Repurposing simvastatin in cancer treatment: an updated review on pharmacological and nanotechnological aspects.

Management of cancer is challenging due to non-targeting and high side effect issues. Drug repurposing is an innovative method for employing medications for other disease therapy in addition to their original use. Simvastatin, a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme-A reductase inhibitor, is a lipid-lowering drug that is being studied for the treatment of cancer in various in vitro and in vivo models. Nanotechnology offers a potential platform for incorporation of drugs with enhanced pharmaceutical (solubility, release characteristics, stability, etc.) and biological characteristics (targeting, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic). Utilizing a variety of resources such as Scopus, Springer, Web of Science, Elsevier, Bentham Science, Taylor & Francis, and PubMed, a thorough literature search was carried out by looking through electronic records published between 2003 and 2024. The keywords used were simvastatin, drug repurposing, anti-cancer simvastatin, pharmaceutical properties of simvastatin, simvastatin nanoformulations, simvastatin patents, clinical trials, etc. Numerous articles were looked for, filtered, checked out, and incorporated. Pure simvastatin has been researched as a repurposed medication for the treatment of cancer in several in vitro and in vivo models, such as carcinoma of the lung, colon, liver, prostate, breast, and skin. Simvastatin also incorporated into different nanocarriers (nanosuspensions, microparticles/nanoparticles, liposomes, and nanostructured lipid carriers) and showed improvement in solubility, bioavailability, drug loading, release kinetics, and targeting. Clinical trial and patent reports suggest potential of simvastatin in cancer therapy. The preclinical studies of pure simvastatin in in vitro and in vivo models showed the potential for its ability to inhibit cancer cell growth and further incorporation into nanoformulations strengthened its preclinical and pharmaceutical characteristics.

Nanocarrier-Mediated Drug Delivery via Inhalational Route for Lung Cancer Therapy: A Systematic and Updated Review.

Lung cancer is one of the most severe lethal malignancies, with approximately 1.6 million deaths every year. Lung cancer can be broadly categorised into small and non-small-cell lung cancer. The traditional chemotherapy is nonspecific, destroys healthy cells and produces systemic toxicity; targeted inhalation drug delivery in conjunction with nanoformulations has piqued interest as an approach for improving chemotherapeutic drug activity in the treatment of lung cancer. Our aim is to discuss the impact of polymer and lipid-based nanocarriers (polymeric nanoparticles, liposomes, niosomes, nanostructured lipid carriers, etc.) to treat lung cancer via the inhalational route of drug administration. This review also highlights the clinical studies, patent reports and latest investigations related to lung cancer treatment through the pulmonary route. In accordance with the PRISMA guideline, a systematic literature search was carried out for published works between 2005 and 2023. The keywords used were lung cancer, pulmonary delivery, inhalational drug delivery, liposomes in lung cancer, nanotechnology in lung cancer, etc. Several articles were searched, screened, reviewed and included. The analysis demonstrated the potential of polymer and lipid-based nanocarriers to improve the entrapment of drugs, sustained release, enhanced permeability, targeted drug delivery and retention impact in lung tissues. Patents and clinical observations further strengthen the translational potential of these carrier systems for human use in lung cancer. This systematic review demonstrated the potential of pulmonary (inhalational) drug delivery approaches based on nanocarriers for lung cancer therapy.

Stabilization of distearoylphosphatidylcholine lamellar phases in propylene glycol using cholesterol.

Phospholipid vesicles (liposomes) formed in pharmaceutically acceptable nonaqueous polar solvents such as propylene glycol are of interest in drug delivery because of their ability to improve the bioavailability of drugs with poor aqueous solubility. We have demonstrated a stabilizing effect of cholesterol on lamellar phases formed by dispersion of distearoylphosphatidylcholine (DSPC) in water/propylene glycol (PG) solutions with glycol concentrations ranging from 0 to 100%. The stability of the dispersions was assessed by determining the effect of propylene glycol concentration on structural parameters of the lamellar phases using a complementary combination of X-ray and neutron scattering techniques at 25 °C and in the case of X-ray scattering at 65 °C. Significantly, although stable lamellar phases (and liposomes) were formed in all PG solutions at 25 °C, the association of the glycol with the liposomes' lamellar structures led to the formation of interdigitated phases, which were not thermostable at 65 °C. With the addition of equimolar quantities of cholesterol to the dispersions of DSPC, stable lamellar dispersions (and indeed liposomes) were formed in all propylene glycol solutions at 25 °C, with the significant lateral phase separation of the bilayer components only detectable in propylene glycol concentrations above 60% (w/w). We propose that the stability of lamellar phases of the cholesterol-containing liposomes formed in propylene glycol concentrations of up to 60% (w/w) represent potentially very valuable drug delivery vehicles for a variety of routes of administration.