Preparation and in vivo Assessment of Nystatin-Loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles for Topical Delivery against Cutaneous Candidiasis

Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) have gained great attention for the topical treatment of skin associated fungal infection as they facilitate the skin penetration of loaded drugs. Our work deals with the preparation of nystatin loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (NystSLNs) using the hot homogenization and ultrasonication method. The prepared NystSLNs were characterized in terms of entrapment efficiency, particle size, zeta potential, transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, rheological behavior and in vitro drug release. A stability study for 6 months was performed. A microbiological study was conducted in male rats infected with Candida albicans, by counting the colonies and examining the histopathological changes induced on the skin of infected rats. The results showed that SLNs dispersions are spherical in shape with particle size ranging from 83.26±11.33 to 955.04±1.09 nm. The entrapment efficiencies are ranging from 19.73±1.21 to 72.46±0.66% with zeta potential ranging from -18.9 to -38.8 mV and shear-thinning rheological Behavior. The stability studies done for 6 months showed that nystatin (Nyst) is a good candidate for topical SLN formulations. A least number of colony forming unit/ ml (cfu/ml) was recorded for the selected NystSLN compared to the drug solution and the commercial Nystatin® cream present in the market. It can be fulfilled from this work that SLNs provide a good skin targeting effect and may represent promising carrier for topical delivery of Nyst offering the sustained release and maintaining the localized effect, resulting in an effective treatment of cutaneous fungal infection

Radial artery anomalies in patients undergoing transradial coronary procedures – An Egyptian multicenter experience

Objectives: We investigated the incidence of radial anomalies (RA) in patients undergoing transradial (TR) coronary procedure and their impact on procedural outcome in the Egyptian population. Background: Radial anomalies (RA) are considered an important factor for procedural failure. Information about anatomical variation is limited in our Egyptian population. Methods: We performed a multicentre prospective study in Egypt. A total of 650 consecutive patients undergoing their first TR coronary procedure were recruited from January 2013 till January 2015. By retrograde radial arteriography we assessed the frequency of RA and their impact on procedural outcome. Results: 650 consecutive patients were studied, 74% male, mean (SD) age 55 (10) years. The overall incidence of radial artery anomaly was 12.6% (n = 82). 40 (6.2%) patients had a high-bifurcating radial origin, 8 (1.2%) had a full radial loop, 14 (2.1%) had extreme radial artery tortuosity and 20 (3%) had other anomalies such as persistent left subclavian artery and extreme subclavian tortuosity. Overall transradial procedural success was 95%. Procedural failure was more common in patients with anomalous anatomy (39%) than in patients with normal anatomy (0.2%). Procedural failure was highest in patients with radial loop (87.5%), followed by those with subclavian tortuosity (45%), then high radial bifurcation (30%), and severe radial tortuosity (28.5%). 14 (2.1%) vascular complications occurred, all of which were treated conservatively. Conclusion: There is a relatively significant presence of radial anomalies, with different degrees of impact on procedural failure rate, in our Egyptian population. Further collaborative studies are recommended to increase our success rates