Current Nanomaterials - Volume 2, Issue 3, 2017

The new drug molecule in the world is of minimal value without the convenient delivery system. In fact, development of lipid-based delivery system needs an appropriate selection of excipients, which helps in designing and selecting the invasive and non-invasive routes of delivery. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) are a substitute for the conventional nano-drugs/colloidal carriers because of higher stabilization of incorporating compounds with excipients. The common ingredients used to formulate SLNs are solid lipid(s), surfactant(s)/co-surfactant(s) or emulsifier(s)/co-emulsifier(s), solvents/co-solvents and active ingredient(s). The absorption of lipid nanoparticles depended on the types and blend of lipids (digestible and non-digestible lipids) used to formulate SLNs. The various categories of surfactants/emulsifiers have been used for the stabilization of solid lipid dispersion. The mixture of emulsifier/surfactant is more effective to exclude particle aggregation. The selection of emulsifiers/surfactants depends on the route of delivery and is more restricted to the parenteral route of administrations. The ionic and nonionic emulsifiers/surfactants with divergent molecular weight have been used to stabilize the colloidal dispersion. The SLNs aggregation can be reduced by addition of cryoprotectants and facilitates to redisperse freeze-dried nanoparticles. These cryoprotectants reduce the crystallization and osmotic activity of water and favor the glassy state of the freezedried sample. In this manuscript, an attempt has been made to over-view the selection of structural components of SLNs such as lipids, surfactants/emulsifiers, solvents/co–solvents cryoprotectors and a suitable drug candidate. This manuscript also highlights the methods of preparation, advantages & disadvantages, invasive & non-invasive routes of delivery and applications of SLNs.

Objective: The present study aims at correlating the in vitro antifungal activity of developed formulations containing terbinafine hydrochloride (TH) with their in vivo activity observed in an animal model of onychomycosis. Method: The in vitro antifungal activity of the developed formulations was determined by cup and plate method using Candida albicans (MTCC No. 3018). The in vivo investigations involved histological and culture recovery studies after treating the infected animals with different formulations. Results: The findings of the antifungal activity revealed that formulations containing penetration enhancers possessed the greater potential of inhibiting the fungal growth as compared to the formulations without enhancers as well as that of marketed formulation. These observations were found to be in corollary with the findings of histology and culture recovery studies, in which the extent of growth and dry weight of fungus was observed to be the minimum in case of formulations containing penetration enhancers. Conclusion: The findings of in vitro studies were observed to be in consonance with that of in vivo studies.

Background and Objective: Pioglitazone hydrochloride is a BCS Cass II drug used for hypoglycemic action which shows poor bioavailability post oral administration due to poor solubility in gastrointestinal fluids. The purpose of this study was to prepare and characterize the polymeric nanoparticles of pioglitazone using polycaprolactone (PCL) as polymer and study the effect of various formulation parameters on the nanoparticle characteristics. Method: Drug loaded polymeric nanoparticles were fabricated by nanoprecipitation method, using PCL and Poloxamer 188 as a surfactant. Results: The nanoparticles produced were assessed for particle size (187.4 to 249.5 nm), zeta potential (-20 to -33), PDI (0.138 to 0.347), percentage entrapment efficiency (62.23 to 76.39), drug content (2.09 to 3.56) and in-vitro drug release study (controlled up to 12h). Various process and formulation parameters such as rate and time of stirring, polymer content, surfactant concentration, drug loading were optimized using 32 factorial design (QbD) approach. Conclusion: Results indicated that polymer-surfactant ratio plays an important role in the design of nanoparticles.

Objective: The present work describes NiS nanoparticles were prepared by chemical displacement method using CTAB as a stabilizer. Method: For the source of Sulfide ion, we used thioacetamide as fuel and nickel nitrate as metal salt. NiS nanoparticles are p-type semiconductor. Band gap of NiS is 0.5- 0.6 eV and also reported to be a good photo catalyst in the degradation of pollutants. The structural, morphological, metal percentage and optical properties of as synthesized nanoparticles are investigated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Visible spectra; Field emission gun scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM) with EDS, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and Photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). Results: The x-ray diffraction patterns revealed that the particles exhibited a crystal structure at the suitable temperature. The average particle size of the nanoparticles from the X-ray diffraction is about 22.8 nm and also Field emission gun scanning electron microscopy shows good morphology and exhibited clearly hexagonal shape. Conclusion: The Transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) shows the crystalline size of structures is 22 nm. Further, the Photocatalytic activity of Synthesized NiS nanoparticles was investigated by photo catalytic removal of Rose Bengal as a model of organic pollutant. It shows good photocatalytic activity against Rose Bengal dye (98.1%).