lecithin, Tween 80, and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). HSPiP software and experimentally obtained data were used to explore excipients. ENE1-ENE5 nanoemulsions were prepared and evaluated for in vitro characterization parameters. An HSPiP based QSAR (quantitative structure-activity relationship) module established a predictive correlation between the Hansen solubility parameter (HSP) and thermodynamic parameters. A thermodynamic stability study was conducted under stress conditions of temperature (from -21 to 45 °C) and centrifugation. ENE1-ENE5 were investigated for the influence of size, viscosity, composition, and exposure time on emulsification (5-15 min) on %RE (percent removal efficiency). Eventually, the treated water was evaluated for the absence of the drug using electron microscopy and optical emission spectroscopy. HSPiP program predicted excipients and established the relationship between enoxacin (ENO) and excipients in the QSAR module. The stable green nanoemulsions ENE-ENE5 possessed the globular size range of 61-189 nm, polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.1-0.53, viscosity of 87-237 cP, and ζ potential from -22.1 to -30.8 mV. The values of %RE depended upon the composition, globular size, viscosity, and exposure time. ENE5 showed %RE value as 99.5 ± 9.2% at 15 min of exposure time, which may be due to the available maximized adsorption surface. SEM-EDX (scanning electron microscopy-X-ray dispersive energy mode) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) negated the presence of ENO in the treated water. These variables were critical factors for efficient removal of ENO during water treatment process design. Thus, the optimized nanoemulsion can be a promising approach to treat water contaminated with ENO (a potential pharmaceutical antibiotics).

State of the Art on Developments of (Bio)Sensors and Analytical Methods for Rifamycin Antibiotics Determination

This review summarizes the literature data reported from 2000 up to the present on the development of various electrochemical (voltammetric, amperometric, potentiometric and photoelectrochemical), optical (UV-Vis and IR) and luminescence (chemiluminescence and fluorescence) methods and the corresponding sensors for rifamycin antibiotics analysis. The discussion is focused mainly on the foremost compound of this class of macrocyclic drugs, namely rifampicin (RIF), which is a first-line antituberculosis agent derived from rifampicin SV (RSV). RIF and RSV also have excellent therapeutic action in the treatment of other bacterial infectious diseases. Due to the side-effects (e.g., prevalence of drug-resistant bacteria, hepatotoxicity) of long-term RIF intake, drug monitoring in patients is of real importance in establishing the optimum RIF dose, and therefore, reliable, rapid and simple methods of analysis are required. Based on the studies published on this topic in the last two decades, the sensing principles, some examples of sensors preparation procedures, as well as the performance characteristics (linear range, limits of detection and quantification) of analytical methods for RIF determination, are compared and correlated, critically emphasizing their benefits and limitations. Examples of spectrometric and electrochemical investigations of RIF interaction with biologically important molecules are also presented.

Green Nanoemulsion Water/Ethanol/Transcutol/LabM-Based Treatment of Pharmaceutical Antibiotic Erythromycin-Contaminated Aqueous Bulk Solution

Contaminated wastewater released from hospital, domestic, and industrial sources is a major challenge to aquatic animals and human health. In this study, we addressed removal of erythromycin (ERN) from contaminated water employing water/ethanol/Transcutol/Labrafil M 1944 CS (LabM) green nanoemulsions as a nanocarrier system. ERN is a major antibiotic contaminant harming aquatic and human lives. Green nanoemulsions were prepared and evaluated for size, size distribution (measuring polydispersity index), stability, zeta potential, refractive index, and viscosity. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to visualize morphological behavior. The treated-water was analyzed for ERN by the spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray analysis mode (SEM-EDX), and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) techniques. We studied factors (composition, size, viscosity, and time of exposure) affecting removal efficiency (%RE). The obtained green nanoemulsions (ENE1-ENE5) were stable and clear (<180 nm). ENE5 had the smallest size (58 nm), a low polydispersity index value (0.19), optimal viscosity (∼121.7 cP), and a high negative zeta potential value (-25.4 mV). A high %RE value (98.8%) was achieved with a reduced size, a high water amount, a low Capryol 90 content, and optimal viscosity as evidenced by the obtained results. Moreover, contact time had insignificant effect on %RE. UV-vis spectroscopy, SEM-EDX, and ICP-OES confirmed the absence of ERN from the treated water. Conclusively, ERN can easily be removed from polluted water employing green nanoemulsions prepared from the optimized excipients, and evaluated characteristics.

The influence of sunitinib and sorafenib, two tyrosine kinase inhibitors, on development and thyroid system in zebrafish larvae

Recently, the potential toxic effects of various pharmaceuticals on the thyroid endocrine system have raised considerable concerns. In this study, we evaluated the adverse effects of sorafenib and sunitinib, two widely used anti-tumor drugs, on the developmental toxicities and thyroid endocrine disruption by using zebrafish (Danio rerio) model. Zebrafish embryos/larvae were exposed to different contentions (0, 10, 50 and 100 nM) of sorafenib and sunitinib for 96 hpf. The results revealed that waterborne exposure to sorafenib and sunitinib exhibited remarkable toxic effects on the survival and development in zebrafish embryos/larvae, which was accompanied by obvious disturbances of thyroid endocrine system (e.g., decreased T3 and T4 content, increased TSH content) and genes' transcription changes within the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis. In addition, we verified a strikingly abnormal thyroid gland organogenesis in zebrafish larvae in response to sorafenib and sunitinib, by assessing the development of thyroid follicles using the WISH staining of tg, the Tg (tg:GFP) zebrafish transgenic line, and histopathological analysis. Taken together, our results indicated sorafenib and sunitinib exposure could induce obvious developmental toxicities and thyroid function disruption in zebrafish embryos/larvae, which might involve a regulatory mechanism, at least in part, by destroying the thyroid follicle structure, and by disturbing the balance of the HPT axis.

Application of green nanoemulsion to treat contaminated water (bulk aqueous solution) with azithromycin

The present work aimed to remove azithromycin (AZM) from the contaminated aqueous system using a water/ethanol/transcutol/Capryol-90 green nanoemulsion. The drug is identified as a potential pharmaceutical contaminant detrimental for flora and fauna of aquatic lives as well as human health. Green nanoemulsions were tailored and characterized for thermodynamic stability, size, polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential, viscosity, refractive index (RI), and morphological assessment using a transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Moreover, nanoemulsions were investigated for percent removal efficiency (%RE) and factors affecting percent removal efficiency (%RE). The results suggested that the developed green nanoemulsions (ANE1-ANE5) were transparent (˂ 200 nm) and stable. ANE5 exhibited the lowest value of globular size (49 nm), PDI (0.17), viscosity (~ 93 cP), and optimum zeta potential (-27.8 mV). The value of %RE depended upon the content of water and Capryol-90 of the nanoemulsion. Furthermore, the value of %RE was found to be increased with increased content of water, whereas this was decreased on increasing the Capryol-90 content in the nanoemulsions. Similarly, on decreasing the values of size and viscosity, the %RE values were observed to be increased. There was insignificant impact of the duration of exposure time on %RE. Thus, the maximum %RE value (96.8%) was obtained by ANE5 from the aqueous solution after 20 min of contact time with ANE5. Thus, this method could be a promising approach to remove AZM from the contaminated water and serve as an alternative to conventional methods.