Current Nanomedicine - Volume 10, Issue 4, 2020

Nanostructured Lipid Carriers (NLCs) are second generation solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) comprising of biocompatible solid-lipid and liquid-lipid along with an emulsifier. It exhibits superiority over conventional colloidal delivery systems in terms of enhanced drug loading, improved storage stability, increased biocompatibility and bioavailability, which allows researchers to explore their utility as delivery systems for proteins and small molecules. This review aims at discussing NLCs in-depth with regards to their application as drug delivery vehicles. A comprehensive discussion about the structural make-up, production techniques, and physico-chemical characterization have been elaborated along with an emphasis on various routes of administration for NLC delivery like ocular, pulmonary, oral, parenteral, and topical. This review also sheds light on the utility of NLCs in the field of cosmeceutical and herbal therapies. All summarized information in this extensive review exemplifies assurance for NLCs to be used as novel therapeutics for multiple disorders and highlights the versatility of the carrier system in pharmaceutical technology.

Hydrogels are a class of biomaterial that can “take in” large quantities of aqueous media and swells many times larger than its original size without dissolving in the media. SPHs are a new generation of hydrogels containing a 3D network of cross-linked polymers having pore size more than 100 μm as compared to 10 nm to 10 μm pores of conventional gels. These are more complex in nature than conventional hydrogels and prepared by using a suitable blend of monomers and different additives. SPHs have been extensively employed in sustained and control drug delivery systems along with many recent biomedical applications such as in tissue engineering, immunotherapy, arthritis and ophthalmic drug delivery. Scientists are constantly working on improving the features and properties of SPHs to enable them more suitable for therapeutic and biomedical applications. The present study briefly reviews the composition, evaluation and applications of SPHs in different areas. Applications are facilitated by the fact that SPHs are generally biocompatible in nature and resemble natural living tissue more than any other class of synthetic biomaterial.

Cancer is a pivotal disease, which is a serious concern towards scientific research. In the recent era of scientific discovery and innovation, probiotics have been proposed as a new preventive and therapeutic option in therapy and to control cancer growth. Probiotics may thus offer a new way in research to investigate active compounds in different probiotic strains having anticancer features. Studies in laboratory animals and cell lines with respect to cancer treatments are encouraging. With rare conventional treatments, the need for new alternatives as the transportation of chemotherapeutic agents by nanocarriers using nanotechnology is one such approach. This review considers various drug delivery systems used in the therapy of cervical cancer, such as dendrimers, liposomes and nanoparticles. These drug delivery systems assist in the improvement of pharmacological activity, solubility, bioavailability and, thus, facilitating new innovative therapeutic technologies. This review summarizes the application of nanotechnology and probiotics in the treatment of cervical cancer.

Nanomedicines are rapidly evolving in chemotherapy and image-guided theranostics for specific and controlled delivery of the target therapeutic molecule. Targeting the subcellular organelles of cancer cells has gained focus in the recent decade for precise targeting of cancer cells and the activation of specific cancer death pathways. This strategy also overcomes the limitations of conventional chemo and radiation therapies, such as non-specificity and toxicity to the surrounding healthy tissue. Diverse roles of mitochondria in cancer, including oxidative stress signaling, metabolic reprogramming, cell death evasion, and cell survival mechanism, make it a promising target for cancer therapy. However, targeting mitochondria is tedious due to its complex structure and strong negative membrane potential. Various studies have designed mitochondria specific inorganic-, polymer-, dendrimer-, peptide- and protein-based nanoformulations to overcome barriers in targeting mitochondria of cancer cells. In this review, we have summarized the recently developed mitochondria-targeted nanoformulations in the field of chemotherapy, imageguided phototherapy, and combinatorial therapies. These nanoformulations showed enhanced cell penetration and mitochondrial accumulation of the drug molecules. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown promising results and further pre-clinical and clinical studies are required to develop these nanoformulations as effective cancer therapy.

Background: There are numerous unavoidable hurdles encountered by scientists to achieve an ideal drug delivery. Among them, the high-water solubility of a therapeutic molecule has been observed as a chief pausing factor that diminishes the biological stay and shortens the half-life of a drug. The ramification of this occurs that patients have to take medications multiple times in a single day to maintain the drug-plasma concentration. These consequences lead to poor pharmacological responses and ultimately do not add any significant outcomes in the betterment of patient's health. A similar phenomenon has been observed with the delivery of some potent Anti-Parkinson's medications, for instance, Pramipexole. The current research is aimed at developing the biological residue of Pramipexole Hydrochloride (PRP) based on the counter ion technology that has provided a sojourn release of PRP by retarding the aqueous solubility, which is further characterized using the dissolution study. Materials & Methods: Initially, the molar ratio of PRP and the selected counter ion, i.e., Disodium Pamoate (NaPAM), was quantified to produce the stable salt. Thereafter, the salt formation was preceded by the precipitation method and this primarily obtained salt is called microcrystals. In the next stage, the microcrystals were characterized by numerous analytical tools such as Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), melting point, and Mass Spectrometry (MS). On the other hand, Ultraviolet Spectroscopy (UV) was used for the simultaneous determination of PRP and NaPAM in the formed salt. After this, the development of nanocrystals from microcrystals was carried out using high-shear homogenization (HSH) with the aid of α-Tocopherol Polyethylene Glycol 1000 Succinate (TPGS), employed as a stabilizer. The preceding step was performed by analyzing the particle size. Following this, an in vitro dissolution study was planned using a dialysis bag system (at 6.8 pH buffer) along with vehicle development and characterization being taken into consideration. Results: An equimolar ratio (1:1) of PRP and counter ion stipulated the complete reaction occurred among them and then considering this ratio (based on the percent loading efficiency (%LE) and complexation efficiency) (%CE), salt preparation was done. Upon analysis of the developed salt (microcrystal), satisfactory outcomes have assured the complete and compatible salt formation. Besides it, simultaneous estimation certified that the presence of PRP and NaPAM in the formulation does not affect each other, qualitatively and quantitatively. Apart from that, the particle size of these nanocrystals was also found in the acceptable range. Furthermore, Pramipexole Pamoate Nanocrystals Salt (PPNS) was formulated, and in vitro dissolution study showed that PPNS was significantly able to extend the release (93.87 % release, i.e., sustainable) up to 48 hours as compared to the standard PRP. Additionally, the developed vehicle was found suitable and stable, both at room temperature and stress conditions. Conclusion: To sum up, the data gathered here expressed promising results and rendered an insight that PPNS might be a good option (if clinically proven safe and efficacious) in the nearest future to enhance patient compliance by minimizing the daily demand of PRP for Parkinson's patients. According to our knowledge, we are the first ones reporting depot formulation employing nanoconcepts for the cure of Parkinson's. However, in vivo animal model studies along with pharmacokinetic data, must be designed to establish the safety and efficiency of PPNS.