Investigation of the Potential of Nebivolol Hydrochloride-Loaded Chitosomal Systems for Tissue Regeneration: In Vitro Characterization and In Vivo Assessment

One Molecule, Many Faces: Repositioning Cardiovascular Agents for Advanced Wound Healing

Chronic wound treatments pose a challenge for healthcare worldwide, particularly for the people in developed countries. Chronic wounds significantly impair quality of life, especially among the elderly. Current research is devoted to novel approaches to wound care by repositioning cardiovascular agents for topical wound treatment. The emerging field of medicinal products' repurposing, which involves redirecting existing pharmaceuticals to new therapeutic uses, is a promising strategy. Recent studies suggest that medicinal products such as sartans, beta-blockers, and statins have unexplored potential, exhibiting multifaceted pharmacological properties that extend beyond their primary indications. The purpose of this review is to analyze the current state of knowledge on the repositioning of cardiovascular agents' use and their molecular mechanisms in the context of wound healing.

Pectin nanoparticles loaded with nitric oxide donor drug: A potential approach for tissue regeneration

The process of wound healing and tissue regeneration involves several key mechanisms to ensure the production of new tissues with similar cellular functions. This study investigates the impact of pectin, a natural polysaccharide, and nebivolol hydrochloride (NBV), a nitric oxide (NO) donor drug, on wound healing. Utilizing ionotropic gelation, NBV-loaded pectin nanoparticles were developed following a 2231 full factorial design. The optimized formulation, determined using Design expert® software, exhibited an encapsulation efficiency percentage of 70.68%, zeta potential of -51.4 mV, and a particle size of 572 nm, characterized by a spherical, discrete morphology. An in vivo study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the optimal formulation in wound healing compared to various controls. The results demonstrated the enhanced ability of the optimal formulation to accelerate wound healing. Moreover, histopathological examination further confirmed the formulation's benefits in tissue proliferation and collagen deposition at the wound site 15 days post-injury. This suggests that the developed formulation not only promotes faster healing but does so with minimal side effects, positioning it as a promising agent for effective wound healing and tissue regeneration.

Novel formulation of parthenolide-loaded liposome coated with chitosan and evaluation of its potential anticancer effects in vitro

BACKGROUND

In this study the formulation of parthenolide (PN), an anticancer agent extracted from a natural product, into a liposome (PN-liposome), was examined. The surface of the PN-liposome was modified using chitosan (PN-chitosome). By using real-time quantitative PCR and flow cytometry, we examined the release of PN-chitosomes, cytotoxicity, and ability to induce apoptosis in vitro.

METHODS AND RESULTS

According to the present study, PN-chitosomes had a size of 251 nm which is acceptable for efficient enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) performance. PN-chitosomes were confirmed to be spherical in shape and size through FESEM analysis. In terms of encapsulation efficiency, 94.5% was achieved. PN-chitosome possessed a zeta potential of 34.72 mV, which was suitable for its stability. According to the FTIR spectra of PN and PN-chitosome, PN was chemically stable due to the intermolecular interaction between the liposome and the drug. After 48 h, only 10% of the PN was released from the PN-chitosome in PBS (pH 7.4), and less than 20% was released after 144 h.

CONCLUSION

In a dose-dependent manner, PN-chitosome exhibited anticancer properties that were more cytotoxic against cancer cells than normal cells. Moreover, the formulation activated both the apoptosis pathway and cytotoxic genes in real-time qPCR experiments. According to the cytotoxicity and activating apoptosis of the prepared modified particle, PN-chitosome may be helpful in the treatment of cancer.

Nanosized ethosomal dispersions for enhanced transdermal delivery of nebivolol using intradermal/transfollicular sustained reservoir: in vitro evaluation, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and in vivo pharmacokinetic studies

Nebivolol (NBV), a BCS class II anti-hypertensive drug, suffers from limited solubility and oral bioavailability. Nanosized ethosomes were adopted as an approach to solubilize and deliver NBV transdermally, as a substitute to oral route. Ethosomal dispersions were prepared employing thin film hydration method. Formulation variables were adjusted to obtain entrapment efficiency; EE > 50%, particle size; PS < 100 nm, zeta potential; ZP > ±25 mV, and polydispersity index; PDI < 0.5. The optimized ethosomal dispersion (OED) showed accepted EE 86.46 ± 0.15%, PS 73.50 ± 0.08 nm, ZP 33.75 ± 1.20 mV, and PDI 0.31 ± 0.07. It also showed enhanced cumulative amount of NBV permeated at 8 h (Q8) 71.26 ± 1.46% and 24 h (Q24) 98.18 ± 1.02%. TEM images denoted spherical vesicles with light colored lipid bi-layer and dark core. Confocal laser scanning microscopy showed deeply localized intradermal and transfollicular permeation of the fluorolabelled OED (FL-OED). Nanosized FL-OED (<100 nm) can permeate through hair follicles creating a drug reservoir for enhanced systemic absorption. OED formulated into transdermal patch (OED-TP1) exhibited accepted physicochemical properties including; thickness 0.14 ± 0.01 mm, folding endurance 151 ± 0.07, surface pH 5.80 ± 0.15, drug content 98.64 ± 2.01%, mucoadhesion 8534 ± 0.03, Q8 87.61 ± 0.11%, and Q24 99.22 ± 0.24%. In vivo pharmacokinetic studies showed significantly enhanced bioavailability of OED-TP1 by 7.9 folds compared to oral Nevilob® tablets (p = 0.0002). It could be concluded that OED-TP1 can be a promising lipid nanocarrier TDDS for NBV and an efficacious alternative route of administration for hypertensive patients suffering from dysphagia.

Itraconazole-Loaded Ufasomes: Evaluation, Characterization, and Anti-Fungal Activity against Candida albicans

Numerous obstacles challenge the treatment of fungal infections, including the uprising resistance and the low penetration of available drugs. One of the main active agents against fungal infections is itraconazole (ITZ), with activity against a broad spectrum of fungi while having few side effects. The aim of this study was to design ufasomes, oleic acid-based colloidal carriers, that could encapsulate ITZ to improve its penetration power. Employing a 2²3¹ factorial design, the effect of three independent factors (oleic acid amount, cholesterol concentration, and ITZ amount) was investigated and evaluated for the percentage encapsulation efficiency (%EE), particle size (PS), and zeta potential (ZP). Optimization was performed using Design^® expert software and the optimized ITZ-loaded ufasomes obtained had %EE of 99.4 ± 0.7%, PS of 190 ± 1 nm, and ZP of -81.6 ± 0.4 mV, with spherical unilamellar morphology and no aggregation. An in vitro microbiological study was conducted to identify the minimum inhibitory concentration of the selected formula against Candida albicans, which was found to be 0.0625 μg/mL. Moreover, the optimized formula reduced the expression of toll-like receptors-4 and pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1β secretion in the C. albicans-infected fibroblasts, indicating that the proposed ITZ-loaded ufasomes are a promising drug delivery system for ITZ.

Fluoxetine hydrochloride loaded lipid polymer hybrid nanoparticles showed possible efficiency against SARS-CoV-2 infection

Up to date, there were no approved drugs against coronavirus (COVID-19) disease that dangerously affects global health and the economy. Repurposing the existing drugs would be a promising approach for COVID-19 management. The antidepressant drugs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) class, have antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and anticoagulant effects, which makes them auspicious drugs for COVID 19 treatment. Therefore, this study aimed to predict the possible therapeutic activity of SSRIs against COVID-19. Firstly, molecular docking studies were performed to hypothesize the possible interaction of SSRIs to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) main protease. Secondly, the candidate drug was loaded in lipid polymer hybrid (LPH) nanoparticles to enhance its activity. The studied SSRIs were Fluoxetine hydrochloride (FH), Atomoxteine, Paroxetine, Nisoxteine, Repoxteine RR, and Repoxteine SS. Interestingly, FH could effectively bind with SARS-COV-2 main protease via hydrogen bond formation with low binding energy (-6.7 kcal/mol). Moreover, the optimization of FH-LPH formulation achieved 65.1 ± 2.7% encapsulation efficiency, 10.3 ± 0.4% loading efficiency, 98.5 ± 3.5 nm particle size, and −10.5 ± 0.45 mV zeta potential. Additionally, it improved cellular internalization in a time-dependent manner with good biocompatibility on Human lung fibroblast (CCD-19Lu) cells. Therefore, the study suggested the potential activity of FH-LPH nanoparticles against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Implementing Spanlastics for Improving the Ocular Delivery of Clotrimazole: In vitro Characterization, Ex vivo Permeability, Microbiological Assessment and In vivo Safety Study

Purpose

The aim of this study was to encapsulate clotrimazole (CLT), an antifungal drug with poor water solubility characteristics, into spanlastics (SPs) to provide a controlled ocular delivery of the drug.

Methods

Span 60 was used in the formulation of SPs with Tween 80, Pluronic F127, or Kolliphor RH40 as an edge activator (EA). The presence of EA offers more elasticity to the membrane of the vesicles which is expected to increase the corneal permeation of CLT. SPs were prepared using ethanol injection method applying 3² complete factorial design to study the effect of formulation variables (ratio of Span 60: EA (w/w) and type of EA) on SPs characteristics (encapsulation efficiency percent (EE%), average vesicle size (VS), polydispersity index (PDI) and zeta potential (ZP)). Design-Expert software was used to determine the optimum formulation for further investigations.

Results

The optimum formulation determined was S1, which contains 20 mg of Tween 80 used as an EA and 80 mg of Span 60. S1 exhibited EE% = 66.54 ± 7.57%, VS = 206.20 ± 4.95 nm, PDI = 0.39 ± 0.00 and ZP = −29.60 ± 0.99 mV. S1 showed highly elastic sphere-shaped vesicles. Furthermore, S1 displayed a sustained release profile and a higher ex vivo permeation across rabbit cornea relative to CLT suspension. Also, S1 revealed superior inhibition of Candida albicans development compared to CLT suspension applying 2,3-bis(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide (XTT) reduction technique. Moreover, in vivo histopathological examination assured the safety of S1 after ophthalmic application in mature male albino rabbits.

Conclusion

Overall, the outcomes revealed the marked efficacy of SPs for ocular delivery of CLT.