16 research outputs found
Recent Advances in Health Biotechnology During Pandemic
The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which
emerged in 2019, cut the epoch that will make profound fluctuates in the history of the world
in social, economic, and scientific fields. Urgent needs in public health have brought with
them innovative approaches, including diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. To exceed the
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, various scientific authorities in the world
have procreated advances in real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based diagnostic
tests, rapid diagnostic kits, the development of vaccines for immunization, and the purposing
pharmaceuticals for treatment. Diagnosis, treatment, and immunization approaches put for-
ward by scientific communities are cross-fed from the accrued knowledge of multidisciplinary
sciences in health biotechnology. So much so that the pandemic, urgently prioritized in the
world, is not only viral infections but also has been the pulsion in the development of novel
approaches in many fields such as diagnosis, treatment, translational medicine, virology, mi-
crobiology, immunology, functional nano- and bio-materials, bioinformatics, molecular biol-
ogy, genetics, tissue engineering, biomedical devices, and artificial intelligence technologies.
In this review, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of various scientific
areas of health biotechnology are discussed
Methylprednisolone 100 mg Tablet Formulation With Pea Protein: Experimental Approaches Over Intestinal Permeability and Cytotoxicity
Objective: This study was carried out to transform the hydrolyzed pea protein into a pharmaceutical tablet form by masking methylprednisolone.
Significance: This study provides some crucial contributions in showing how functional excipients such as
pea protein, which are generally used in food industries, can be used in pharmaceutical product formulations and their effects.
Methods: Methylprednisolone was formulated using spray drying technology. Design Expert Software
(Version 13) was used for the statistical analysis. The in vitro cytotoxic effects for NIH/3T3 mouse fibroblast
cells were investigated by XTT cell viability assay. HPLC was used to analyze the Caco-2 permeability studies and dissolution tests.
Results: The optimum formulation was evaluated against the reference product by performing cytotoxicity and cell permeability studies. According to our test results, Papp (apparent permeability) values of
Methylprednisolone were measured around 3 10-6 cm/s and Fa (fraction absorbed) values around 30%.
These data indicate that Methylprednisolone HCl has ‘moderate permeability’ and our study confirmed
that it could have belonged to BCS Class II-IV since both low solubility and moderate permeability.
Conclusion: The findings offer valuable information to guide and inform the use of pea protein in
pharmaceutical formulations.
Significant effects on methylprednisolone tablet formulation designed with the philosophy of quality by
design (QbD) of pea protein have been demonstrated by both in vitro and cell studies
Preparation and Cytotoxicity of Coriandrum Sativum L. Oil Loaded Chitosan Nanoparticles
Coriandrum sativum L.oil has antibacterial, antifungal and antimicrobial activity. This study aims to prepare and characterize chitosan nanoparticles loaded with Coriandrum sativum L., commonly known as coriander oil, using ionic gelation method and to determine their cytotoxicity in cell culture. Tripolyphosphate (TPP) was used as a cross-linker in ionic gelation method. The characterization of the chitosan nanoparticles loaded with coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) oil was performed with Zeta-Sizer, Fourier transform Infrared spectrophotometer (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS). It was shown that chitosan nanoparticles loaded with coriander oil have an average size of 113.5 nm, zeta potential of 16 mV and a polydispersity index of 0.378. SEM analysis showed that they have a spherical morphology and EDS showed the element composition. Furthermore, cytotoxicity analysis on L929 fibroblast cells was performed using XTT method and it was observed that chitosan particles loaded with coriander oil, coriander oil, and empty chitosan nanoparticles did not provoke significant toxicity on cells
Lavandula Stoechas Extract Incorporated Polylactic Acid Nanofibrous Mats as an Antibacterial and Cytocompatible Wound Dressing
In recent years, great efforts have been devoted to the design and production of bioactive wound dressings that
promote skin regeneration and prevent infection. Many plant extracts and essential oils have been widely
accepted in traditional medicine for a wide variety of medicinal purposes, especially wound healing. Over the
past decade, many studies have focused on manufacturing and designing wound dressings containing plant
compounds and extracts. In this study, Lavandula stoechas extract (LSE) (0.25 %, 0.5 %, and 1%wt) incorporatedpolylactic acid (PLA) nanofibrous mats were successfully produced and characterized. Microstructural analysis
by SEM revealed that the fiber diameter changed with the increase in the amount of LSE. Also, the nanofibrous
mats were evaluated for their in vitro antibacterial, cytotoxicity, and wound healing properties for their use as a
wound dressing material. According to the results of the disc diffusion test, PLA nanofibrous mats containing LSE
%1 showed 9.65 ± 0.46 and 7.37 ± 0.03 inhibition zone (mm) against E. coli and S. aureus, respectively. According to the results of the in vitro wound healing assay, mats containing 0.5 % LSE showed better-wound
closure activity compared to the control. Our results show that LSE-incorporated nanofibrous dressings can be
an effective alternative with good antimicrobial activity
COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN, PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF IMMUNOLOGICAL PEPTIDE OF TOXOPLASMA GONDII MAJOR SURFACE PROTEIN
Development of an Antiviral Ion-Activated In Situ Gel Containing 18β-Glycyrrhetinic Acid: A Promising Alternative against Respiratory Syncytial Virus
The human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) is a major cause of serious lower respiratory infections and poses a considerable risk to public health globally. Only a few treatments are currently used to treat RSV infections, and there is no RSV vaccination. Therefore, the need for clinically applicable, affordable, and safe RSV prevention and treatment solutions is urgent. In this study, an ion-activated in situ gelling formulation containing the broad-spectrum antiviral 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) was developed for its antiviral effect on RSV. In this context, pH, mechanical characteristics, ex vivo mucoadhesive strength, in vitro drug release pattern, sprayability, drug content, and stability were all examined. Rheological characteristics were also tested using in vitro gelation capacity and rheological synergism tests. Finally, the cytotoxic and antiviral activities of the optimized in situ gelling formulation on RSV cultured in the human laryngeal epidermoid carcinoma (HEp-2) cell line were evaluated. In conclusion, the optimized formulation prepared with a combination of 0.5% w/w gellan gum and 0.5% w/w sodium carboxymethylcellulose demonstrated good gelation capacity and sprayability (weight deviation between the first day of the experiment (T0) and the last day of the experiment (T14) was 0.34%), desired rheological synergism (mucoadhesive force (Fb): 9.53 Pa), mechanical characteristics (adhesiveness: 0.300 ± 0.05 mJ), ex vivo bioadhesion force (19.67 ± 1.90 g), drug content uniformity (RSD%: 0.494), and sustained drug release over a period of 6 h (24.56% ± 0.49). The optimized formulation demonstrated strong anti-hRSV activity (simultaneous half maximal effective concentration (EC50) = 0.05 µg/mL; selectivity index (SI) = 306; pre-infection EC50 = 0.154 µg/mL; SI = 100), which was significantly higher than that of ribavirin (EC50 = 4.189 µg/mL; SI = 28) used as a positive control against hRSV, according to the results of the antiviral activity test. In conclusion, this study showed that nasal in situ gelling spray can prevent viral infection and replication by directly inhibiting viral entry or modulating viral replication