Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 19, Issue 35, 2013

The conversion of drugs into drug nanoparticles (nano-drugs) represents a feasible method to enhance bioavailability of otherwise sparingly soluble-drugs. Nano-drugs enhance bioavailability through the improvement of dissolution rate and saturation solubility of drugs, by virtue of their small sizes. Nano-drugs available in the market are usually produced by top-down methods, such as wet milling and high pressure homo Read More

Nano-formulation of poorly water-soluble drugs has been developed to enhance drug dissolution. In this review, we introduce nano-milling technology described in recently published papers. Factors affecting the size of drug crystals are compared based on the preparation methods and drug and excipient types. A top-down approach using the comminution process is a method conventionally used to prepare crystalline d Read More

The development of drug nanoparticles has attracted substantial attention because of their potential to improve the dissolution rate and oral availability of poorly water-soluble drugs. This review summarizes the recent articles that discussed nanoparticle-based oral drug delivery systems. The preparation methods were categorized as top-down and bottom-up methods, which are common methods for preparing drug nano Read More

Due to uniquely ordered nanoporous structure and high surface area as well as large pore volume, mesoporous materials have exhibited excellent performance in both controlled drug delivery with sustained release profiles and formulation of poorly aqueoussoluble drugs with enhanced bioavailability. Compared with other bulk excipients, mesoporous materials could achieve a higher loading of active ingredients and a tu Read More

Some kinds of amphiphilic lipids can spontaneously self-assemble with a proper ratio of water to form liquid crystalline, also known as cubic phase. With a curved bi-continuous lipid bilayer and two congruent networks of water channels, cubic phases can enclose hydrophilic, amphiphilic and hydrophobic drugs for delivery. Nanostructured cubosomes, prepared by fragmentation of bulk cubic phase gels or lyotropic methods, r Read More

Recent advances in the fabrication, characterization and application of micro- and nano-particles that possess a non-uniform internal structure are reviewed. The particle structures include core-shell particles, particles with multiple cores or a multi-layered structure, porous particles with both regular and random pore structure, as well as complex composite particles possessing several of the above features. Particles based on Read More

Restenosis, the re-narrowing of a blood vessel after removal of atherosclerotic plaque, is a major limitation of surgical treatments for atherosclerosis. Various attempts to prevent or treat restenosis by pharmacological or mechanical approaches have had limited success in clinical trials. Hence, there is wide interest in developing new strategies to prevent or treat restenosis. This review discusses ‘a new-generation t Read More

With the recent progress in biotechnology and genetic engineering, a variety of proteins have formed a very important class of therapeutic agents. However, most proteins have short half-lives in vivo requiring multiple treatments to provide efficacy. In order to overcome this limitation, sustained release systems as hydrophilic microspheres and hydrophobic microcapsules have received extensive attention in recent years. As ther Read More

Exposure of human skin to nanoparticles (NPs) is increasing with the development of nanotechnology and new applications of NPs in medicine. Safety concerns have sparked debate on the capacity of NPs to penetrate through skin and enter into the body. This article attempts to summarize the recent evidence on whether NPs penetrate human skin and the factors that may affect the penetration. Skin structure and penetrati Read More

Pregabalin is an anticonvulsant drug that binds to the α2δ(alpha2delta) subunit of the voltage-dependent calcium channel in central nervous system (CNS). Pregabalin decreases the release of neurotransmitters, including glutamate, norepinephrine, substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide. Purpose of this paper is to offer a qualitative overview of the studies currently available in literature about this drug, exa Read More

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease in which the progressive destruction of joint causes morbidity. It is also associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis, which can result in cardiovascular disease and mortality. The therapeutic goal is to control the systemic inflammation to obtain not only the remission of symptoms, but also improve general state of health. Although recent biologic immunos Read More

Background: Abnormal expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) is closely related to glioma, which is one of the most common malignant brain tumors. The current study is to identify the key miRNAs involved in the pathogenesis of glioma and to discover novel therapeutic targets for this disease. Materials and Methods: Total RNA was extracted from glioma tissues of 100 patients. The microRNA microarray and the northern blot w Read More