Current Drug Delivery - Volume 21, Issue 6, 2024

γ-Polyglutamic acid is a kind of biomaterial and environmentally friendly polymer material with the characteristics of water solubility and good biocompatibility. It has a wide range of applications in medicine, food, cosmetics and other fields. This article reviews the preparation, characterization and medical applications of γ-polyglutamic acid nanoparticles. Nanoparticles prepared by using γ- polyglutamic acid not only had the traditional advantages of enhancing drug stability and slow-release effect, but also were simple to prepare without any biological toxicity. The current methods of nanoparticle preparation mainly include the ion gel method and solvent exchange method, which use the total electrostatic force, van der Waals force, hydrophobic interaction force and hydrogen bond force between molecules to embed materials with different characteristics. At present, there are more and more studies on the use of γ-polyglutamic acid to encapsulate drugs, and the research on the mechanism of its encapsulation and sustained release has gradually matured. The development and application of polyglutamic acid nanoparticles have broad prospects.

The plateau is a typical extreme environment with low temperature, low oxygen and high ultraviolet rays. The integrity of the intestinal barrier is the basis for the functioning of the intestine, which plays an important role in absorbing nutrients, maintaining the balance of intestinal flora, and blocking the invasion of toxins. Currently, there is increasing evidence that high altitude environment can enhance intestinal permeability and disrupt intestinal barrier integrity. This article mainly focuses on the regulation of the expression of HIF and tight junction proteins in the high altitude environment, which promotes the release of pro-inflammatory factors, especially the imbalance of intestinal flora caused by the high altitude environment. The mechanism of intestinal barrier damage and the drugs to protect the intestinal barrier are reviewed. Studying the mechanism of intestinal barrier damage in high altitude environment is not only conducive to understanding the mechanism of high altitude environment affecting intestinal barrier function, but also provides a more scientific medicine treatment method for intestinal damage caused by the special high altitude environment.

A significant amount of research effort is currently focused on investigating the role of exosomes in various cancers. These tiny vesicles, apart from acting as biomarkers, also play a crucial role in tumor formation and development. Several studies have demonstrated that exosomes can be a drug delivery vehicle for cancer therapy. In this paper, we highlight the key advantages of exosomes as a drug delivery candidate, with a particular focus on their low immunogenicity, natural targeting ability and suitable mechanical properties. Furthermore, we propose that the selection of appropriate exosomes and drug loading methods based on therapeutic goals and product heterogeneity is essential for preparing engineered exosomes. We comprehensively analyzed the superiorities of current drug-loading methods to improve the creation of designed exosomes. Moreover, we systematically review the applications of engineered exosomes in various therapies such as immunotherapy, gene therapy, protein therapy, chemotherapy, indicating that engineered exosomes have the potential to be reliable and, safe drug carriers that can address the unmet needs in cancer clinical practice.

Despite the technological advancement in the era of personalized medicine and therapeutics development, infectious parasitic causative agents remain one of the most challenging areas of research and development. The disadvantages of conventional parasitic prevention and control are the emergence of multiple drug resistance as well as the non-specific targeting of intracellular parasites, which results in high dose concentration needs and subsequently intolerable cytotoxicity. Nanotechnology has attracted extensive interest to reduce medication therapy adverse effects including poor bioavailability and drug selectivity. Numerous nanomaterials-based delivery systems have previously been shown in animal models to be effective in the treatment of various parasitic infections. This review discusses a variety of nanomaterials-based antiparasitic procedures and techniques as well as the processes that allow them to be targeted to different parasitic infections. This review focuses on the key prerequisites for creating novel nanotechnology-based carriers as a potential option in parasite management, specifically in the context of human-related pathogenic parasitic agents.

Cancer is a diverse disease caused by transcriptional changes involving genetic and epigenetic features that influence a huge variety of genes and proteins. Skin cancer is a potentially fatal disease that affects equally men and women globally and is characterized by many molecular changes. Despite the availability of various improved approaches for detecting and treating skin cancer, it continues to be the leading cause of death throughout society. This review highlights a general overview of skin cancer, with an emphasis on epidemiology, types, risk factors, pathological and targeted facets, biomarkers and molecular markers, immunotherapy, and clinical updates of investigational drugs associated with skin cancer. The skin cancer challenges are acknowledged throughout this study, and the potential application of novel biomarkers of skin cancer formation, progression, metastasis, and prognosis is explored. Although the mechanism of skin carcinogenesis is currently poorly understood, multiple articles have shown that genetic and molecular changes are involved. Furthermore, several skin cancer risk factors are now recognized, allowing for efficient skin cancer prevention. There have been considerable improvements in the field of targeted treatment, and future research into additional targets will expand patients’ therapeutic choices. In comparison to earlier articles on the same issue, this review focused on molecular and genetic factors and examined various skin cancer-related factors in depth.

Drug discovery and development (DDD) is a highly complex process that necessitates precise monitoring and extensive data analysis at each stage. Furthermore, the DDD process is both timeconsuming and costly. To tackle these concerns, artificial intelligence (AI) technology can be used, which facilitates rapid and precise analysis of extensive datasets within a limited timeframe. The pathophysiology of cancer disease is complicated and requires extensive research for novel drug discovery and development. The first stage in the process of drug discovery and development involves identifying targets. Cell structure and molecular functioning are complex due to the vast number of molecules that function constantly, performing various roles. Furthermore, scientists are continually discovering novel cellular mechanisms and molecules, expanding the range of potential targets. Accurately identifying the correct target is a crucial step in the preparation of a treatment strategy. Various forms of AI, such as machine learning, neural-based learning, deep learning, and network-based learning, are currently being utilised in applications, online services, and databases. These technologies facilitate the identification and validation of targets, ultimately contributing to the success of projects. This review focuses on the different types and subcategories of AI databases utilised in the field of drug discovery and target identification for cancer.

Background: Due to the lifestyle of people in the community in recent years, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus has increased, so New drugs and related treatments are also being developed. Introduction: One of the essential treatments for diabetes today is injectable insulin forms, which have their problems and limitations, such as invasive and less admission of patients and high cost of production. According to the mentioned issues, Theoretically, Oral insulin forms can solve many problems of injectable forms. Methods: Many efforts have been made to design and introduce Oral delivery systems of insulin, such as lipid-based, synthetic polymer-based, and polysaccharide-based nano/microparticle formulations. The present study reviewed these novel formulations and strategies in the past five years and checked their properties and results. Results: According to peer-reviewed research, insulin-transporting particles may preserve insulin in the acidic and enzymatic medium and decrease peptide degradation; in fact, they could deliver appropriate insulin levels to the intestinal environment and then to blood. Some of the studied systems increase the permeability of insulin to the absorption membrane in cellular models. In most investigations, in vivo results revealed a lower ability of formulations to reduce BGL than subcutaneous form, despite promising results in in vitro and stability testing. Conclusion: Although taking insulin orally currently seems unfeasible, future systems may be able to overcome mentioned obstacles, making oral insulin delivery feasible and producing acceptable bioavailability and treatment effects in comparison to injection forms.

Background: Numerous pharmaceutical applications for chitosan, a polysaccharide made from the shells of crustaceans by deacetylating chitin that occurs naturally, are currently being researched. Chitosan, a natural polymer, is successfully used to prepare many drug-carrier systems, such as gel, film, nanoparticle, and wound dressing. Objective: Preparing chitosan gels without external crosslinkers is less toxic and environmentally friendly. Methods: Chitosan-based gels containing Helichrysum pamphylicum P.H. Davis & Kupicha methanolic extract (HP) were produced successfully. Results: The F9-HP coded gel prepared with high molecular weight chitosan was chosen as the optimum formulation in terms of pH and rheological properties. The amount of HP was found to be 98.83% ± 0.19 in the F9-HP coded formulation. The HP release from the F9-HP coded formula was determined to be slower and 9 hours prolonged release compared to pure HP. It was determined that HP release from F9-HP coded formulation with the DDSolver program was by anomalous (non-fickian) diffusion mechanism. The F9-HP coded formulation significantly showed DPPH free radical scavenger, ABTS•+ cation decolorizing and metal chelating antioxidant activity while weakly reducing antioxidant potential. According to the HET-CAM scores, strong anti-inflammatory activity was obtained by the F9-HP coded gel at a dose of 20 μg.embryo^-1(p<0.05 compared with SDS). Conclusion: In conclusion, it can be said that chitosan-based gels containing HP, which can be used in both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory treatment, were successfully formulated and characterized.