Development of local strontium ranelate delivery systems and long term in vitro drug release studies in osteogenic medium

Funding Information: The authors acknowledge financial support from the Latvian Academy of Sciences though the ERANet under the frame of EuroNanoMed-II (Nanoforosteo, Project number: Z/14/1187) and the Riga Technical University and Riga Stardiņš University Cooperation Research Project No. RTU/RSU-18. Publisher Copyright: © 2018, The Author(s).It has been recognized that the operative stabilization of osteoporotic fractures should be followed up with an appropriate osteoporosis treatment in order to decrease the risk of repeated fractures. Despite the good clinical results of strontium ranelate (SrRan) towards the osteoporosis treatment, high drug doses and long treatment period cause an increased risk of serious side effects. Novel local SrRan/poly(lactic acid) (SrRan/PLA) delivery systems containing from 3.57 ± 0.28 wt% to 24.39 ± 0.91 wt% of active substance were developed. In order to resemble the naturally occurring processes, osteogenic media (OM) was used as a release medium for long term (121 days) in vitro drug release studies and UV/VIS method for the determination of SrRan content in OM was developed and validated. Biomimetic calcium phosphate precipitates were found on the surface and in the pores of prepared delivery system after microcapsule exposure to OM for 121 days as well as SrRan particles, indicating that the release of the drug have not been completed within 121 days. In vitro cell viability evaluation approved no cytotoxic effects of microcapsule suspensions and extracts.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Immunoisolating semi-permeable membranes for cell encapsulation: Focus on hydrogels

Cell-based medicine has recently emerged as a promising cure for patients suffering from various diseases anddisorders that cannot be cured/treated using technologies currently available. Encapsulation within semipermeablemembranes offers transplanted cell protection from the surrounding host environment to achievesuccessful therapeutic function following in vivo implantation. Apart from the immunoisolation requirements,the encapsulating material must allow for cell survival and differentiation while maintaining its physicomechanicalproperties throughout the required implantation period. Here we review the progress made in thedevelopment of cell encapsulation technologies from the mass transport side, highlighting the essentialrequirements of materials comprising immunoisolating membranes. The review will focus on hydrogels, themost common polymers used in cell encapsulation, and discuss the advantages of these materials and thechallenges faced in the modification of their immunoisolating and permeability characteristics in order tooptimize their function

Nanomedical research in Australia and New Zealand

Although Australia and New Zealand have a combined population of less than 30 million, they have an active and interlinked community of nanomedical researchers. This report provides a synopsis and update on this network with a view to identifying the main topics of interest and their likely future trajectories. In addition, our report may also serve to alert others to opportunities for joint projects. Australian and New Zealand researchers are engaged in most of the possible nanomedical topics, but the majority of interest is focused on drug and nucleic acid delivery using nanoparticles or nanoporous constructs. There are, however, smaller programs directed at hyperthermal therapy and radiotherapy, various kinds of diagnostic tests and regenerative technologies. © 2013 Future Medicine Ltd

Porous Silicon in Immunoisolation and Bio-filtration

This chapter focuses on cell immunoisolation and bio-filtration applications of porous silicon membranes. After an introduction on immunoisolation for the treatment of diabetes, the different materials used for that function are reviewed and compared. Applications involving porous silicon are then presented in more detail. Other uses of microfabricated porous silicon membranes in hemofiltration and protein sorting are also discussed.SCOPUS: ch.binfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe