Nano delivery systems to the rescue of ciprofloxacin against resistant bacteria "E. coli; P. aeruginosa; Saureus; and MRSA" and their infections

Ciprofloxacin (CIP) a broad-spectrum antibiotic, is used extensively for the treatment of diverse infections and diseases of bacteria origin, and this includes infections caused by E. coli; P. aeruginosa; S. aureus; and MRSA. This extensive use of CIP has therefore led to an increase in resistance by these infection causing organisms. Nano delivery systems has recently proven to be a possible solution to resistance to these organisms. They have been applied as a strategy to improve the target specificity of CIP against infections and diseases caused by these organisms, thereby maximising the efficacy of CIP to overcome the resistance. Herein, we proffer a brief overview of the mechanisms of resistance; the causes of resistance; and the various approaches employed to overcome this resistance. The review then proceeds to critically evaluate various nano delivery systems including inorganic based nanoparticles; lipid-based nanoparticles; capsules, dendrimers, hydrogels, micelles, and polymeric nanoparticles; and others; that have been applied for the delivery of CIP against E. coli; P. aeruginosa; S. aureus; and MRSA infections. Finally, the review highlights future areas of research, for the optimisation of various nano delivery systems, to maximise the therapeutic efficacy of CIP against these organisms. This review confirms the potential of nano delivery systems, for addressing the challenges of resistance to caused by E. coli; P. aeruginosa; S. aureus; and MRSA to CIP.

Gather wisdom to overcome barriers: Well-designed nano-drug delivery systems for treating gliomas

Due to the special physiological and pathological characteristics of gliomas, most therapeutic drugs are prevented from entering the brain. To improve the poor prognosis of existing therapies, researchers have been continuously developing non-invasive methods to overcome barriers to gliomas therapy. Although these strategies can be used clinically to overcome the blood‒brain barrier (BBB), the accurate delivery of drugs to the glioma lesions cannot be ensured. Nano-drug delivery systems (NDDS) have been widely used for precise drug delivery. In recent years, researchers have gathered their wisdom to overcome barriers, so many well-designed NDDS have performed prominently in preclinical studies. These meticulous designs mainly include cascade passing through BBB and targeting to glioma lesions, drug release in response to the glioma microenvironment, biomimetic delivery systems based on endogenous cells/extracellular vesicles/protein, and carriers created according to the active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicines. We reviewed these well-designed NDDS in detail. Furthermore, we discussed the current ongoing and completed clinical trials of NDDS for gliomas therapy, and analyzed the challenges and trends faced by clinical translation of these well-designed NDDS.

Liposomal delivery systems and their applications against Staphylococcus aureus and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Liposomal delivery systems have been widely explored for targeting superbugs such as S. aureus and MRSA, overcoming antimicrobial resistance associated with conventional dosage forms. They have the significant advantage of delivering hydrophilic and lipophilic antimicrobial agents, either singularly as monotherapy or in combination as combination therapy, due to their bilayers with action-site-specificity, resulting in improved targeting compared to conventional dosage forms. Herein, we present an extensive and critical review of the different liposomal delivery systems employed in the past two decades for the delivery of both antibiotics of different classes and non-antibiotic antibacterial agents, as monotherapy and combination therapy to eradicate infections caused by S. aureus and MRSA. The review also identifies future research and strategies potentiating the applications of liposomal delivery systems against S. aureus and MRSA. This review confirms the potential application of liposomal delivery systems for effective delivery and specific targeting of S. aureus and MRSA infections.

The role of caveolin-1 in the biofate and efficacy of anti-tumor drugs and their nano-drug delivery systems

As one of the most important components of caveolae, caveolin-1 is involved in caveolae-mediated endocytosis and transcytosis pathways, and also plays a role in regulating the cell membrane cholesterol homeostasis and mediating signal transduction. In recent years, the relationship between the expression level of caveolin-1 in the tumor microenvironment and the prognostic effect of tumor treatment and drug treatment resistance has also been widely explored. In addition, the interplay between caveolin-1 and nano-drugs is bidirectional. Caveolin-1 could determine the intracellular biofate of specific nano-drugs, preventing from lysosomal degradation, and facilitate them penetrate into deeper site of tumors by transcytosis; while some nanocarriers could also affect caveolin-1 levels in tumor cells, thereby changing certain biophysical function of cells. This article reviews the role of caveolin-1 in tumor prognosis, chemotherapeutic drug resistance, antibody drug sensitivity, and nano-drug delivery, providing a reference for the further application of caveolin-1 in nano-drug delivery systems.

Quantitative analysis of drug delivery to the brain via nasal route

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) prevents drugs' permeability into the brain and limits the management of brain diseases. Intranasal delivery is a convenient route of drug administration that can bypass the BBB and lead to a direct delivery of the drug to the brain. Indeed, drug accumulation in the brain following intranasal application of a drug solution, or of a drug encapsulated in specialized delivery systems (DDSs), has been reported in numerous scientific publications. We aimed to analyze the available quantitative data on drug delivery to the brain via the nasal route and to reveal the efficiency of brain drug delivery and targeting by different types of nasally-administered DDSs. We searched for scientific publications published in 1970-2014 that reported delivery of drugs or model compounds to the brain via intranasal and parenteral routes, and contained quantitative data that were sufficient for calculation of brain targeting efficiency. We identified 73 publications (that reported data on 82 compounds) that matched the search criteria and analyzed their experimental settings, formulation types, analytical methods, and the claimed efficiencies of drug brain targeting: drug targeting efficiency (%DTE) and nose-to-brain direct transport (%DTP). Outcomes of this analysis indicate that efficiency of brain delivery by the nasal route differs widely between the studies, and does not correlate with the drug's physicochemical properties. Particle- and gel-based DDSs offer limited advantage for brain drug delivery in comparison to the intranasal administration of drug solution. Nevertheless, incorporation of specialized reagents (e.g., absorption enhancers, mucoadhesive compounds, targeting residues) can increase the efficiency of drug delivery to the brain via the nasal route. More elaborate and detailed methodological and analytical characterizations and standardized reporting of the experimental outcomes are required for reliable quantification of drug targeting to the brain by the nasal route. Quantitative analysis of these data will facilitate the development of DDSs with high brain targeting efficiency.