A Proposal to Develop the Performance of School Leaders in Saudi Arabia in the Light of Human Performance Technology (HPT)

The present research paper aims to investigate the actual and desirable performance of school leaders in the light of human performance technology from the perspective of school leaders and teachers of the primary, intermediate, and high school grades. It identifies the way of bridging the gap between the actual and desirable performance of these school leaders. It presents a proposal to develop their performance in the light of human performance technology (HPT), regarding its dimensions including (organization, administrative jobs, and teacher professional development). The author adopted the descriptive and analytical method and applied a three-domain questionnaire of (305) school leaders and (380) teachers. The results showed the high levels of the actual performance indicators of all dimensions in the light of human performance technology. They also indicated that the dimension of administrative jobs was ranked first, the organization dimension (school) second, respectively, and the teacher professional development dimension was ranked last. They revealed the importance of the desirable performance indicators and the average gap between the actual and desirable performance of school leaders regarding the organization dimension and the teacher professional development dimension. The research paper recommends providing school leaders with much power, authority, and abilities to enhance their role in promoting teacher professional development. Moreover, it suggests conducting further studies to adopt a proposal for developing the performance of school leaders

Liposomes for Targeting RNA Interference-Based Therapy in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

The discovery of RNA interference (RNAi) in mammalian cells in 2001 opened up a new class of candidate therapeutics for hard-to-cure diseases like inflammatory bowel diseases. The main challenge for the development of RNAi-based therapeutics is the efficient and safe delivery of RNAi since the RNAi machinery is housed in the cytoplasm. Among the various approaches to active targeting, liposome-based delivery systems are innovative and promising systems to transport and control RNAi molecules release and overcome some of their limitations. Many RNAis in lipid formulations have progressed through various stages of clinical trials, with the measurable improvements in patients and no side effects. For colon targeting, liposomes can be manipulated by different methods. This chapter discusses the progress in delivering RNAi molecules to the colon using liposomes

Potential Toxicity of Nanoparticles for the Oral Delivery of Therapeutics

Nanoparticles (NPs) offer a promising solution for orally delivering therapeutic substances due to their capability to surpass traditional drug delivery system (DDS) limitations like low solubility, bioavailability, and stability. However, the possible toxic effects of using NPs for oral therapeutic delivery raise significant concerns, as they might interact with biological systems unexpectedly. This chapter aims to comprehensively understand the potential toxicity of NPs employed in oral therapeutic delivery. Factors such as size, surface area, surface charge, and surface chemistry of NPs can impact their toxicity levels. Both in vitro and in vivo models have been utilised to evaluate NPs toxicity, with in vivo models being more suitable for anticipating human toxicity. The possible toxic consequences of different NPs varieties, including polymer, lipid, and metal NPs, have been documented. Ultimately, grasping the potential toxicity of NPs in oral therapeutic delivery is essential for creating safe and effective DDS

PULMONARY DELIVERY OF PNEUMOCCOCAL VACCINE USING NANOCOMPOSITE MICROPARTICLE CARRIERS VIA DRY POWDER INHALATION

S. pneumoniae is one of the most significant human pathogens, causing high morbidity and mortality rates globally. Although there are vaccine available such as PPV 23, PCV7, PCV10, and PCV13, they are ineffective in some situations due to the differing epidemiology of various serotypes depending on the site of infection and the geographical location. Furthermore, they are expensive to produce and distribute. Universal research is presently concentrated on establishing other pneumococcalvaccine approaches such as using pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA) which relate to pathogenesis and are common to all serotypes. In this study polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) encapsulating PspA4Pro were incorporated into microcarriers using L-leucine and spray dried to produce nanocomposite micro#particles (NCMPs) dry powder for inhalation. Parameters for the preparation of protein-loaded polyester poly (Glycerol Adipate-co-ω-Pentadecalactone), (PGA-co-PDL) NCMPs were optimised using Taguchi design and BSA as a model protein, by the double emulsion solvent evaporation method followed by spray drying. Particle size was mainly affected by the polymer mass and small particle size ≤ 500nm was achieved. The most important factor for obtaining a high BSA loading was BSA concentration. The spray drying process was optimised to produce NCMPs with a porous corrugated surface, 50% yield, MMAD of 1.71±0.10 μm and FPF% of 78.57±0.1%. Adsorption of chitosan hydrochloride (CHL) onto PGA-co-PDL NPs can be used assuccessful strategies to produce cationic NPs. Cationic NPs were prepared with similarparticle size to anionic NPs ≤ 500nm. The In vitro aerosolisation performance ofcationic NPs/NCMPs showed FPF% of 46.79±11.21% and MMAD of 1.49±0.29 μm. Further cell viability studies on A549 cell line showed a good profile with a cell viability of 79±4.7% for anionic NPs/NCMPs and 78.85±9.96% for cationic xviii NPs/NCMPs at 2.5 mg/ml concentration after 24 h exposure. The previous results introduced a successful method for preparing anionic and cationic NPs/NCMPs for delivering PspA4Pro as dry powder via inhalation. The particle size of PspAPro4 loaded anionic NPs and cationic NPs were 310±25.3 nm and 409.7±49.5 nm, respectively, to be effectively taken up by dendritic cells (DCs). The PspA4Pro loading in anionic NPs was 65.73±5.6 μg/mg and in cationic NPs was 9.84±1.4 μg/mg. The PspA4Pro released from anionic and cationic NPs/NCMPs preserved its primary and secondary structure as evaluated by SDS-PAGE and circular dichroism. In vitro release studies showed that the anionic NPs/NCMPs formulations achieved a cumulative release of 21.01±1.5% while the cationic NPs/NCMPs formulation released 83.13 ±0.84% after 48 h. DCs uptake studies provide evidence of particles uptake by DCs upon incubation for 1 h as visualized by confocal microscopy. These results indicate the use of optimised methods for developing polymeric based NCMPs for vaccine delivery via inhalation against pneumococcal diseases

Recent Advances Using Supercritical Fluid Techniques for Pulmonary Administration of Macromolecules via Dry Powder Formulations

Growing demands on a suitable formulation method that ensures the stability of the active compound coupled with the limitations of current methods (milling, lyophilization, spray drying, and freeze spray drying) has brought wide attention to supercritical fluid (SCF) technology. Advantages of using the SCF technology comprise its high abilities, adaptability in providing alternative processing methods, high compressibility and diffusivity of the supercritical fluid, capability as an alternative for conventional organic solvents, and the option to attain different processing parameters which would be otherwise difficult to conduct with traditional methods. This review proposes to present an up-to-date outlook on dry powder pulmonary formulations of macromolecules using SCF technology

Bovine serum albumin adsorbed PGA-CO-PDL nanocarriers for vaccine delivery via dry powder inhalation

Purpose: Dry powder vaccine delivery via the pulmonary route has gained significant attention as an alternate route to parenteral delivery. In this study, we investigated bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorbed poly(glycerol adipate-co-ω-pentadecalactone), PGA-co-PDL polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) within L-leucine (L-leu) microcarriers for dry powder inhalation. Methods: NPs were prepared by oil-in-water single emulsion-solvent evaporation and particle size optimised using Taguchi's design of experiment. BSA was adsorbed onto NPs at different ratios at room temperature. The NPs were spray-dried in aqueous suspension of L-leu (1:1.5) using a Büchi-290 mini-spray dryer. The resultant nanocomposite microparticles (NCMPs) were characterised for toxicity (MTT assay), aerosolization (Next Generation Impactor), in vitro release study and BSA was characterized using SDS-PAGE and CD respectively. Results: NPs of size 128.50∈±∈6.57 nm, PDI 0.07∈±∈0.03 suitable for targeting lung dendritic cells were produced. BSA adsorption for 1 h resulted in 10.23∈±∈1.87 μg of protein per mg of NPs. Spray-drying with L-leu resulted in NCMPs with 42.35∈±∈3.17% yield. In vitro release study at 37°C showed an initial burst release of 30.15∈±∈2.33% with 95.15∈±∈1.08% over 48 h. Aerosolization studies indicated fine particle fraction (FPF%) dae∈<∈4.46 μm as 76.95∈±∈5.61% and mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) of 1.21∈±∈0.67 μm. The cell viability was 87.01∈±∈14.11% (A549 cell line) and 106.04∈±∈21.14% (16HBE14o- cell line) with L-leu based NCMPs at 1.25 mg/ml concentration after 24 h treatment. The SDS-PAGE and CD confirmed the primary and secondary structure of the released BSA. Conclusions: The results suggest that PGA-co-PDL/L-leu NCMPs may be a promising carrier for pulmonary vaccine delivery due to excellent BSA adsorption and aerosolization behaviour

Bovine Serum Albumin Adsorbed PGA-co-PDL Nanocarriers for Vaccine Delivery via Dry Powder Inhalation

PURPOSE: Dry powder vaccine delivery via the pulmonary route has gained significant attention as an alternate route to parenteral delivery. In this study, we investigated bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorbed poly(glycerol adipate-co-ω-pentadecalactone), PGA-co-PDL polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) within L-leucine (L-leu) microcarriers for dry powder inhalation. METHODS: NPs were prepared by oil-in-water single emulsion-solvent evaporation and particle size optimised using Taguchi’s design of experiment. BSA was adsorbed onto NPs at different ratios at room temperature. The NPs were spray-dried in aqueous suspension of L-leu (1:1.5) using a Büchi-290 mini-spray dryer. The resultant nanocomposite microparticles (NCMPs) were characterised for toxicity (MTT assay), aerosolization (Next Generation Impactor), in vitro release study and BSA was characterized using SDS-PAGE and CD respectively. RESULTSL NPs of size 128.50 ± 6.57 nm, PDI 0.07 ± 0.03 suitable for targeting lung dendritic cells were produced. BSA adsorption for 1 h resulted in 10.23 ± 1.87 μg of protein per mg of NPs. Spray-drying with L-leu resulted in NCMPs with 42.35 ± 3.17% yield. In vitro release study at 37°C showed an initial burst release of 30.15 ± 2.33% with 95.15 ± 1.08% over 48 h. Aerosolization studies indicated fine particle fraction (FPF%) dae < 4.46 μm as 76.95 ± 5.61% and mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) of 1.21 ± 0.67 μm. The cell viability was 87.01 ± 14.11% (A549 cell line) and 106.04 ± 21.14% (16HBE14o- cell line) with L-leu based NCMPs at 1.25 mg/ml concentration after 24 h treatment. The SDS-PAGE and CD confirmed the primary and secondary structure of the released BSA. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that PGA-co-PDL/L-leu NCMPs may be a promising carrier for pulmonary vaccine delivery due to excellent BSA adsorption and aerosolization behaviour

Dry powder pulmonary delivery of cationic PGA-co-PDL nanoparticles with surface adsorbed model protein.

Pulmonary delivery of macromolecules has been the focus of attention as an alternate route of delivery with benefits such as; large surface area, thin alveolar epithelium, rapid absorption and extensive vasculature. In this study, a model protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA) was adsorbed onto cationic PGA-co-PDL polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) prepared by a single emulsion solvent evaporation method using a cationic surfactant didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DMAB) at 2% w/w (particle size: 128.64±06.01nm and zeta-potential: +42.32±02.70mV). The optimum cationic NPs were then surface adsorbed with BSA, NP:BSA (100:4) ratio yielded 10.01±1.19μg of BSA per mg of NPs. The BSA adsorbed NPs (5mg/ml) were then spray-dried in an aqueous suspension of L-leucine (7.5mg/ml, corresponding to a ratio of 1:1.5/NP:l-leu) using a Büchi-290 mini-spray dryer to produce nanocomposite microparticles (NCMPs) containing cationic NPs. The aerosol properties showed a fine particle fraction (FPF, dae<4.46μm) of 70.67±4.07% and mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) of 2.80±0.21μm suggesting a deposition in the respiratory bronchiolar region of the lungs.The cell viability was 75.76±03.55% (A549 cell line) at 156.25μg/ml concentration after 24h exposure. SDS-PAGE and circular dichroism (CD) confirmed that the primary and secondary structure of the released BSA was maintained. Moreover, the released BSA showed 78.76±1.54% relative esterolytic activity compared to standard BSA

In vivo and in vitro biocompatible alginate film crosslinked with Ca2+ and Co2+ manifests antiviral, antibacterial and anticancer activity

Alginate crosslinked with calcium cations is a promising hydrogel for biomedical applications as it is non-toxic, has suitable mechanical properties and is insoluble in water. Cobalt has been shown to possess antibacterial capacity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and has an angiogenesis effect. In this study, alginate films were crosslinked with Ca2+ and Co2+ ions to explore their biological properties in terms of antiviral capacity, antibacterial properties, anticancer activity and their toxicity. The results show that the hydrogel with a very small amount of cobalt was biocompatible in vivo using the Caenorhabditis elegans model and in vitro on human keratinocyte cells and it also exhibited antibacterial activity against the life-threatening methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus. Furthermore, this hydrogel showed antiviral activity against a surrogate of SARSCoV-2 and anticancer properties against melanoma and colon cancer cells, which render it a promising material for biomedical applications such as wound healing and tissue engineering. Water sorption experiments, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, electron microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry and degradation analysis in acid aqueous medium were performed to complete the characterization of these new materials.The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Fundacion ´ Universidad Catolica ´ de Valencia San Vicente Martir ´ and to the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for their financial support through Grant 2020-231-006UCV and PID2020-119333RB-I00 / AEI / 10.13039/501100011033, respectively.TheCIBER-BBNinitiativeis funded by the VI National R&D&I Plan 2008 − 2011, Iniciativa Ingenio 2010, Consolider Program.CIBER actions are financed by the Instituto de Salud CarlosIII with assistance from the European Regional Development.Funding support also from Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP-2023R782), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaBiotecnologí

In Vitro Characterization of Inhalable Cationic Hybrid Nanoparticles as Potential Vaccine Carriers

In this study, PGA-co-PDL nanoparticles (NPs) encapsulating model antigen, bovine serum albumin (BSA), were prepared via double emulsion solvent evaporation. In addition, chitosan hydrochloride (CHL) was incorporated into the external phase of the emulsion solvent method, which resulted in surface adsorption onto the NPs to form hybrid cationic CHL NPs. The BSA encapsulated CHL NPs were encompassed into nanocomposite microcarriers (NCMPs) composed of l-leucine to produce CHL NPs/NCMPs via spray drying. The CHL NPs/NCMPs were investigated for in vitro aerosolization, release study, cell viability and uptake, and stability of protein structure. Hybrid cationic CHL NPs (CHL: 10 mg/mL) of particle size (480.2 ± 32.2 nm), charge (+14.2 ± 0.72 mV), and BSA loading (7.28 ± 1.3 µg/mg) were produced. The adsorption pattern was determined to follow the Freundlich model. Aerosolization of CHL NPs/NCMPs indicated fine particle fraction (FPF: 46.79 ± 11.21%) and mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD: 1.49 ± 0.29 µm). The BSA α-helical structure was maintained, after release from the CHL NPs/NCMPs, as indicated by circular dichroism. Furthermore, dendritic cells (DCs) and A549 cells showed good viability (≥70% at 2.5 mg/mL after 4–24 h exposure, respectively). Confocal microscopy and flow cytometry data showed hybrid cationic CHL NPs were successfully taken up by DCs within 1 h of incubation. The upregulation of CD40, CD86, and MHC-II cell surface markers indicated that the DCs were successfully activated by the hybrid cationic CHL NPs. These results suggest that the CHL NPs/NCMPs technology platform could potentially be used for the delivery of proteins to the lungs for immunostimulatory applications such as vaccines