Drug Delivery Letters - Volume 12, Issue 3, 2022

Background: Psoriasis is a long-term chronic inflammatory, autoimmune and reoccurring skin condition. About 2% to 5% of the world's population is impacted by psoriasis. People affected by psoriasis are more prone to develop other health conditions including psoriatic arthritis, anxiety, depression and cardiovascular disorders. Long-term use of several synthetic medications used for their management has been showing typical severe side effects. Curcumin, a natural compound generated from the golden spice (Curcuma longa), has been recommended as a potential alternative for the management of psoriasis. Curcumin works at molecular level by binding with the various inflammatory receptors that play a key role in the initiation of psoriasis. Objective: The aim of this review is to report the use and discuss the mechanism of action of curcumin in the management of psoriasis and mutually overcome the side effects shown by the synthetic medications. Methods: For qualitative literature review PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Google Books, and Science Direct meet the inclusion criteria. Results: Through ample literature surveys, curcumin has been proposed as a safe and therapeutic option for psoriasis as compared to synthetic medications. Conclusion: As traditional herb curcumin appears as a beneficiary medicament because of its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating activities proposing minimal side effects. Thereby ensuring its defensive mechanism against psoriasis.

Periodontitis is a serious gum infection associated with inflammation of the periodontium around the teeth. Based on the etiology and pathogenesis, periodontitis has several conventional treatment strategies. Treatment with antibiotics and antimicrobials is the most common therapy. However, the development of drug resistance and the manifestation of side effects make conventional strategies ineffective. In recent decades, local drug delivery in the periodontal pocket has gained significant attention as a novel strategy. Sustained drug release at the target site (periodontal pocket) for a prolonged period is the main advantage over conventional therapy. Bioadhesive periodontal films are mostly used. They are thin films made up of unique mixtures of bioadhesive polymers, binders, plasticizers, and drug release modifiers. They can be loaded with antibiotics, metal nanoparticles, metal oxide nanoparticles, or a combination. The dried film is cut into a suitable size and inserted into the periodontal pocket for direct delivery of therapeutic agents. Thus, a smaller dose is required, and systemic side effects are avoided. In this manuscript, the pathophysiology of periodontitis, the role of biofilm formation, development of periodontal film loaded with antibiotics and nanoparticles have been reviewed, and the future aspects have been discussed.

Background: Amitriptyline hydrochloride is a Tricyclic Antidepressant (TCA) belonging to BCS class I exhibiting only 30-60% bioavailability and often coupled with poor patient compliance. The primary objective was to develop a formulation with commercial viability and reduced dosing frequency in order to promote adherence of depressed patients to the treatment regime. The study also focused on reducing the dose of amitriptyline by controlling the release using osmotic technology, thereby reducing the side effects of amitriptyline. Methods: Controlled Porosity Osmotic Pump (CPOP) systems eliminate the need for expensive drilling processes and are apt for industrial manufacturing systems, whereas other osmotic systems have practical limitations. The wet granulation technique was used to formulate CPOP tablets of amitriptyline as burst release was observed in directly compressed tablets. Screenings of polymers, osmogen and weight gain were performed. Results: F6-D3 (3 % Di-butyl phthalate) was optimized with lactose as osmogen and HPMC K 35 M as polymer. The drug release from the optimized formulation was independent of the effect of agitational intensity and pH. The osmotic pressure of the dissolution medium was increased to confirm the osmotic release mechanism. The drug release decreased markedly due to an increase in osmotic pressure. Conclusion: Accelerated Stability studies were carried out in ICH-certified stability chambers as per the specifications and were found stable. It was evident that osmotic pressure generated within the CPOP tablets along with the controlled formation of pores using Cellulose Acetate (CA-398-10 NF/ EP) was able to control the release of amitriptyline hydrochloride for 24 hours. Thus, the Oral Osmotic Drug Delivery system is a promising technology for product life-cycle strategies.

Aim: The present study developed an oral in-situ gel containing the leaf extract of Taraxacum officinale (T.O.) using an experimental design. Background: Peptic ulcer disease was an epidemic in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The application of herbal drugs for peptic diseases is an attractive area for research and implementation as compared to the allopathic system in the recent era. From the number of plants, the antioxidant effect of an aqueous extract of Taraxacum officinale, which is the dandelion leaf, was proven by an animal study in previous literature. However, most of the marketed preparations consist of root extract primarily used for the detoxification of the liver in comparison to the leaf extract having a nonspecific application. Hence, the aqueous extract of dandelion leaf was taken as the active ingredient in the formulation. Over the past 30 years, greater attention has been given to the development of controlled and sustained drug delivery systems. The development of in situ gel systems has received considerable attention over the past few years due to the number of advantages. Objective: By considering the merits of herbal ingredients with drug delivery technology, herbal in-situ gel was developed using statistical analysis. Methods: Herbal in-situ oral gel was developed using a factorial design. The concentration of sodium alginate, xanthan gum, and HPMC K15 M was taken as the factors, and viscosity and drug release (total phenol content) in 10 h were selected as the responses. By evaluating the designed batches, the optimized batch was chosen as the promising formulation for curing the peptic ulcer. Results: The batch consisting of 1.711% w/v sodium alginate, 0.727% w/v xanthan gum, and 0.869% w/v HPMC K15M was selected as the optimized batch, as per the software, and the viscosity and % drug release in 10 h were found to be 299.5 cps and 70.2%, respectively. Other evaluation parameters such as gelling capacity, floating parameters, and stability were also found to be good for the designed batches. Conclusion: The improved in-situ gel was found to be effective for extending the floating of the drug incorporated into the formulation as well as the residence time in the stomach for sustained drug release.

Background: Memory disorders require a steady-state balance of choline and cytidine. Citicoline is prescribed as an exogenous source of choline and cytidine. Objective: The present study proposes a mucoadhesive multiparticulate sustained delivery of citicoline as a supportive control for memory loss. Methods: The formulation of citicoline sodium microparticles was done by ionotropic gelation method using alginate and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) in three different ratios. The three formulations were preliminary evaluated for the in vitro drug release study. Depending on their release pattern, a simplex lattice mixture design of 21 trial runs, with a set of possible combinations of each component of the three formulations, was employed to get an optimized ratio that could attend a predetermined release of drug at 1st, 4th, 6th, and 8th h. The optimized product was characterized for physicochemical evaluation, thermal analysis, in vitro drug release, surface morphology, and stability study. Results: Optimization of the design yielded a ratio that could prolong the release as predicted by design. The release mechanism followed non-Fickian diffusion. Differential thermal analysis exhibited high drug entrapment in the microparticles. Surface morphology studies revealed that drug release took place by the formation of channels. Stability studies indicated there was no change in the properties even after six months and the moisture retention was meagre. Conclusion: The employed simplex lattice design could be successfully used to make microparticles of predetermined release characteristics with a steady-state release of the drug and can be a promising approach to provide an affordable therapy of citicoline to improve its effectivity.