A novel approach for skin infections: Controlled release topical mats of poly (lactic acid)/poly(ethylene succinate) blends containing Voriconazole

WOS: 000438500700010The oral and injectable formulations of Voriconazole (VRZ), a known antifungal agent with low solubility, seem to cause severe side effects. Consequently, topical application of VRZ could be advantageous for skin fungal infections. In this study, VRZ embedded in a polymeric matrix composed of biocompatible poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(ethylene succinate) (PESu). The mats were prepared via solvent evaporation and fully characterized by Fourier-Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), in vitro hydrolysis and release studies. The prepared blends defined as immiscible by DSC and SEM while FTIR spectroscopy did not disclose noticeable interactions between the polymers. It was found that hydrolysis was improved by increasing PESu content into the blend. VRZ loaded blends spectra exhibit slight differentiation compared to neat blends while the absence of VRZ melting peak, as DSC illustrated, indicated drug amorphization. Lastly, in vitro release studies depicted a controlled release pattern dependent on mats' hydrolysis degree. An improved antifungal activity of mats was detected by disc diffusion method against various microorganisms. Ex vivo studies of VRZ did not determine high permeation while histopathology results using mice were profitable. The irritation experiments displayed that the mats did not induce any skin irritation

İzmir ili ve çevresinde satışa sunulan tahıl gevreği ve müslilerin küf izolasyonu ve küflerin tanılanması

Bu çalışmada İzmir İli ve çevresinde satışa sunulan çeşitli firmaların ürettiği müsli ve diğer kahvaltılık gevrekler küf florası bakımından incelenmiştir. İl çevresindeki hipermarketlerden ve semt pazarlarından temin edilen 75 örnekte bulunan fungusların izolasyonu ve tanılanması amaçlanmıştır. Toplam 536 küf izole edilmiş ve 38 farklı tür tanılanmıştır. Ayrıca 87 adet ozmofil küf izole edilmiştir. İzole edilen küflerin 217’si Aspergillus genusuna; 190’ı Penicillium genusuna, 25 tanesi Alternaria genusuna, 21 tanesi Cladosporium genusuna, 28 tanesi Fusarium genusuna, 43 tanesi Rhizopus genusuna ve 15 tanesi Trichoderma genusuna aittir. İzole edilen ozmofilik genuslar ise Aspergillus (73) ve Rhizopus (14)’tur. Çalışmalar sonucunda izole edilen küflerin bir kısmının potansiyel olarak mikotoksijenik etki yapabilecek küf türleri arasında olduğu saptanmıştır

Hurma Zeytinin (Erkence cv.) Fizikokimyasal ve Duyusal Özellikleri Üzerinde Paketleme Öncesi Uygulamaların ve Farklı Gaz Kompozisyonlarının Etkisi

Hurma olive is a special olive cultivar that loses its bitter taste before harvesting, and sweetness occurs when the fruit is still on the tree. Thus, it can be directly consumed right after being harvested. Studies on the preservation of Hurma olive without salt have been very limited and it has not been implemented in practice yet. in this study, some quality characteristics of Hurma olives under different modified atmospheres were determined during storage. For this purpose, the efficacy of washing, lactic acid dip, and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) were studied throughout 120 days at 1°C. Hurma olive samples were washed with tap water and dipped in lactic acid solution (0.2% w/v) for 1 minute before packaging. After the application of vacuum, samples were packaged under the atmosphere of 100% CO2, 60% CO2 / 40% N2, and air combination and then stored at 1°C for 120 days. Physicochemical analyses such as acidity, reduced sugar, bitterness, color (CIE L * , a* , b* ) and dry matter contents along with sensory analyses were carried out at regular intervals throughout the storage period. Insignificant differences were determined among washed and unwashed Hurma olives in terms of their physicochemical parameters whereas unwashed olive samples retained sensory characteristics better and preferred more by sensory panelists than washed counterparts. Washed and vacuum packaged samples had more undesired values in terms of the sensory characteristics studied.Hurma zeytin, meyve ağaç üzerindeyken acılığını kaybeden özel bir zeytindir. Hasattan sonra doğrudan tüketilebilir. Hurma zeytinin tuzsuz olarak muhafazasına yönelik çalışmalar çok sınırlı kalmış ve hayata geçirilememiştir. Bu çalışmada, depolama boyunca Hurma zeytinin bazı kalite özellikleri araştırılmış ve farklı gaz kompozisyonları bu zeytinde ilk defa denenmiştir. Bu amaçla 1°C’de 120 gün depolama sırasında yıkama, laktik aside daldırma ve modifiye atmosfer paketlemenin etkinliği incelenmiştir. Zeytinler paketleme öncesinde, çeşme suyu ile yıkanmış ve 1 dakika süreyle %0.2 (w/v)’lik laktik asit çözeltisine daldırılmıştır. Zeytinler vakum uygulamasından sonra %100 CO2, %60 CO2 / %40 N2, ve hava şeklindeki gazlarla paketlendikten sonra 1°C’de 120 gün depolanmıştır. Depolama boyunca asitlik, indirgen şeker, acılık, renk (CIE L * , a* , b* ), kuru madde gibi fizikokimyasal analizler ile duyusal analizler yürütülmüştür. Yıkanmış ve yıkanmamış zeytinler arasında fizikokimyasal analizler açısından önemli fark bulunmazken, duyusal özellikler bakımından daha iyi sonuçlar veren yıkanmamış zeytinler panelistler tarafından daha çok tercih edilmiştir. Yıkanmış ve vakumla paketlenmiş zeytinlerin duyusal açıdan daha kötü değerlere sahip olduğu tespit edilmiştir

Preparation and evaluation of QbD based fusidic acid loaded in situ gel formulations for burn wound treatment

The purpose of this research was to prepare and evaluate the potential use of in situ gel formulations for dermal delivery of fusidic acid for burn wound treatment. Temperature sensitive in situ gels were successfully developed by the cold technique using poloxamer 188, poloxamer 407, poloxamer 338. Finally, the concentration of fusidic acid in formulations was 2% (w/w). The developed formulations were optimized using quality by design (QbD) approach. The prepared formulations were evaluated for clarity, sol-gel transition temperature, gelling capacity, pH, viscosity and drug content. The gelation temperatures of all the fusidic acid loaded formulations were within the range of 30–34 °C. Furthermore, sterility, antibacterial activity, stability, in vitro fusidic acid release, ex vivo permeation, and penetration study of these formulations were also examined. The wound healing feature was appraised by determining the wound contraction and by a histopathological survey. Based on the observed antimicrobial and wound healing effects, the formulations containing fusidic acid could be employed as an alternative to commercial cream. This novel formulation can be employed for making burn wound healing process more efficient

Düzkır Mağarasının (Niğde, Aladağlar) İçi ve Dışından Alınan Toprak Örneklerinde Cryptococcus neoformans ve Histoplazma capsulatum Varlığının Araştırılması

Mağaralar, karanlık, düşük sıcaklık ve yüksek neme sahip ortamlar olup, organik madde girdisinin olmaması gibi koşullar nedeni ile çoğunlukla ekstrem ortamlar olarak tanımlanır. Bu ekstrem koşullar nedeni ile mağaraların mikrobiyal çeşitliliğini başlıca enerji kaynağı olarak indirgenmiş inorganik bileşikleri kullanabilen kemolitotrofik mikroorganizmalar oluşturmaktadır. Ancak insanlar aracılığı ile mağaralara yabancı mikroorganizmaların taşınması ve insan kaynaklı organik maddelerin mağaralara girişi sonucunda da mağaraların doğal biyolojik özellikleri bozulmaktadır. Bunun yanında mağaraların başta yarasalar gibi kanatlı memelilerin dışkıları olmak üzere doğal faunayı oluşturan hayvanların artıkları Cryptococcus neoformans ve Histoplazma capsulatum gibi birç ok patojen organizma için uygun kolonizasyon ortamını oluşturmaktadır. Bu maya türünün insanlarda direkt temas veya solunum yolu ile bulaştığında ciddi hastalıklara yol açtığı düşünüldüğünde, bu mağarayı herhangi bir amaçla ziyaret eden bireyler için tehlike arz edeceği açıktır. Bu nedenle çalışmamızda Niğde’de bulunan Düzkır Mağara’sının içinden ve dışından alınan toprak örneklerinde Cryptococcus neoformans ve Histoplasma capsulatum varlığının araştırılması amaçlanmıştır. Mağara içine ait toprak örneklerinin birinden Cryptococcus genusuna ait bir izolat elde edilmiş, izolatın fenotipik ve genotipik yöntemler kullanılarak tanısı doğrulanmıştır. Ancak Histoplasma capsulatum saptanmamıştır. Ayrıca çalışmamız ülkemizde mağara toprak örneklerinden Cryptococcus neoformans izolasyonu ile ilgili ilk çalışma olması açısından önem arz etmektedir.Caves are defined as extreme environments because of they are dark, in low temperatures and high in humidity and they lack the entries of organic materials. Due to these extreme conditions, the microbial diversity of caves is composed of chemolithotrophic microorganisms that can use reduced inorganic compounds as their energy source. However, the natural biological properties of caves are deteriorating because of the entrance of new microorganisms and human related organic matters due to humans. Besides this, caves are appropriate colonization environments for pathogenic microorganisms such as Cryptococcus neoformans and Histoplazma capsulatum. Since the natural fauna of caves involve winged mammals such as bats and the faeces of these animals. Since this yeast is known to be causing serious health problems by direct contact or inhalation, it is clear that it will possess a risk for people who with any purpose visits these caves. For this reason, this study aims to determine the presence of Cryptococcus neoformans and Histoplasma capsulatum in inside and outside of the soils of Duzkir Cave. As a result of this study, one isolate of Cryptococcus species was acquired from one of the soil samples taken from inside the cave and it is confirmed as C. neoformans by using phenotypical and genotypical methods. However, Histoplasma capsulatum was not detected. The presented study is the first study involving Cryptococcus neoformans isolation from cave soil samples in Turkey

An alternative approach to wound healing field; New composite films from natural polymers for Mupirocin dermal delivery

In this study, novel adhesive films were prepared for Mupirocin dermal delivery. Natural polymers as chitosan, sodium alginate and carbopol were used for films development to evaluate possible interactions and drug release properties. Solvent evaporation method was used for films preparation. Preliminary studies involved FT-IR spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy to specify interactions and morphology. Thickness, tensile strength and water uptake in phosphate buffer saline were evaluated whereas in vitro release studies were also performed. In vitro drug release studies demonstrated that mupirocin release was improved. Ex vivo bioadhesion and permeation studies using Balb-c mice were performed to check the suitability of the films. Antimicrobial ability was evaluated by agar well diffusion tests. Finally, excisional wound model applied to test the wound healing effect and evaluated macroscopic and histopathologically. One formulation was found more effective compared to the market product for wound healing at Balb-c mice

Evaluation of burn wound healing activity of novel fusidic acid loaded microemulsion based gel in male Wistar albino rats

The objective of the present research was to examine the possible usage of microemulsion based gel for fusidic acid (FA) dermal application as burn wound treatment. During the preparation of microemulsion, ethyl oleate as oil phase, tween 80 as a surfactant, ethanol as co-surfactant, water as aqueous phase were used. The prepared microemulsions were evaluated for clarity, pH, viscosity and FA content. Moreover, stability, sterility, antibacterial activity, in vitro release of the formulations were also evaluated. The results showed that the FA loaded microemulsion and microemulsion based gel formation and characteristics were related to many parameters of the components. The performed optimized microemulsion-based gel showed good stability over a period of 3 months. The antibacterial activity of microemulsion-based gel was found to be comparable with marketed cream. RAW 264.7 macrophages were used to determine cell viability (MIT assay) and nitric oxide production. MBG and FA-MBG significantly inhibit the production of the inflammatory mediator NO in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. The wound healing property was evaluated by histopathological examination and by measuring the wound contraction. The % of wound area in rats treated with FA (2%) loaded microemulsion based gel ranged from 69.30% to 41.39% in the period from 3 to 10 days. In conclusion, FA loaded microemulsion based gel could be offered as encouraging strategy as dermal systems for the burn wound treatment