Recent Patents on Nanotechnology - Volume 15, Issue 2, 2021

Background: About two-third of new drugs reveal low solubility in water due to which it becomes difficult for formulation scientists to develop oral solid dosage forms with a pharmaceutically acceptable range of therapeutic activity. In such cases, S-SMEEDS are the best carriers used universally for the delivery of hydrophobic drugs. SEDDS are also used but due to their limitations, SSMEDDS are used widely. These are the isotropic mixtures of oils, co-solvents, and surfactants. SSMEDDS are physically stable, easy to manufacture, easy to fill in gelatin capsules as well as improve the drug bioavailability by releasing the drug in the emulsion form into the gastrointestinal tract and enable smooth absorption of the drug through the intestinal lymphatic pathway. Methods: We conducted a literature search related to our review, also employing the peer-reviewed research, and provided a conceptual framework. Standard tools were used for drawing the figures of the paper, and various search engines were used for literature exploration. In this review article, the author has discussed the importance of S-SMEDDS, selection criteria for excipients, pseudo-ternary diagram, mechanism of action of S-SMEDDS, solidification techniques used for S-SMEDDS, Characterization of SEDDS and S-SMEDDS including Stability Evaluation of both and future prospects have been concluded through recent findings on S-SMEDDS in Cancer as well as a neoteric patent on S-SMEDDS. Results: Many research papers have been discussed in this review article, from which it was found that the ternary phase diagram is the most crucial part for developing the SMEDDS. From the various research findings, it was found that the excipient selection is the essential step which decides the strong therapeutic effect of the formulation. The significant outcome related to solid-SMEDDS is the less the globule size, the higher would be the bioavailability. The method in which adsorption of a solid carrier takes place is most widely used for the preparation of solid-SMEDDS. After reviewing many patents, it was observed that the solid-SMEDDS have a strong potential for targeting and treating different types of cancer due to their properties to enhance permeation and increase bioavailability. Conclusion: S-SMEEDS are more acceptable pharmaceutically as compared to SEDDS due to their various advantages over SEDDS, such as stability issue is prevalent with SEDDS. A number of patent researchers have formulated S-SMEDDS of poorly soluble drugs and found S-SMEDDS as prospective for the delivery of hydrophobic drugs in the treatment of cancer. S-SMEEDS are increasingly grabbing attention, and the patentability on S-SMEDDS is unavoidable, which proves that S-SMEEDS are widely accepted carriers. These are used universally for the delivery of hydrophilic drugs and anticancer drugs as they release the drug to the gastrointestinal tract and enhance the systemic absorption.

Polyamide (PA) Thin-Film Composite (TFC) membranes are widely used for large-scale water and wastewater treatment processes worldwide owing to their good balance between water permeability and dissolved solutes separation rate. The physicochemical properties of the cross-linked PA layer are the main criteria determining the filtration performance of the resultant TFC membrane, and this selective layer can be created through Interfacial Polymerization (IP) between two immiscible active monomers, i.e., amine monomer in aqueous solution and acyl chloride monomer in organic solution. This patent review article intends to provide insights to researchers in fabricating improved properties of TFC membranes through the utilization of secondary monomers during IP process. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first review that gives a state-of-the-art account of the subject matter by emphasizing the impacts of secondary monomers (both amine and acyl chloride monomers) on the properties of conventional TFC membranes for nanofiltration and reverse osmosis applications. Our review indicated that the introduction of secondary monomers into either aqueous or organic solution could alter the physical and chemical properties of PA layer, which led to variations in membrane filtration performance. Nevertheless, more research is still required, as most of the secondary monomers reported in the literature did not overcome the membrane trade-off effect between permeability and selectivity. The subject of improved PA layer development is a multi-disciplinary study that requires researchers with different backgrounds (e.g., materials science, chemistry, physics and engineering) to work together.

Since the elucidation of the leaching process by Mizoroki in the 1970s, the research focused on this problem has increased. As a result, it has been discovered that the leached metals can not only hinder product yield, but they can also remain as contaminants of the final products. Thus, it can be concluded that metal leaching needs to be diminished or avoided more efficiently. This problem is important for the industry and the environment because of the increases in costs and pollution. In 2014, we reported a brief review related to this important feature; now we would like to report on the latest findings on this important phenomenon, including an update on the mechanisms used to explain leaching and the reactions that support those mechanisms and including patents related to leaching in catalysis that have appeared in recent years.

Background: Bismuth-containing nanoscale materials exhibit great application potential in catalysts, optical devices, electron devices, photo-electric devices and sensors owing to their good catalytic, optical, electric, photoelectric and sensing performance. Special research interest has been devoted to ternary bismuthate nanoscale materials due to their special layered structure, large specific surface area, excellent optical, catalytic, electrical and electrochemical performance. Therefore, it is essential to synthesize novel ternary bismuthate nanoscale materials for practical application. Methods: The article reviews the recent progress and patents on the ternary bismuthate nanoscale materials. The recent progress and patents on the synthesis and application of the ternary bismuthate nanoscale materials are discussed. The possible development direction of the ternary bismuthate nanoscale materials for the synthesis and application is also analyzed. Results: The ternary bismuthate nanoscale materials including zinc bismuthate, copper bismuthate, barium bismuthate, silver bismuthate, sodium bismuthate, lanthanum bismuthate nanoscale materials can be synthesized by hydrothermal route, sol-gel route, solvothermal decomposition route and ionexchange method. The ternary bismuthate nanoscale materials exhibit great application promising in the fields of photocatalysts, sensors and batteries. Conclusion: Large-scale synthesis of ternary bismuthate nanoscale materials at low cost, doping and combination using different nanoscale materials are important research directions for future research.

Background: Around 40% of newly discovered chemical entities in pharmaceutical industries have poor water solubility and hence they suffer from low oral bioavailability owing to undesirable physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties. So, it is the challenge for the formulation scientists to develop the oral formulation that can mitigate the pitfalls associated with such lipophilic drugs. Methods: Lipid nanoparticles hold a promising tool to decrease the pitfalls of lipophilic drugs as lipid components can effectively increase the absorption of drugs, which leads to improvement in oral bioavailability. They are also considered as safe because they are made up of physiological lipids, which are biocompatible and biodegradable in nature. Amongst the lipid nanoparticles, Nanostructured Lipid Carriers (NLCs) are the second-generation lipid nanoparticles and were developed to conquer the limitations of solid lipid nanoparticles. They increase the solubility, permeability, reduce metabolism, P-glycoprotein efflux, and thereby increase the bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs. Conclusion: This review highlights the various aspects of NLCs, such as structural components, types, in vivo fate, pharmacokinetic, toxicity, recent applications, and patent reviews of NLCs in drug delivery.

Background: Poor solubility and low dissolution rate limit the work at poorly water-soluble drugs like Esomeprazole. To overcome this problem, different technologies had to be used but could not resolve the problem, significantly. The main aim of this patent study was to prepare the nanocrystals using the evaporative precipitation ultrasonication method in order to improve the dissolution rate and stability of Esomeprazole (ESM). Methods: For obtaining the nanocrystals, different nanoformulations were prepared using the pluronic F-68 in different concentrations, and then the screened formulation was lyophilized in the presence of two distinct cryoprotectants; mannitol and sucrose. The obtained nanocrystals were characterized for their re-dispersibility, crystalline state, dissolution behavior, particle size, polydispersibility index and morphology. Dissolution study of ESM nanocrystals was performed in a buffer solution of pH-7.4, and compared to that of bulk ESM sample and ESM/pluronic F-68 physical mixture. Results: Cryoprotectant containing nanocrystals exhibit the re-dispersion in water after the manual shaking. 5% mannitol containing nanocrystals showed the least polydispersity index (0.42 ± 0.11) and narrowest particle size (186 ± 12.9 nm). The Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD) pattern and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) thermograms revealed that the crystalline state of the drug was not changed after the different physical treatment. Freeze-dried nanocrystals showed a faster dissolution rate and almost 99.45% of the drug was released within 60 min. However, the bulk drug and a physical mixture of bulk drug/pluronic F-68 showed only 22.65% and 21.3% of drug release, respectively, after 60 min. This paper reviews the related patents on Esomeprazole Nanocrystals. Conclusion: The different findings revealed that nanocrystals could be a potential alternate for solving the dissolution rate and stability issue of ESM like poorly soluble drugs.