There are several types of breast cancer where the breast's cells proliferate uncontrollably. A selective oestrogen receptor modulator called Tamoxifen citrate (TAM) is used to treat and prevent breast cancer in both men and women. TAM is classified as class II under the biopharmaceutical categorization system (BCS) of medications. It exhibits low plasma levels, which can result...
Pulmonary infections caused by bacteria, viruses and fungi are a significant global health issue. Inhalation therapies are gaining interest as an effective approach to directly target infected lung sites and nanoparticle-based pulmonary delivery systems are increasingly investigated for this purpose. In this review, we provide an overview of common pulmonary infectious diseases...
This study presents an emerging approach for oral peptide drug delivery by designing self-emulsifying drug delivery systems (SEDDS) capable of protecting peptide drugs from intestinal brush border membrane-bound (BBM) enzymes. Tuftsin was incorporated as a model peptide into three optimized SEDDS formulations through hydrophobic ion pairing with the anionic surfactants docusate...
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, with approximately 2.3 million new cases globally. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype characterized by the lack of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER2 expression, making it unresponsive to traditional therapies. Eukaryotic Elongation Factor 2 Kinase (eEF2K) is overexpressed in...
Males and females are known to exhibit significant differences in drug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, which are still overlooked in pharmaceutical research and development. These disparities contribute to adverse effects and increased mortality in females, highlighting the critical need for sex-specific formulations. Extended-release formulations of doxazosin mesylate, an...
Given the recurrent waves of COVID-19 and the emergence of new viral infections, optimizing the potential of remdesivir as an antiviral agent is critical. While several reviews have explored the efficacy of remdesivir, few have comprehensively addressed its challenges, such as the necessity for intravenous infusion, suboptimal lung accumulation, and safety concerns related to its...
The"Breathing Lung-on-a-Chip,"a novel microfluidic device featuring a stretchable membrane, replicates the natural expansion and contraction of the human lung. It provides a more realistic in-vitro platform to study respiratory diseases, particle deposition, and drug delivery mechanisms. This device enables investigations into the effects of inhaled nanoparticles (NPs) on lung...
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic neuroimmunological disorder that causes progressive disability, primarily in young adults. It places a significant burden on healthcare systems due to high medication costs and long-term care needs. Implantable devices offer a promising alternative for delivering sustained drug doses in the treatment of chronic conditions. This study introduces a...
Ischemic stroke affects millions of people annually with limited treatment options targeting excitotoxicity, a major cause of cognitive impairment. The PSD-95 inhibitor NA-1 has demonstrated neuroprotective potential, but its efficacy via intravenous administration is hindered by broad systemic distribution, reduced brain exposure, and interaction with thrombolytic agents like...
Drug depot technologies that release chemotherapeutics locally in cancerous tissues present an intriguing strategy. This study aimed to assess the feasibility, delivery capacity, and therapeutic efficacy of a thin needle injectable doxorubicin-loaded carbohydrate-ester-based (CarboCell) depot technology. CarboCell was evaluated in three experimental setups: (A) In non-tumorous...
Despite the rapid development of nanoparticle (NP)-based drug delivery systems, intravenous delivery of drugs to the brain remains a major challenge due to various biological barriers. To achieve therapeutic effects, NP-encapsulated drugs must avoid accumulation in off-target organs and selectively deliver to the brain, successfully cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB), and reach...
Most vaccines require refrigerated transport and storage, which is costly, challenging in low-resource settings, and results in the loss of up to 50% of vaccines globally due to “cold-chain” failures. Here, tetanus toxoid vaccine (TT) was thermostabilized by encapsulation within a metal-organic framework (MOF), zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (TT@ZIF-8). Its physicochemical...
This study evaluates the in vivo mucoadhesive properties of thiolated cyclodextrins (CDs) with varying S-protection using polyethylene glycol (PEG) of different chain lengths. Free thiol groups of thiolated β-CDs (CD-SH) were S-protected with 1 kDa and 2 kDa PEG bearing a terminal thiol group, leading to third-generation of thiolated CDs (CD-SS-PEG). The structure of these...
Topically applied therapies must not only be effective at the molecular level but also efficiently access the target site which can be on milli/centimetre-scales. This bottleneck is particularly inhibitory for peptide and nucleic acid macromolecule drug delivery strategies, especially when aiming to target wounded, infected, and poorly perfused tissues of significant volume and...
The prevalence of various diseases, including osteoarticular conditions, is increasing as the world’s population ages. These disorders lead to degeneration of bones and joints, diminishing the quality of life of the geriatric population and imposing a significant economic burden on healthcare systems. The aim of the present study is to sterilize nanostructured lipid carriers...
Inefficient and low-precision delivery of exogenous nucleic acids (ENA) severely limits gene therapy on ischemic stroke (IS). Two problems need to be urgently addressed to improve the efficacy of gene therapy; first, the blood brain barrier (BBB) should be open to promote the accumulation of ENA or genetic material carriers in the ischemic brain parenchyma, and second, the...
The intestinal mucus layer serves as a critical first line of defense against external agents, functioning as a barrier to the absorption of drugs, food, and pathogens. While numerous in vitro studies have explored the role of mucus in preventing particle penetration, the effects of flowing luminal material, dislodging of mucus because of induced shear rate by lumen material and...
Polymeric nanocapsules comprised of hydrophobic shells and hollow aqueous interiors are an extremely useful class of nanomaterial, particularly in the encapsulation and controlled delivery of hydrophilic cargo. Generally prepared via droplet or latex templation approaches, polymeric nanocapsules are mostly spherical. Controlling the morphology of hollow nanocapsules is an...
The advent of RNA interference (RNAi) technology through the use of short-interfering RNAs (siRNAs) represents a paradigm shift in the fight against viral infections. siRNAs, with their ability to directly target and silence specific posttranscriptional genes, offer a novel mechanism of action distinct from that of traditional pharmacotherapeutics. This review delves into the...
Polymer coating of nanoparticulate drug delivery systems may enhance the efficacy of oral delivery. Cationic liposomes were coated with pectin biopolymers using microfluidics, with systematic variation of process parameters to optimize pectin-coated liposome fabrication. A pectin/liposome weight ratio of 0.7 and a microfluidic flow rate ratio of 2:1 pectin:liposome were found to...
The propensity of antibody-based therapies to systemically enter the brain interstitium and ameliorate pathology associated with numerous neurological maladies is precluded by the presence of the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Through distinct mechanisms, the BBB has evolved to regulate transport of essential ions, minerals, certain peptides and cells between the blood and the brain...
Buspirone hydrochloride (BSP) is an anxiolytic agent approved for the management of anxiety disorders. The current US-FDA approved medications of BSP are administered via the oral route, which is linked to several disadvantages such as low oral bioavailability and low half-life necessitating multiple daily doses. For chronic diseases such as anxiety disorders, where long-term or...
Allergic conjunctivitis (AC) is the most common inflammatory disease affecting the eye's ocular surface, lid, conjunctiva, and cornea. However, effective ocular drug delivery remains challenging due to physiological barriers such as the corneal barrier. Ketotifen (KF), a widely used antihistamine and mast cell stabilizer, for treating AC and atopic asthma but belongs to the...
Hollow microneedles represent a promising approach for overcoming the protective barrier of the stratum corneum, facilitating direct drug infusion into viable skin tissue and thereby enhancing the efficacy of transdermal delivery. However, delivery outcomes across different skin layers and into the systemic circulation can vary substantially due to the diverse properties of drug...