Current Issue : January - March Volume : 2019 Issue Number : 1 Articles : 5 Articles
Alginate (ALG) cross-linking by CaCl2 is a promising strategy to obtain modified-release\ndrug delivery systems with mucoadhesive properties. However, current technologies to produce\nCaCl2 cross-linked alginate microparticles possess major disadvantages, such as a poor encapsulation\nefficiency of water-soluble drugs and a difficulty in controlling the process. Hence, this study presents\na novel method that streamlines microparticle production by spray drying; a rapid, continuous,\nreproducible, and scalable technique enabling obtainment of a product with low moisture content,\nhigh drug loading, and a high production yield. To model a freely water-soluble drug, metformin\nhydrochloride (MF) was selected. It was observed that MF was successfully encapsulated in alginate\nmicroparticles cross-linked by CaCl2 using a one-step drying process. Modification of ALG provided\ndrug release prolongationâ??particles obtained from 2% ALG cross-linked by 0.1% CaCl2 with a\nprolonged MF rate of dissolution of up to 12 h. Cross-linking of the ALG microparticles structure by\nCaCl2 decreased the swelling ratio and improved the mucoadhesive properties which were evaluated\nusing porcine stomach mucosa....
In this study, we used sonophoresis and iontophoresis to enhance the in vitro\ndelivery of methotrexate through human cadaver skin. Iontophoresis was applied for 60 min\nat a 0.4 mA/sq·cm current density, while low-frequency sonophoresis was applied at a 20 kHz\nfrequency (2 min application, and 6.9 W/sq·cm intensity). The treated skin was characterized by dye\nbinding, transepidermal water loss, skin electrical resistance, and skin temperature measurement.\nBoth sonophoresis and iontophoresis resulted in a significant reduction in skin electrical resistance\nas well as a marked increase in transepidermal water loss value (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the rease\nin skin temperature (p < 0.05). In permeation studies, the use of iontophoresis led to a significantly\nhigher drug permeability than the untreated group (n = 4, p < 0.05). The skin became markedly\nmore permeable to methotrexate after the treatment by sonophoresis than by iontophoresis (p < 0.01).\nA synergistic effect for the combined application of sonophoresis and iontophoresis was also observed.\nDrug distribution in the skin layers revealed a significantly higher level of methotrexate in the\nsonicated skin than that in iontophoresis and untreated groups. Iontophoresis and low-frequency\nsonophoresis were found to enhance the transdermal and intradermal delivery of methotrexate\nin vitro....
Biodegradable poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(-lactic acid) (PEG-b-PLA) nanoparticles\n(NPs) were prepared by nanoprecipitation with controlled dimension and with different electric\ncharges, as monitored by dynamic light scattering (DLS). Then NPs were loaded within hydrogels\n(HG) developed for biomedical applications in the central nervous system, with different pore\nsizes (30 and 90 nm). The characteristics of the resulting composite hydrogel-NPs system were\nfirstly studied in terms of ability to control the release of small steric hindrance drug mimetic.\nThen, diffusion-controlled release of different charged NPs from different entangled hydrogels\nwas studied in vitro and correlated with NPs electric charges and hydrogel mean mesh size.\nThese studies showed different trends, that depend on NPs superficial charge and HG mesh size.\nRelease experiments and diffusion studies, then rationalized by mathematical modeling, allowed us\nto build different drug delivery devices that can satisfy different medical needs....
The aim of the present study was the development of a â??smart bandageâ? for the\ntopical administration of diclofenac, in the treatment of localized painful and inflammatory\nconditions, incorporating Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs) for the controlled release of this\nanti-inflammatory drug. For this purpose, MIP spherical particles were synthesized by precipitation\npolymerization, loaded with the therapeutic agent and incorporated into the bandage surface. Batch\nadsorption binding studies were performed to investigate the adsorption isotherms and kinetics\nand the selective recognition abilities of the synthesized MIP. In vitro diffusion studies were also\ncarried out using Franz cells and the obtained results were reported as percentage of the diffused\ndose, cumulative amount of diffused drug, steady-state drug flux and permeability coefficient.\nMoreover, the biocompatibility of the developed device was evaluated using the EPISKINâ?¢ model.\nThe Scatchard analysis indicated that the prepared MIP is characterized by the presence of specific\nbinding sites for diclofenac, which are not present in the corresponding non-imprinted polymer, and\nthe obtained results confirmed both the ability of the prepared bandage to prolong the drug release\nand the absence of skin irritation reactions. Therefore, these results support the potential application\nof the developed â??smart bandageâ? as topical device for diclofenac sustained release....
The effective chemotherapy treatment for liver cancer patients remains an urgent issue due to the difficulty in precisely delivering\ndrugs to the tumor site. The targeted delivery of drugs by nanoparticles is a promising strategy to address this problem. However,\nthe fabrication of drug targeted delivery nanosystem still remains a major challenge. In this study, a novel folic acid-functionalized\n(doxorubicin, DOX) DOX@ZIF-8 nanoparticles (DOX@ZIF-8-FA) were prepared as a liver cancer-targeted drug delivery system.\nThe delivery nanosystem exhibited a high drug loading capacity (15.7 wt%) and presented excellent drug-sustained release\nperformances and good pH-responsive properties. Compared with free DOX and DOX@ZIF-8 nanoparticles, the DOX@ZIF-8-\nFA nanoparticles displayed much higher anticancer efficiency in HepG2 cells, suggesting that the folic acid-functionalized\nDOX@ZIF-8 nanoparticles have promising applications in targeted treatment of cancer cells....
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