Development of progesterone electrospun nanofibers to coat Arabin pessaries as a dual preventive and therapeutic approach for preterm labor

Preterm labor is a growing health problem that causes newborn death, and safe and effective therapy is significantly needed. Arabin pessaries and progesterone are preventive and therapeutic approaches that can be applied to managing the short cervix; hence, reducing the risk of preterm labor. The main goal of current work is to fabricate a novel nanofiber formulation based on polycaprolactone (PCL) and loaded with progesterone to coat for Arabin pessaries to be used as dual preventive and therapeutic approaches for local vaginal delivery. Several important criteria were considered in this study to assess the prepared nanofibers (i.e.; nanofiber diameter, progesterone loading efficiency, progesterone release profiles and in vitro cytotoxicity assessment). The results showed a dimeter of 397 ± 88 nm, drug loading of 142 ± 3 µg/mg and encapsulation efficiency of 99 ± 2 % for the progesterone-loaded nanofibers. Approximately, 17 % of progesterone was released from the nanofibers after 90 days. The in vitro assessment showed that the application of progesterone is safe upon 24 and 48-hours incubation on HFF-1 cell line at concentrations ≤ 32 µg/mL and within 72-hours at a dose of ≤ 8 µg/mL. To conclude, the data recommended that progesterone-loaded nanofibers can coat the Arabin pessaries with the potential of being a safe and effective dual preventive and therapeutic tool for preterm labor

The Delivery of the Novel Drug ‘Halicin’ Using Electrospun Fibers for the Treatment of Pressure Ulcer against Pathogenic Bacteria

Pressure ulcer or bedsore is a form of skin infection that commonly occurs with patients admitted to the hospital for an extended period of time, which might lead to severe complications in the absence of medical attention, resulting in infection either by drug-sensitive or drug-resistant bacteria. Halicin, a newly discovered drug effective against several bacterial strains, including multidrug-resistant bacteria, was investigated to reduce bacterial infection burden. This study aims to formulate halicin into electrospun fibers to be applied in bedsores as antibacterial dressing to assess its efficacy against gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Acinetobacter baumannii) by studying the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and bacterial zone of inhibition assays. The diameters of inhibition growth zones were measured, and the results have shown that the drug-loaded fibers were able to inhibit the growth of bacteria compared to the halicin discs. The release profile of the drug-loaded fibers exhibited a complete release of the drug after 2 h. The results demonstrated that the drug-loaded fibers could successfully release the drug while retaining their biological activity and they may be used as a potential antimicrobial dressing for patients with pressure ulcers caused by multidrug resistant bacteria

Fast-Dissolving Nifedipine and Atorvastatin Calcium Electrospun Nanofibers as a Potential Buccal Delivery System

Geriatric patients are more likely to suffer from multiple chronic diseases that require using several drugs, which are commonly ingested. However, to enhance geriatric patients’ convenience, the electrospun nanofiber system was previously proven to be a successful alternative for the existing oral dosage forms, i.e., tablets and capsules. These nanofibers prepared either as single- or multi-layered fibers could hold at least one active compound in each layer. They might also be fabricated as ultra-disintegrated fibrous films for oral cavity administration, i.e., buccal or sublingual, to improve the bioavailability and intake of the administered drugs. Therefore, in this work, a combination of nifedipine and atorvastatin calcium, which are frequently prescribed for hypertension and hyperlipidemia patients, respectively, was prepared in a coaxial electrospinning system for buccal administration. Scanning electron microscopy image showed the successful preparation of smooth, non-beaded, and non-porous surfaces of the drug-loaded nanofibers with an average fiber diameter of 968 ± 198 nm. In contrast, transmission electron microscopy distinguished the inner and outer layers of those nanofibers. The disintegration of the drug-loaded nanofibers was ≤12 s, allowing the rapid release of nifedipine and atorvastatin calcium to 61% and 47%, respectively, after 10 min, while a complete drug release was achieved after 120 min. In vitro, a drug permeation study using Franz diffusion showed that the permeation of both drugs from the core–shell nanofibers was enhanced significantly (p < 0.05) compared to the drugs in a solution form. In conclusion, the development of drug-loaded nanofibers containing nifedipine and atorvastatin calcium can be a potential buccal delivery system

Reply to Zandi, M.; Soltani, S. Comment on “Alfassam et al. Development of a Colorimetric Tool for SARS-CoV-2 and Other Respiratory Viruses Detection Using Sialic Acid Fabricated Gold Nanoparticles. <i>Pharmaceutics</i> 2021, <i>13</i>, 502”

When COVID-19 was first announced back in 2019, there were vast number of attempts to halt the progression of the SARS-CoV-2 virus once and for all [...