Tackling the various classes of nano-therapeutics employed in topical therapy of psoriasis

Psoriasis is a dermatological chronic skin condition with underlying autoimmune etiology. It deeply affects patients’ quality of life. Therefore, it was an interesting target for researchers throughout the past years. Conventionally, the treatment options include anti-inflammatory agents, immune suppressants, biologic treatment, and phototherapy. Nanotechnology offers promising characteristics that allow for tailoring a drug carrier to achieve dermal targeting, improved efficacy and minimize undesirable effects. Being the safest route, the first line of treatment and a targeted approach, we solely discussed the use of the topical route, combined with advanced drug delivery systems for the management of psoriasis in this article. Advanced systems include polymeric, metallic, lipidic and hybrid nanocarriers incorporating different active agents. All formerly mentioned types of drug delivery systems were investigated through the past decades for the purpose of topical application on psoriatic plaques. Scientists’ efforts are promising to reach an optimized formula with a convenient dosage form to improve efficacy, safety, and compliance for the treatment of psoriasis. Accordingly, it will offer a better quality of life for patients

A nanoparticle-based approach to improve the outcome of cancer active immunotherapy with lipopolysaccharides

This study sought to develop a simple nanoparticle-based approach to enhance the efficiency and tolerability of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a potent ligand of Toll-like Receptor 4 (TLR4), for immunotherapy in cancer. Despite holding promise within this context, the strong pro-inflammatory properties of LPS also account for its low tolerability given localized and systemic side effects, which restrict the administrable dosage. Herein, we investigated the effect of LPS decoration as a surface-active molecule on a polymeric matrix upon its efficiency and tolerability. The LPS-decorated nanoparticles (LPS-NP) were about 150 nm in size, with slightly negative zeta potential (about −15 mV) and acceptable LPS incorporation (about 70%). In vitro, the particles accounted for a higher induction of apoptosis in tumor cells cultured with murine splenocytes compared to LPS solution. When used for the treatment of a murine syngeneic colorectal tumor model, higher intratumoral deposition of the particle-bound LPS was observed. Furthermore, unlike LPS solution, which accounted for localized necrosis at high concentrations, treatment of tumor-bearing animals with equivalent doses of LPS-NP was well tolerated. We propose that the observed localized necrosis can be Shwartzman phenomenon, which, due to modulated 24-h post-injection systemic TNF-α and LPS concentrations, have been avoided in case of LPS-NP. This has in turn enhanced the therapeutic efficiency and enabled complete tumor regression at concentrations at which LPS solution was intolerable. The findings indicate that nanoparticles can serve as beyond carriers for the delivery of superficially decorated LPS molecules, but impact their overall efficiency and tolerability in cancer therapy

Boosting the In Vivo Transdermal Bioavailability of Asenapine Maleate Using Novel Lavender Oil-Based Lipid Nanocapsules for Management of Schizophrenia

Lipid nanocapsules (LNCs) are promising for transdermal drug delivery due to their higher permeability-enhancing effects compared to polymeric nanoparticles. Lavender oil is an essential oil consisting of several terpenes (primarily linalool and linalyl acetate) known for their profound permeation-enhancing action. In the present work, we successfully encapsulated asenapine maleate (a second-generation antipsychotic that is highly metabolized by the liver, reducing its oral bioavailability) into biocompatible LNCs for transdermal application using a novel oily phase, i.e., lavender oil (LO-LNCs). A comparative study was conducted to determine the effects of different oily phases (i.e., Miglyol® 812, Labrafil® M1944CS, and Labrafac™ PG) on the LNCs. Surfactant types (Kolliphor® HS15, Kolliphor® EL and Tween80) and oil:surfactant ratios were studied. Blank and asenapine-loaded LNCs were optimized for particle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, drug content and ex vivo skin permeation. Lavender oil and Labrafil® showed smaller vesicular sizes, while LO-LNCs increased the permeation of ASP across rat skin. In vivo pharmacokinetics revealed that LO-LNCs could increase the ASP Cmax via transdermal application by fourfold compared to oral suspension. They increased the bioavailability of ASP by up to 52% and provided sustained release for three days. The pharmacokinetic profile of the LO-LNCs was compared to ASP-loaded invasomes (discussed in a previous study) to emphasize LNCs’ transdermal delivery behavior

Lipoproteins as Drug Carriers for Cyclosporine A: Optimization of the Entrapment

Lipoproteins are natural nanostructures responsible for the transport of cholesterol and other lipids in the blood. They are characterized by having a lipophilic core surrounded by an amphiphilic shell composed of phospholipids, cholesterol and one or more apolipoproteins. Being endogenous carriers makes them suitable for drug delivery purposes. Here, we investigate the effect of lipoproteins’ intricate composition on the entrapment efficiency of a model drug “Cyclosporine A” into the different types of lipoproteins, namely, HDL, LDL and VLDL. It was observed that the protein content of the lipoproteins had the highest effect on the entrapment of the drug with a correlation coefficient of 0.80, 0.81 and 0.96 for HDL, LDL and VLDL respectively. This was even confirmed by the effect of plasma on the association rate of lipoproteins and the drug. The second effective factor is the cholesterol concentration, while triglycerides and phospholipids had a negligible effect

Phycoremediation of contaminated water by cadmium (Cd) using two cyanobacterial strains (Trichormus variabilis and Nostoc muscorum)

Background Water pollution with heavy metals is a severe dilemma that concerns the whole world related to its risk to natural ecosystems and human health. The main objective was to evaluate the removal efficiency of Cd of various concentrations from contaminated aqueous solution by use of two cyanobacterial strains (Nostoc muscorum and Trichormus variabilis). For this purpose, a specially designed laboratory pilot-scale experiment was conducted using these two cyanobacterial strains on four different initial concentrations of Cd (0, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 mg L−1) for 21 days. Results N. muscorum was more efficient than T. variabilis for removing Cd (II), with the optimum value of residual Cd of 0.033 mg L−1 achieved by N. muscorum after 21 days with initial concentration of 0.5 mg L−1, translating to removal efficiency of 93.4%, while the residual Cd (II) achieved by T. variabilis under the same conditions was 0.054 mg L−1 (89.13% removal efficiency). Algal growth parameters and photosynthetic pigments were estimated for both cyanobacterial strains throughout the incubation period. Conclusions High Cd concentration had a more toxic impact on algal growth. The outcomes of this study will help to produce treated water that could be reused in agrarian activities.Validerad;2022;Nivå 2;2022-01-01 (johcin)</p

Quercetin and tin protoporphyrin attenuate hepatic ischemia reperfusion injury: role of HO-1

Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch Pharmacol (2017) 390:871–881 DOI 10.1007/s00210-017-1389-