The Fabrication of Polymer-Based Curcumin-Loaded Formulation as a Drug Delivery System: An Updated Review from 2017 to the Present

Vibration-assisted Microbead Production: A New Frontier for Biocompatible Surfaces

The encapsulation of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in microbeads is an essential step in drug delivery; however, it is also inherently associated with the need to control particle size and drug release profiles. Nevertheless, most conventional methods of microencapsulation fail to provide consistent results. A new method called vibration-assisted microbead coating is a novel unified technique utilizing mechanical vibrations to enable the controlled, uniform coating of microbeads on APIs. This chapter discusses the technology of vibration-assisted encapsulation performed by the authors through microbead formation and the physical activity of coating APIs. This chapter focuses on achieving uniform control of the final coated surface of the API, microbead shape, size, and loading through vibration parameters. Additionally, this chapter discusses the biocompatibility and stability of the final coated surface. This new means of encapsulation has high potential for drug delivery. This method reduces most of the traditional challenges of encapsulation, if not eliminates them, and is more reliable. Based on the abovementioned findings, the authors propose the following main areas for their further work: optimisation of vibration parameters for various APIs, research into the long-term stability of the loading–release profile, and possible use of the technique in targeted drug delivery.

Improving curcumin bioavailability: Targeted delivery of curcumin and loading systems in intestinal inflammation

Curcumin is a natural food ingredient and has the potential to alleviate inflammation and combat cancer. The incidence of intestinal inflammation has been increasing and poses a severe risk to human health. Due to low absorption and bioavailability, curcumin's anti-inflammatory ability is ineffective. To improve the bioavailability of curcumin, descriptions of the intestinal barrier, signaling pathways, and transport mechanisms are reviewed. Blocking the signaling pathways lowers the number of inflammatory cytokines produced, which is the primary mechanism by which curcumin relieves inflammatory symptoms. The bioavailability of curcumin is not only related to physicochemical properties but also to the nature of the carrier material. Environmental indicators also have an impact on the improvement of curcumin bioavailability in applications. There is a need to develop multifunctional and more stable nanomaterial targeting systems to improve curcumin bioavailability and achieve better results in nanotechnology research and targeted inflammation therapy.

A Review of Recent Curcumin Analogues and Their Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, and Anticancer Activities

Curcumin, as the main active component of turmeric (Curcuma longa), has been demonstrated with various bioactivities. However, its potential therapeutic applications are hindered by challenges such as poor solubility and bioavailability, rapid metabolism, and pan-assay interference properties. Recent advancements have aimed to overcome these limitations by developing novel curcumin analogues and modifications. This brief review critically assesses recent studies on synthesising different curcumin analogues, including metal complexes, nano particulates, and other curcumin derivatives, focused on the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects of curcumin and its modified analogues. Exploring innovative curcumin derivatives offers promising strategies to address the challenges associated with its bioavailability and efficacy and valuable insights for future research directions.

Phytocompounds and Nanoformulations for Anticancer Therapy: A Review

Cancer is a complex disease that affects millions of people and remains a major public health problem worldwide. Conventional cancer treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy, have limited achievements and multiple drawbacks, among which are healthy tissue damage and multidrug-resistant phenotype onset. Increasing evidence shows that many plants' natural products, as well as their bioactive compounds, have promising anticancer activity and exhibit minimal toxicity compared to conventional anticancer drugs. However, their widespread use in cancer therapy is severely restricted by limitations in terms of their water solubility, absorption, lack of stability, bioavailability, and selective targeting. The use of nanoformulations for plants' natural product transportation and delivery could be helpful in overcoming these limitations, thus enhancing their therapeutic efficacy and providing the basis for improved anticancer treatment strategies. The present review is aimed at providing an update on some phytocompounds (curcumin, resveratrol, quercetin, and cannabinoids, among others) and their main nanoformulations showing antitumor activities, both in vitro and in vivo, against such different human cancer types as breast and colorectal cancer, lymphomas, malignant melanoma, glioblastoma multiforme, and osteosarcoma. The intracellular pathways underlying phytocompound anticancer activity and the main advantages of nanoformulation employment are also examined. Finally, this review critically analyzes the research gaps and limitations causing the limited success of phytocompounds' and nanoformulations' clinical translation.

A dataset of microstructure features of electro-hydrodynamic assisted 5-fluorouracil-grafted alginate microbeads and physicochemical properties for effective colon targeted carriers drug delivery

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) has been the primary drug used in chemotherapy for colorectal carcinoma, and localizing the drug would be effective in avoiding its side effects and improving therapeutic outcomes. One approach to achieve this is by encapsulating the drug in microbeads. Alginate microbeads, in particular, exhibit promising pH-sensitive properties, making them an attractive option for colon targeting. Thus, the main aim of this study is to formulate and characterize 5-FU-encapsulated alginate microbeads as a pH-sensitive drug delivery system for controlled release in the gastrointestinal tract. In this study, the alginate microbeads encapsulating 5-FU was manufactured using electrospray methods. This method offers the advantages of promoting the formulation of uniformly small-sized microbeads with improved performance in terms of swelling and diffusion rates. The size and shape of the 5-FU microbeads are 394.23 ± 3.077 µm and have a spherical factor of 0.026 ± 0.022, respectively, which are considered acceptable and indicative of a spherical shape. The microbeads' encapsulation efficiency was found to be 69.65 ± 0.18%, which is considered high in comparison to other literature. The attenuated total reflectance - Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) data confirmed the complexation of sodium alginate with calcium ions, along with the encapsulation of 5-FU in the microbeads matrix. The 5-FU microbeads displayed pH-dependent swelling, exhibiting less swelling in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) than in simulated intestinal fluid (SIF). Additionally, the release of 5-FU from the microbeads is pH-dependent, with the cumulative percentage drug release being higher in simulated intestinal fluid than in SGF. The data indicate that the 5-FU microbeads can be utilized for the delivery of 5-FU in colon-targeted therapy, potentially leading to improved tumor treatment.