Current Drug Delivery - Volume 15, Issue 3, 2018

Background: To treat cancer, chemotherapy is a key therapeutic approach which is associated with several limitations. This chemotherapeutical agent exhibits multi drug resistance coupled with undesirable side effects. This multidrug resistance is exhibited by tumor cell due to actuation of drug out flow mechanism, programmed cell death and protection mechanisms etc. One of the therapeutic approaches to cure cancer is RNA interference (RNAi). Small interfering RNA (si-RNA) is considered as a major therapeutic tool used to control expression of a particular gene. It is a well known fact that intake of more drugs can lead to cancer chemo resistance, thus siRNA based therapeutic approach is under scrutiny to cure cancer. Methods: This review article gives an overview of various combination approaches for si-RNA with chemotherapeutics. Further, article highlights the potential of nanotechnology to improve bioavailability of drug and bio-therapeutics at the site of action. Results: Combination chemotherapy is employed in clinics as a main cancer treatment tool to suppress multidrug resistance in cancer. On the other hand, suitable protective carrier is needed due to the stability issues and small size of si-RNA. To overcome these drawbacks associated with siRNA currently, nanotechnology based approaches have been widely used. Conclusion: Delivery of anti-cancer drugs with si-RNA will be one of important intermingled approach to reduce duration of chemotherapy and improve therapeutic outcomes in cancer patient.

Background: Tuberculosis is an infection and caused by gentle growing bacteria. The Internet provides opportunities for people with tuberculosis (TB) to connect with one another to address these challenges. Objective: The aim of this paper is to introduce readers to the platforms on which Tuberculosis participants interact, to discuss reasons for and risks associated with TB-related activity, and to review research related to the potential impact of individual participation on TB outcomes. Methods: Research and online content related to Tuberculosis online activity is reviewed, however, the difficulty in accurate prescribing and adhering to these protocols and the emergence of M. tuberculosis strains resistant to multiple drugs and drug-drug interactions that interfere with optimal treatment of Tuberculosis and co-infected patients with the different disease has generated a pressing need for improved Tuberculosis therapies. Results: Together with the ominous global burden of Tuberculosis, those shortcomings of current medication have contributed to a renewed interest in the development of improved drugs and protocols for the medication of Tuberculosis. This article features obstacles related with the enhanced utilization of existing drugs and difficulties related with the advancement of enhanced products, concentrating on perspectives characteristic in Tuberculosis drug clinical improvement. The participation includes peer support, advocacy, self-expression, seeking and sharing TB information, improving approaches to Tuberculosis data management, and humour. Conclusion: This article highlights hurdles related to the optimised use of existing drugs and challenges related to the development of improved products, focusing on aspects inherent in Tuberculosis drug clinical development. Concluding comments offer processes for more efficient development of Tuberculosis therapies and increase the quality of life.

Background: Oral immunization has numerous advantages over parenteral administrations. In addition to ease administration, more effective pathogen elimination on the mucosa before spreading into the blood circulation, constitutes the main benefit. This is particularly true for pathogens that enter the body through the oral route. On the other hand, it is the most challenging administration route for peptides, proteins and recombinant antigens due to gastrointestinal (GI) tract, numerous barriers including the harsh environment and the inherent weak immunogenicity. In addition to the adjuvant properties, polymeric particles arise as the most promising strategy to overcome poor antigen bioavailability/ stability upon oral administration. The Peyer's patches have been considered an important structure of the gut associate lymphoid tissue (GALT) for the initiation of the immune response towards particulate oral antigens. Objective: The transport mechanism of both, nano and microparticles across intestinal mucosa, particularly throughout Peyer's patches, is discussed in this review. Conclusion: We provide a short and concise update (last decade) focused on the importance of particle physicochemical properties, M-cell ligands and size-dependent transport and intracellular fate concerning Peyer's patches targeted oral vaccination.

Bckground: One of the major challenges of biopharmaceuticals having short plasma half-life is that daily high dose injections are needed which can lead to economic burden, patient inconvenience and undesirable side effects. Increasing the hydrodynamic volume beyond the pore size of the glomerular basal membrane is a viable approach to increase the size of small biopharmaceuticals with short half-life in blood circulation. Objectives: PASylation technology is based on the genetic fusion of biopharmaceuticals with a hydrophilic random coil sequence of proline (Pro), alanine (Ala), and serine (Ser) amino acids. Method: In this review, we focus on PASylation technology as a novel method to enhance the pharmacokinetic (PK) properties of biopharmaceuticals. Results: PASylated biopharmaceuticals are suitable for the production in Escherichia coli (E.coli) as well as eukaryotic expression systems like yeast, HEK or CHO cells and comprise a homogeneous PAS sequence with exact length.We explain the general concept of PASylation, its development; advantages compared to other PK modifying technologies and describe furthermore the pharmacodynamic (PD) and PK properties of several PAS-fusion proteins in preclinical studies. Conclusion: The biodegradable PAS sequence was already used for prolonging plasma half-life of clinical important agents such as antibody fragments, cytokines, enzymes and receptor-binding peptides.

Background: Alendronate sodium (ALD) is used orally but it is poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. For this reason, microemulsion system was chosen to evaluate ALD from the GI tract after oral delivery. Objective: This study was aimed to prepare water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsion formulation of ALD and evaluate the permeability of ALD microemulsion from Caco-2 cell lines with radioactive and nonradioactive studies. Method: The ALD microemulsion was developed by using pseudo-ternary phase diagram and composed of Soybean oil, Colliphor EL, Tween 80, Transcutol and distilled water. The prepared ALD microemulsion was characterized by physical appearance, droplet size, viscosity, pH, electrical conductivity and refractive index. The stability of the formulation was investigated for 6 months at 25±2°C/60±5% of relative humidity (RH) as well as at 40±2°C/75±5% RH. After that 1 mg of ALD was radiolabeled with 99mTc and added to microemulsion. The permeability studies were performed with both 99mTc-ALD microemulsion and ALD microemulsion. Results: The experimental results suggested that ALD microemulsion presented adequate stability with droplet size varying from 37.8±0.9 to 39.9±1.2 nm during incubation time. In addition, ALD microemulsion was radiolabeled with high labeling efficiency (>95%). In a non-radioactive study, ALD permeability was found to be 45 μg.mL-1 and microemulsion has high permeability percentage when compared to another study. Conclusion: The novel w/o microemulsion formulation has been developed for oral delivery of ALD. Based on the results, permeability of ALD could be significantly improved by the microemulsion formulation. In addition, 99mTc-ALD microemulsion in capsule can be used for bone disease treatment and diagnosis.

Objective: It was the aim of this study to evaluate the impact of nonionic and ionic surfactants on skin penetration of dexpanthenol. Methods: The relative potency of three surfactants (two nonionic and one ionic) as enhancers in the permeability of a series of compounds was investigated. The influence of the enhancers was also studied. For this purpose, porcine abdominal skin was prepared and mounted on Franz diffusion cells, while different mixtures of Dexpanthenol containing Tween®85, SDS and Span®80 in concentrations of 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 5% (m/V) were evaluated in terms of their permeation enhancing effect. The amount of permeated drug was determined via HPLC analysis. Moreover, the cytotoxicity and skin irritating effect of the compounds were tested on Caco-2 cells. Results: The cytotoxicity profile of Dexpanthenol showed no toxicity to the cells over 1 and 3 h of incubation. The permeation was evaluated over a time period of 180 min, whereas a ranking of SDS> Span>Tween could be determined as permeation enhancer. Conclusion: Taking these findings into consideration, concentration of 1% (w/w) surfactant showed the most promising results. The increase in flux based on low concentrations of enhancer was ascribed to their ability to reduce skin´s barrier and improve drug permeation. The results showed that the nature of enhancer greatly impacts cutaneous barrier impairment.

Background: Use of topical or transdermal administration of Celecoxib (Cxb) is an interesting strategy in cutaneous treatments since it reduces or avoids side effects of the oral route. However, Cxb´s high lipophilicity and the stratum corneum (SC) barrier impair cutaneous penetration. Objective: Evaluation of copaiba oil (C.O) as a potential skin penetration enhancer (P.E) for Cxb. Methods: The chemical composition of C.O was evaluated by GC-MS. Both in-vitro release and permeability assay of Cxb in Polyethylene glycol 400/ propylene glycol (PEG 400/PG) vehicle associated to C.O (1-50% w/w) were determined in a modified diffusion cell fitted with a synthetic hydrophobic membrane and pig ear skin as model, respectively. Results: GC-MS analysis of C.O showed that it is composed of sesquiterpenes (68.65%) and diterpenes (22.26%). Formulations containing 25% C.O (F4) and 50% C.O (F5) have shown in-vitro burst release in the first 2 h, but only F4 released 100% of drug after 24 h. The highest Cxb permeation across skin was obtained from F4 and the highest skin retentions for F4 and F5 in the stratum corneum and epidermis plus dermis. Conclusion: The increased Cxb permeability through skin and its retention for an extended time (24h) at 25% C.O suggest that it could be a promising adjuvant for the development of transdermal formulations of Cxb.

Background: Polysaccharide based delivery systems have been successfully used to target drugs to colon. In some recent reports, the superiority of concomitant administration of probiotics with such systems has been established. However, the pharmacokinetics of such symbiotic therapy remain unexplored hitherto. Methods: This study deciphers the pharmacokinetic parameters of guar gum based colon targeted spheroids of sulfasalazine with co-administration of probiotics in experimental rats. Thirty rats were divided into five groups using Latin square design. These were subjected to treatment with delayed release formulation, uncoated spheroids, coated spheroid and coated spheroids along with probiotics. Results: In case of delayed release formulation, negligible presence of sulfasalazine in plasma was observed in first 2h, followed by significant increase in sulfasalazine concentration after 3h. Higher plasma concentrations of sulfasalazine were detected for uncoated spheroids with and without probiotics. Negligible release of drug upto 5h and delayed Tmax in case of guar-gum coated sulfasalazine spheroids with or without probiotics clearly indicated successful formulation of colon targeted spheroids. Further, for coated spheroids (both with and without probiotics), the value of Tmax is found to be significantly higher than those with the other treatments. Conclusion: Colon targeted spheroids were therefore, found to reduce absorption of drug which, in turn, is expected to reduce the side effects as only local action in colon is required for treatment of colitis. This is the first report on pharmacokinetic study of a colon targeted delivery system co-administered with probiotics.

Background: Bupivacaine is the most used local anesthetic in surgical procedures, producing prolonged anesthesia. The major limiting factor for the clinical use of bupivacaine comes from its systemic toxicity. Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) are vehicles for sustained drug delivery that are able to minimize the toxicity and to increase the action time of lipophilic drugs. Methods: This work reports a 22 factorial design, which elucidates the role of the lipids mixture in the NLC, towards an optimized formulation. It also provides a new method for bupivacaine S75:R25 (BVCS75) quantification in NLC. Moreover, physicochemical stability studies on the prepared NLC formulations were carried out by monitoring particle size, polydispersity, Zeta potential and BVCS75 encapsulation efficiency for 90 days, at 25°C. Results: The factorial design showed that the liquid lipid Capryol 90® has a negative effect over particle size and PDI values while cetyl palmitate presented a positive effect in size. The analytical method was accurate, reproducible, specific and linear over the concentration range of 0.16-54.00 μg.mL-1 BVCS75 with limits of quantification and detection of 0.10 and 0.03 μg.mL-1, respectively. The validated method was used to quantify the BVCS75 encapsulation (55.5 ±2.8 %). Encapsulation did not affect the nanoparticles morphology (confirmed by Transmission Electron Microscopy), but increased their Zeta potential (from -15.7 to -37.0 mV). The NLC physical stability was maintained (particles: size < 170 nm, polydispersity <0.16, and number = 8.85 ±0.11 x 1013 particles.mL-1) during storage. Conclusion: These results support further investigations on the use of BVCS75-in-NLC formulation for surgical anesthesia, aiming the development of a potent and less toxic nanostructured lipid carrier formulation for BVCS75.

Background: The conventional acyclovir topical therapy has a low efficacy, due to the lack of penetration of a sufficient amount of drug to the target site. Objective: The aim of this work was to formulate and optimize organogel containing acyclovir to enhance the penetration and retention time of acyclovir in the basal epidermis, site of Herpes simplex virus infections. Methods: Microemulsion based organogel containing acyclovir was developed using the combination of surfactants, polar and nonpolar solvents. To investigate the microemulsion and gelling region, titration was carried out and pseudoternary phase diagram was constructed. The formulation was optimized by using 3-factor, 3-level, Box-Behnken design. Response surface plots were constructed for various response variables, viz. % drug permeation, viscosity and spreadability. The optimized formulation was searched utilizing overlay plots and desirability of the response. The optimized formulation was further characterized for microscopy, pH, ex-vivo permeation etc. Ex-vivo skin permeation showed first order drug diffusion through the skin and was found being stable upto 8 hrs. Results: In case of developed organogel formulation, significantly higher amount of acyclovir was observed to be retained in the skin, as compared to retention observed with the conventional cream. Conclusion: The results show that the ACV organogel penetrates into the skin and form the reservoir that can slowly release the drug for a longer period and may control viral growth more effectively.

Background: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive disease associated with poor prognosis and lack of validated targeted therapy. Thus chemotherapy is a main adjuvant treatment for TNBC patients, but it associates with severe toxicities. For a better treatment outcome, we developed an alternative therapeutic, doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded micelles targeting human mucin1 protein (MUC1) that is less toxic, more effective and targeted to TNBC. Methods: From many candidate peptides, QNDRHPR-GGGSK (QND) and HSQLPQV-GGGSK (HSQ) were identified computationally, synthesized and purified using solid phase peptide synthesis and semipreparative HPLC. The peptides showed significant high binding to MUC1 expressing cells using a fluorescent microscope. The peptides were then conjugated on pegylated octadecyl lithocholate copolymer. DOX-encapsulated micelles were formed through self-assembly. MUC1-targeted micelles were characterized using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Drug entrapment efficiency was examined using a microplate reader. Cytotoxicity, binding, and uptake were also investigated. Results: Two types of DOX-loaded micelles with different targeting peptides, QND or HSQ, were developed. DOX-loaded micelles were spherical in shape with average particle size around 300-320 nm. Drug entrapment efficiency of untargeted and targeted DOX micelles was about 71-93%. Targeted QND-DOX and HSQ-DOX micelles exhibited significantly higher cytotoxicity compared to free DOX and untargeted DOX micelles on BT549-Luc cells. In addition, significantly greater binding and uptake were observed for QND-DOX and HSQ-DOX micelles on BT549-Luc and T47D cells. Conclusion: Taken together, these results suggested that QND-DOX and HSQ-DOX micelles have a potential application in the treatment of TNBC-expressing MUC1.

Introduction: In the past few years, the use of antimicrobial drugs against a wide range of pathogens has increased significantly. This extensive use of drugs has increased the resistance rate in microbial community widely. Molecular techniques for the detection of resistance are more reliable as compared to the conventional phenotypic method. Background: The family Enterobacteriaceae is considered to be an important cause of nosocomial infections due to its predominantly active species such as E. coli, Klebsiella and Pseudomonas. These organisms are mainly involved in causing pneumonia, sepsis, post-surgical and urinary tract infections. Resistance against antimicrobial drugs among these isolates is increasing more rapidly all over the world. This study primarily focuses on the resistant isolates of Klebsiella species. The drug resistance in Klebsiella isolates is found to be associated with the production of resistance enzymes such as beta lactamase and extended spectrum beta lactamase (ESBLs) which confer resistance, most specifically against cephalosporins and extended spectrum cephalosporins. Since these enzymes are plasmid mediated, they can also produce resistance against several other antimicrobials. It has been found that among the genus Klebsiella, ESBLs are more prevalent in K. pneumoniae followed by K. oxytoca. Methods: In this study, we estimated the distribution of ESBL producers among Klebsiella species and performed their genetic characterization. A total of 236 gram-negative isolates were collected from different microbiological laboratories, during the period January 2010 till January 2012. Among these gram-negative isolates, 125 were identified as Klebsiella species. After species identification, Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method was used for antimicrobial susceptibility profiling. Furthermore, the phenotypic detection of ESBL producers was performed by double disc synergy and combination disc methods. Resistance genes responsible for the production of beta lactamase and extended spectrum beta lactamase enzymes were detected by Polymerase chain reaction. DNA sequencing was performed by selecting an ESBL producing Klebsiella pneumoniae strain with a positive blaTEM gene. Results: In this study, we found 48%, 43.2% and 2.4% of SHV, TEM, and CTX-M resistance genes respectively in Klebsiella isolates. The DNA sequence ESBL and blaTEM positive Klebsiella strain showed 94% similarity with Klebsiella pneumoniae KUN5033 blaTEM gene for class A beta-lactamase TEM-198 analyzed by the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST). Conclusion: Since there is an intense need of research in the field of drug resistance for implementing strict antibiotic control policies in hospitals, health care centers, laboratories, etc., the present study is dedicatedly conducted to estimate the drug resistant Klebsiella isolates, specifically the Beta lactamase and Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamase producers, at molecular level.

Background: Ethosomes, a novel type of percutaneous drug delivery carrier with a lipid bilayer structure, penetrate the skin barrier due to their deformability and malleability, and presence of ethanol that fluidizes lipids in the skin. In order to further enhance the delivery of drugs through the skin, penetration enhancers are widely used. Objective: The objective of this work was to develop an optimized formulation of lornoxicam ethosomal gels, investigate skin permeability with the addition of penetration enhancers, and evaluate the invivo pharmacodynamics of these formulations. Methods: Lornoxicam ethosomes were prepared by the ethanol injection method and optimized using the orthogonal design method. Lornoxicam ethosomal gels with enhancers were prepared and optimized using in-vitro transdermal delivery experiments. Experiments on lornoxicam ethosomal gels containing various enhancers such as azone, menthol, lauryl alcohol, and oleic acid were conducted using vertical Franz diffusion cells to measure the percutaneous permeability of the different formulations. Furthermore, the in-vivo analgesic effects of the optimized lornoxicam ethosomal gels were examined using the hot-plate and acetic acid-induced writhing tests. Anti-inflammatory activity was investigated using the dimethylbenzene-induced mouse ear swelling method. Results: The results showed that compared to other formulations, the optimized lornoxicam ethosomal gels with 5 % menthol significantly increased transdermal penetration. Meanwhile, the optimized lornoxicam ethosomal gels showed remarkably anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory activity compared with the plain lornoxicam gels. Conclusion: These results suggest that the optimized ethosomal gel formulated in this study is a promising lornoxicam carrier in transdermal delivery systems to enhance anti-nociceptive and antiinflammatory efficiency.

Background: Frovatriptan is a potent anti-migraine agent with unfavourable slow onset of action, available on the market as film-coated tablets. Objective: Optimization, by Quality by Designs strategies, of an orally disintegrating tablet (ODT) formulation of frovatriptan aimed to make its oral administration easier and its dissolution faster than the commercial tablets, thus improving its effectiveness in migraine management. Method: A screening D-optimal design was applied to investigate the effects of different levels of kind and amount of ODT special excipient and disintegrant agents (identified as the critical variables) on disintegration time (DT) and % drug dissolved at 30 s (%Diss), selected as the responses to optimize. The best excipients combination, emerged by the screening step, was in-depth investigated by a Response Surface Methodology. Results: A design space was defined where every combination of the selected variables fulfilled the required values for the responses with P ≥ 95%. In particular, the optimized formulation (Pharmaburst® 60% and Na alginate 15%), showed DT = 1.62±0.08 s and %Diss= 9.02±0.47%, with good agreement between measured and calculated values. Moreover, the developed ODT complied with the USP uniformity weight and drug content requirements, exhibited proper hardness and low friability, and provided 100 % dissolved drug within 5 min. Conclusion: A frovatriptan ODT formulation was successfully developed by Quality by Design. It represents an effective alternative to conventional tablets, allowing easier oral administration (also to paediatric and geriatric people) and very faster drug dissolution, enhancing patient compliance and facilitating an earlier treatment of migraine attacks.