Mangiferin glycethosomes as a new potential adjuvant for the treatment of psoriasis

Mangiferin, a natural compound isolated from Mangifera indica L, was incorporated in glycerosomes, ethosomes and alternatively in glycerol-ethanol phospholipid vesicles (glycethosomes). Actually, only glycethosomes were able to stably incorporate the mangiferin that was loaded at increasing concentrations (2, 4, 6, 8 mg/mL). The morphology, size distribution, rheological properties, surface charge and entrapment efficiency of prepared vesicles were deeply measured. All vesicles were mainly spherical, oligolamellar, small in size (~145 nm) and negatively charged (~-40 mV), as confirmed by cryo-TEM observation and dynamic laser light scattering measurements. The higher concentration of mangiferin (8 mg/mL) allowed an increase of vesicle mean diameter up to ~288 nm. The entrapment efficiency was inversely proportional to the amount of loaded mangiferin. In vitro studies performed by using human abdominal skin, underlined that, the dose-dependent ability of vesicles to promote mangiferin retention in epidermis. In addition, glycethosomes were highly biocompatible and showed a strong ability to protect in vitro the fibroblasts against damages induced by hydrogen peroxide. In vivo results underlined the superior ability of mangiferin loaded glycethosomes respect to the mangiferin dispersion to promote the heal of the wound induced by TPA, confirming their potential application for the treatment of psoriasis or other skin disorders.

A novel ultradeformable liposomes of Naringin for anti-inflammatory therapy

Ultradeformable liposomes were formulated using naringin (NA), a flavanone glycoside, at different concentrations (3, 6 and 9mg/mL). Nanovesicles were small size (∼100nm), regardless of the NA concentration used, and monodisperse (PI<0.30). All formulations showed a high entrapment efficiency (∼88%) and a highly negative zeta potential (around -30mV). The selected formulations were highly biocompatible as confirmed by in vitro studies using 3T3 fibroblasts. In vitro assay showed that the amounts (%) of NA accumulated in the epidermis (∼10%) could explain the anti-inflammatory properties of ultradeformable liposomes. In vivo studies confirmed the higher effectiveness of ultradeformable liposomes respect to betamethasone cream and NA dispersion in reducing skin inflammation in mice. Overall, it can conclude that NA ultradeformable liposomes can be considered as a promising formulation for the treatment of skin inflammatory diseases.

Polymer-doxycycline conjugates as fibril disrupters: an approach towards the treatment of a rare amyloidotic disease

The term amyloidosis describes neurological diseases where an abnormal protein is misfolded and accumulated as deposits in organs and tissues, known as amyloid, disrupting their normal function. In the most common familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP), transthyretin (TTR) displays this role primarily affecting the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Advanced stages of this inherited rare amyloidosis, present as fibril deposits that are responsible for disease progression. In order to stop disease progression, herein we designed an efficient family of nanoconjugates as fibril disrupters. These polymer conjugates are based on doxycycline (doxy), already in phase II trials for Alzheimer's disease, covalently linked to poly-l-glutamic acid (PGA). The conjugates were rationally designed, looking at drug loading and drug release rate by adequate linker design, always considering the physiological conditions at the molecular target site. Conjugation of doxycycline exhibited greater potential towards TTR fibril disaggregation in vitro compared to the parent drug. Exhaustive physico-chemical evaluation of these polymer-drug conjugates concluded that drug release was unnecessary for activity, highlighting the importance of an appropriate linker. Furthermore, biodistribution studies through optical imaging (OI) and the use of radiolabelled polymer-drug conjugates demonstrated conjugate safety profile and renal clearance route of the selected PGA-doxy candidate, settling the adequacy of our conjugate for future in vivo evaluation. Furthermore, preliminary studies in an FAP in vivo model at early stages of disease development showed non-organ toxicity evidences. This nanosized-system raises a promising treatment for advanced stages of this rare amyloidotic disease, and also presents a starting point for possible application within other amyloidosis-related diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease.