Therapeutic Interventions for Diabetes Mellitus-Associated Complications.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is an alarming health concern, affecting approximately 537 million people worldwide. As a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, DM demands a comprehensive understanding of its diverse pathophysiological mechanisms and disease progression. METHODS: This traditional review has consolidated literature on the pathogenesis of hyperglycemia, its progression into complications, and advances in optimal treatment strategies. The literature in the last two decades has been reviewed using several keywords, including "diabetes," "diabetes-associated complications", "novel therapeutic interventions for diabetes-associated diseases", "phyto-extracts as antidiabetic drugs", etc. in prominent databases, such as PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov. RESULTS: We have discussed macrovascular and microvascular complications, such as atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD), stroke, diabetic nephropathy, retinopathy, and neuropathy, as well as various pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions that are currently available for the management of DM. We have also focused on the potential of natural products in targeting molecular mechanisms involved in carbohydrate metabolism, insulin production, repair of pancreatic cells, and reduction of oxidative stress, thereby contributing to their antidiabetic activity. Additionally, novel therapeutic approaches, like genetic, stem cell, and immunomodulatory therapies, have been explored. We have also discussed the benefits and limitations of each intervention, emerging research and technologies, and precision medicine interventions. CONCLUSION: This review has emphasized the need for an improved understanding of these advancements, which is essential to enhance clinicians' ability to identify the most effective therapeutic interventions.

Perspectives on chick embryo models in developmental and reproductive toxicity screening.

Teratology, the study of congenital anomalies and their causative factors intersects with developmental and reproductive toxicology, employing innovative methodologies. Evaluating the potential impacts of teratogens on fetal development and assessing human risk is an essential prerequisite in preclinical research. The chicken embryo model has emerged as a powerful tool for understanding human embryonic development due to its remarkable resemblance to humans. This model offers a unique platform for investigating the effects of substances on developing embryos, employing techniques such as ex ovo and in ovo assays, chorioallantoic membrane assays, and embryonic culture techniques. The advantages of chicken embryonic models include their accessibility, cost-effectiveness, and biological relevance to vertebrate development, enabling efficient screening of developmental toxicity. However, these models have limitations, such as the absence of a placenta and maternal metabolism, impacting the study of nutrient exchange and hormone regulation. Despite these limitations, understanding and mitigating the challenges posed by the absence of a placenta and maternal metabolism are critical for maximizing the utility of the chick embryo model in developmental toxicity testing. Indeed, the insights gained from utilizing these assays and their constraints can significantly contribute to our understanding of the developmental impacts of various agents. This review underscores the utilization of chicken embryonic models in developmental toxicity testing, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages by addressing the challenges posed by their physiological differences from mammalian systems.

An overview of experimental designs in HPLC method development and validation.

Chemometric approaches have been increasingly viewed as precious complements to high performance liquid chromatographic practices, since a large number of variables can be simultaneously controlled to achieve the desired separations. Moreover, their applications may efficiently identify and optimize the significant factors to accomplish competent results through limited experimental trials. The present manuscript discusses usefulness of various chemometric approaches in high and ultra performance liquid chromatography for (i) methods development from dissolution studies and sample preparation to detection, considering the progressive substitution of traditional detectors with tandem mass spectrometry instruments and the importance of stability indicating assays (ii) method validation through screening and optimization designs. Choice of appropriate types of experimental designs so as to either screen the most influential factors or optimize the selected factors' combination and the mathematical models in chemometry have been briefly recalled and the advantages of chemometric approaches have been emphasized. The evolution of the design of experiments to the Quality by Design paradigm for method development has been reviewed and the Six Sigma practice as a quality indicator in chromatography has been explained. Chemometric applications and various strategies in chromatographic separations have been described.

Combined Effect of Synthetic and Natural Polymers in Preparation of Cetirizine Hydrochloride Oral Disintegrating Tablets: Optimization by Central Composite Design.

Our aim was to employ experimental design to formulate and optimize cetirizine hydrochloride oral disintegrating tablets (ODTs) by direct compression technique, using the mutual effect of synthetic croscarmellose sodium (CCS) and natural Hibiscus rosa-sinensis mucilage (HRM) as disintegrants in the formulation. Central composite design (CCD) was applied to optimize the influence of three levels each of CCS (X1) and HRM (X2) concentrations (independent variables) for investigated responses: disintegration time (DT) (Y1), % friability (F) (Y2), and % cumulative drug release (DR) (Y3) (dependent variables). This face-centered second-order model's reliability was verified by the probability and adequate precision values from the analysis of variance, while the significant factor effects influencing the studied responses were identified using multiple linear regression analysis. Perturbation and response surface plots were interpreted to evaluate the responses' sensitivity towards the variables. During optimization, the concentrations of the processed factors were evaluated, and the resulting values were in good agreement with predicted estimates endorsing the validity. Spectral study by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermograms from Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) demonstrated the drug-excipients compatibility of the optimized formulation. The optimized formulation has concentrations of 9.05 mg and 16.04 mg of CCS and HRM each, respectively, and the model predicted DT of 13.271 sec, F of 0.498, and DR of 99.768%.

Nanoparticles for Cancer Targeting: Current and Future Directions.

The targeting of pharmaceuticals is a rapidly evolving strategy to overcome the difficulties in therapeutic delivery, especially to the tumor site. Unlike traditional drug delivery systems, nanoparticles based compounds attain superior accretion in the tumor site by their active or passive mechanisms. Due to their exclusive properties like small size, large surface-to-volume ratio, tunable surface chemistry, and the ability to encapsulate various drugs, the nano-sized carriers provide longer circulation time; easy penetration into cellular membranes; efficient site-specific targeting. Recent advancements in polymeric- nanomedicines involve targeting of polymer-based nanoparticles (NPs), micelles, polyplexes, dendrimers, polymersomes, drug/protein conjugates and lipid hybrid systems to tumor pathological site. With different functional moieties, NPs improve the performance in terms of targetability, circulation longevity, enhanced intracellular penetration, stimuli-sensitivity, and carrier-mediated visualization. This review highlighted different preparative techniques and types of nanoparticles in the most recent developments in cancer treatment including promising opportunities in targeted; combination therapy; and other medical and biomedical applications. Various delivery strategies and future prospects of nanoparticles are also enlisted. Apart from that, the review discusses the potential advances and targeting of polymeric nanocarriers within the scope of cancer therapeutic system to emphasize it as an auxiliary tool to the customary drug delivery systems.

Application of response surface method to evaluate the cytotoxic potency of Ulva fasciata Delile, a marine macro alga.

Bioprospecting of marine natural products has recently produced a substantial number of drug candidates. Ulva fasciata Delile, belonging to the family Ulvaceae, is a green marine macro alga that grows profusely on the coastal seashore of South India. In the present study, we investigated the in vitro cytotoxic potential of a methanolic extract of U . fasciata Delile (MEUF) using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay against human colon carcinoma (HT-29), human hepatocyte carcinoma (Hep-G2), and human breast carcinoma (MCF-7) cell lines. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied using central-composite experimental design (CCD) to obtain optimum combined effect of concentration and cancer cells with highest cytotoxicity. The effect of concentration, cancer cell lines as independent variables on absorbance (OD), percent cell survival and percent cell inhibition as dependent variables was investigated. Maximum cytotoxic activity of MEUF was established for Hep-G2 with lowest OD or percent cell survival; highest percent cell inhibition with significant difference (p > 0.05) was compared to HT-29 and MCF-7.

Development and validation of a stability-indicating assay including the isolation and characterization of degradation products of metaxalone by LC-MS.

A stability-indicating reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric method was developed and validated for the assay of metaxalone through forced degradation under acidic, alkaline, photo, oxidative and peroxide stress conditions. Separation of degradation products was accomplished on a reverse-phase Phenomenex C18 (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) column thermostated at 25 °C using 10 mM aqueous ammonium acetate: methanol (35:65 v/v) as mobile phase in an isocratic mode of elution. The eluents were detected at 275 nm by photo diode array detector and mass detectors connected in series. Two unknown base hydrolysis products of metaxalone were identified and characterized as (a) methyl 3-(3,5-dimethylphenoxy)-2-hydroxypropylcarbamate and (b) 1-(3,5-dimethylphenoxy)-3-aminopropan-2-ol by MS, (1)H NMR and FTIR spectroscopy. The method was validated as per International Conference on Harmonization guidelines and metaxalone was selectively determined in presence of its degradation impurities, demonstrating its stability-indicating nature.