Excipient-free inhalable microparticles of Azithromycin produced by electrospray: A novel approach to direct pulmonary delivery of antibiotics

Inhalation therapy offers several advantages in respiratory disease treatment. Azithromycin is a macrolide antibiotic with poor solubility and bioavailability but with a high potential to be used to fight lung infections. The main objective of this study was to generate a new inhalable dry powder azithromycin formulation. To this end, an electrospray was used, yielding a particle size around 2.5 µm, which is considered suitable to achieve total deposition in the respiratory system. The physicochemical properties and morphology of the obtained microparticles were analysed with a battery of characterization techniques. In vitro deposition assays were evaluated after aerosolization of the powder at constant flow rate (100 L/min) and the consideration of the simulation of two different realistic breathing profiles (healthy and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients) into a next generation impactor (NGI). The formulation was effective in vitro against two types of bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Finally, the particles were biocompatible, as evidenced by tests on the alveolar cell line (A549) and bronchial cell line (Calu-3). © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanodots deposited on titania nanoparticles: unconventional near-infrared active photocatalysts for cancer therapy

Cancer represents a major public health issue and a primary cause of death for the mankind and the search for alternative cancer treatments that assist or alleviate the drawbacks of current cancer therapies remains imperative. Nanocatalytic medicine represents a new discipline that aims at exploiting the unique response of heterogeneous catalysts exposed to unconventional conditions such as those encountered in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Photo-triggered cancer therapies using light-activable catalytic materiales can stimulate and activate multiple biological processes and represent a very promising field of study. Herein, we evaluate the use of carbon nanodots with different composition (CNDs) retrieved by laser pyrolysis as potential near-infrared (NIR) photosensitizers able to activate P25 semiconductor nanostructured photocatalysts. We describe the enhanced photocatalytic response towards glucose conversion and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation upon irradiation with NIR-LEDs when CNDs doped with heteroatoms were tested. The most active photocatalysts were evaluated in the presence of cancer cells and revealed a promising photodynamic effect under NIR irradiation. This work represents one of the scarce examples of a conventional inorganic photocatalyst containing TiO2 that is translated into a biomedical application with a successful outcome

An exploratory study of fibre microplastics pollution in different process stages of salt production by solar evaporation in Spain

Microplastics are a pollutant of growing concern. Several studies have found microplastics in table salt worldwide in the last decade, although most have focused on already prepackaged salt. To the best of our knowledge, there is no previous research analysing the entire salt production process. In this study focused on solar evaporation salinas, brine and salt samples were obtained from each stage of production, starting with the entrance of seawater/brine until the final stage of ready-to-sell salt, in six sites in Spain. We extracted microplastics from each sample after 30 % H2O2 digestion and filtration through cellulose nitrate 5 μm pore filters. Microplastic fibres were optically analysed with an Olympus DSX1000. Results indicate that microplastics are present both in seawater and air, with atmospheric fallout identified as the primary source. Microplastic concentrations from the entrance to the salina till the inlet to the crystallizers ranges from 256 to 1500 items per liter and from 79 to 193 microplastics per kg for packaged salt were estimated. Artisanal salina F shows the highest content in microplastics. This study hopes to give insight into the origin and causes of microplastic pollution in solar evaporation salinas and contribute to preventing this form of pollution in food-grade salt

Aloysia citriodora Palau

Aloysia citriodora Palau, cedron or lemon verbena, is a South American aromatic species widespread in North America, Eurasia, and Africa. It is appreciated because it therapeutic and food (condiment, flavoring) uses. Also is valued as ornamental, insect repellent, and sometimes in perfumery. Its popular culinary and medicinal uses have been expanded from Latin America to the rest of the Western world. Its main active constituents are essential oils, to which owes its aroma and flavor similar to lemon, but also contain flavonoids, verbascosides, iridoids heterosides, and others. It most disseminated uses in folk medicine include those to treat gastrointestinal disorders (digestive, antispasmodic, carminative, antidiarrheal), mild sedative, cardiotonic, febrifuge, analgesic, and antiseptic. Various experimental studies validate different effects, as eupeptic, spasmolytic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, hypotensive, among others. Its sedative/anxiolytic activity requires deeper further studies. Of particular interest are its cancer-related effects analyzed to date (antimutagenic, antigenotoxic, and antiangiogenic), and its antioxidant activity linked in various ways to our health.Fil: Hurrell, Julio Alberto. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Laboratorio de Etnobotánica y Botánica Aplicada; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentin