Current Drug Delivery - Volume 19, Issue 4, 2022

Background: Electrospinning is developing rapidly from an earlier laboratory method into an industrial process. The clinical applications of this technique are approached in various ways through electrospun medicated nanofibers. Fast-dissolving oral drug delivery systems (DDSs) have promising commercial applications in the near future. Methods: Related papers have been investigated in this study, including the latest research results on electrospun nanofiber-based fast-dissolution DDSs. Results: The following related topics are concluded: 1) development of electrospinning, ranging from one-fluid blending to multi-fluid process and potential applications in the formation of medicated nanofibers involving poorly water-soluble drugs; 2) selection of appropriate polymer matrices and drug carriers for filament formation; 3) types of poorly water-soluble drugs ideal for fast oral delivery; 4) methods for evaluating fast-dissolving nanofibers; 5) mechanisms that promote the fast dissolution of poorly water-soluble drugs by electrospun nanofibers; 6) and important issues related to further development of electrospun medicated nanofibers as oral fast-dissolving drug delivery systems. Conclusion and Perspective: Given their unique properties, electrospun-medicated nanofibers can be used as oral fast-dissolving DDSs of poorly water-soluble drugs. However, significant issues, such as scalable productions and solid dosage form conversions, need to be investigated.

Abstract: Nanotechnology provides the means to design and fabricate delivery vehicles capable of overcoming physiologically imposed obstacles and undesirable side effects of systemic drug delivery. This protocol allows maximal targeting effectiveness and therefore enhances therapeutic efficiency. In recent years, Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles (MSNPs) have sparked interest in nanomedicine research community, particularly for their promising applications in cancer treatment. The intrinsic physio-chemical stability, facile functionalization, high surface area, low toxicity, and great loading capacity for a wide range of chemotherapeutic agents make MSNPs very appealing candidates for controllable drug delivery systems. Importantly, the peculiar nanostructures of MSNPs enabled them to serve as an effective drug, gene, protein and antigen delivery vehicle for a variety of therapeutic regimens. For these reasons, in this review article, we underscore the recent progress in the design and synthesis of MSNPs along with the parameters influencing their characteristic features and activities. In addition, the process of absorption, dissemination and secretion by injection or oral management of MSNPs are also discussed, as they are key directions for potential utilization of MSNPs. Factors influencing the in vivo fate of MSNPs will also be highlighted, with a main focus on particle size, morphology, porosity, surface functionality and oxidation. Given that combining other functional materials with MSNPs may increase their biological compatibility, monitor drug discharge, or improve absorption by tumor cells coated MSNPs; these aspects are also covered and discussed herein.

Abstract: Compared to other nano polymers, dendrimers have novel three-dimensional, synthetic hyperbranched, nano-polymeric structures. These supramolecular dendritic structures have a high degree of significant surface and core functionality in the transportation of drugs for targeted therapy, specifically in host-guest response, gene transfer therapy, and imaging of biological systems. However, there are conflicting shreds of evidence regarding biological safety and dendrimers toxicity due to their positive charge at the surface. It includes cytotoxicity, hemolytic toxicity, haematological toxicity, immunogenicity, and in vivo toxicity. Surface modification of the dendrimer group is one of the methods to resolve these issues. This review aimed at investigating different strategies that can reduce toxicity and improve the biocompatibility of different dendrimers. From that viewpoint, we broaden the structural and safe characteristics of the dendrimers in the biomedical and pharmaceutical fields.

Background: Diverse pain killers used for the management of varied categories of pain are being misused in order to have extreme pleasant effects by a large number of populations. To overcome the misuse of prescription drugs, regulatory bodies have given stress on the development of abuse resistance. Methods: We studied numerous literatures: (1) Research and review papers including the guidelines for pain management, abuse, and abuse deterrence; (2) Description and categorization of pain along with the management approaches; (3) Advantages and disadvantages of the abuse-deterrent formulations. Results: Abuse-deterrent formulations are the contemporary remedial treatment for pain with reduced prospects of being abused. But these comprise huge expense in contrast to the generic drugs as well as the non-deterrent branded equivalents. Conclusion: Many challenges are faced throughout the development of abuse-deterrent formulations. These formulations displayed a substantial drop in abuse incidences but it may lead to other modes of abuse, which may prove more harmful for the users.

Background: Formulation of topical products for skin delivery that fulfill good formulation criteria has always been a challenge for pharmaceutical scientists. Despite the challenges, gelbased drug delivery offers some advantages such that it is non-invasive, painless, involves avoidance of the first-pass metabolism, and has satisfactory patient compliance. Objectives: In this study, C. odorata gel and quercetin gel (bioactive flavonoid compound) were successfully formulated and compared with placebo and conventional wound aid gel. The chromatographic profiling was conducted to screen the presence of phytoconstituents. Subsequently, all formulated gels were evaluated for physical characteristics and stability. Methods: Reverse Phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC) of C. odorata methanolic leaves extract showed a distinct compound separation at a retention time of 8.4min to 34.8 min at 254nm. All gels were characterised by evaluating their rheological properties, including storage modulus, loss modulus, and plastic viscosity. Besides, texture analysis was performed to measure the firmness, consistency, cohesiveness, and viscosity index of the gels. Results: According to the results, C. odorata gel demonstrated better spreadability as compared to the other gels, which required less work and was found to be favourable for application on the skin. Moreover, C. odorata gel showed no changes in organoleptic properties and proven to be stable after 30 days of accelerated stability study at 40°C ± 2°C with Relative Humidity (RH) of 75% ± 5%. Conclusion: C. odorata gel was found to be stable, reflecting the combination of materials used in the formulation, which did not degrade throughout the study. This work suggests the potential of this gel as a vehicle to deliver the active ingredients of C. odorata to the skin, which can be further explored as a topical application for antimicrobial wound management or other skin diseases study.

Aim: An active-passive dual-targeting gambogic acid HPMA Copolymer Coupling drug system with high efficiency, low toxicity and high selectivity was constructed. Methods: The gambogic acid HPMA copolymer coupling drug system was constructed and its structure was characterized. The cytotoxicity of gambogic acid HPMA copolymer was detected by MTT assay. The pharmacokinetics of gambogic acid HPMA copolymer was evaluated in mice. Targetability of gambogic acid HPMA copolymer was evaluated by tissue distribution experiment. The in vitro antitumor activity of gambogic acid HPMA copolymer was evaluated by pharmacodynamics experiment in mice. Results: Two copolymers of gambogic acid HPMA were successfully prepared. The copolymers showed reduced cytotoxicity and a certain sustained release effect and targeting property. In vivo pharmacodynamic experiments also showed better anti-tumor effects than GA. Discussion: In this study, gambogic acid was combined with HPMA polymer and the targeting molecule D-galactose/folic acid to form a polymer micelle with high efficiency, low toxicity and high selectivity for active-passive dual targeting. The construction of the drug system provides new ideas for future formulation research and development.

Background: The research and development of drugs for the treatment of central nervous system diseases faces many challenges at present. One of the most important questions to be answered is, how does the drug cross the blood-brain barrier to get to the target site for pharmacological action. Fluoxetine is widely used in clinical antidepressant therapy. However, the mechanism by which fluoxetine passes through the BBB also remains unclear. Under physiological pH conditions, fluoxetine is an organic cation with a relatively small molecular weight (<500), which is in line with the substrate characteristics of organic cation transporters (OCTs). Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the interaction of fluoxetine with OCTs at the BBB and BBB-associated efflux transporters. This is of great significance for fluoxetine to better treat depression. Moreover, it can provide a theoretical basis for clinical drug combination. Methods: In vitro BBB model was developed using human brain microvascular endothelial cells (hCMEC/D3), and the cellular accumulation was tested in the presence or absence of transporter inhibitors. In addition, an in vivo trial was performed in rats to investigate the effect of OCTs on the distribution of fluoxetine in the brain tissue. Fluoxetine concentration was determined by a validated UPLC-MS/MS method. Results: The results showed that amantadine (an OCT1/2 inhibitor) and prazosin (an OCT1/3 inhibitor) significantly decreased the cellular accumulation of fluoxetine (P <.001). Moreover, we found that N-methylnicotinamide (an OCT2 inhibitor) significantly inhibited the cellular uptake of 100 and 500 ng/mL fluoxetine (P <.01 and P <.05 respectively). In contrast, corticosterone (an OCT3 inhibitor) only significantly inhibited the cellular uptake of 1000 ng/mL fluoxetine (P <.05). The P-glycoprotein (P-gp) inhibitor, verapamil, and the multidrug resistance associated proteins (MRPs) inhibitor, MK571, significantly decreased the cellular uptake of fluoxetine. However, intracellular accumulation of fluoxetine was not significantly changed when fluoxetine was incubated with the breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) inhibitor Ko143. Furthermore, in vivo experiments proved that corticosterone and prazosin significantly inhibited the brain-plasma ratio of fluoxetine at 5.5 h and 12 h, respectively. Conclusion: OCTs might play a significant role in the transport of fluoxetine across the BBB. In addition, P-gp, BCRP, and MRPs seemed not to mediate the efflux transport of fluoxetine.