Intranasal nanoparticulate delivery systems for neurodegenerative disorders: a review.

Neurodegenerative diseases are a significant cause of mortality worldwide, and the blood-brain barrier (BBB) poses a significant challenge for drug delivery. An intranasal route is a prominent approach among the various methods to bypass the BBB. There are different pathways involved in intranasal drug delivery. The drawbacks of this method include mucociliary clearance, enzymatic degradation and poor drug permeation. Novel nanoformulations and intranasal drug-delivery devices offer promising solutions to overcome these challenges. Nanoformulations include polymeric nanoparticles, lipid-based nanoparticles, microspheres, liposomes and noisomes. Additionally, intranasal devices could be utilized to enhance drug-delivery efficacy. Therefore, intranasal drug-delivery systems show potential for treating neurodegenerative diseases through trigeminal or olfactory pathways, which can significantly improve patient outcomes.

Neurodegenerative diseases cause severe illness worldwide, over a sixth of the world's population suffer from these diseases in which 10­15% of the world's population lose their life. The presence of the blood­brain barrier (BBB) is one of the major drawbacks for the treatment. There are many ways to bypass the BBB, the intranasal route was found to be prominent among all routes. The drug is transported across epithelial cells by passive diffusion. Drawbacks, adverse reactions and physicochemical properties of the drug affect drug availability in the brain. These drawbacks can be solved by using novel nano formulations and intranasal drug-delivery devices. Nano formulations deliver drugs with negligible disadvantages; several nano formulations suitable for nose-to-brain targeting include polymeric nanoparticles, lipid-based nanoparticles, microspheres, liposomes and niosomes. Delivery devices such as atomizers, nebulizers, pressurized olfactory devices metered-dose spray pumps and pressurized metered dose inhaler systems, dry powder inhalers, and powder devices have been used to deliver drugs to the brain through the intranasal route. The intranasal drug-delivery system could be a promising approach to treat neurodegenerative diseases, which could save the lives of a large patient population.

Nanostructured lipid carrier-based smart gel: a delivery platform for intra-articular therapeutics.

The promising potential of nano-structured lipid carrier (NLC) polymeric gel of CUR as an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis by intra-articular route of administration was investigated. NLC composed of cetylpalmitate, Labrafac PG & Captex 200, Tween 80 and Labrasol. The hot homogenization method employed by melt ultrasonication was used. The formulated NLC dispersions were characterized and were suitably dispersed into the matrix of pluronic F-127(PLF-127) and pluronic F-68 (PLF-68). A two-factor three-level full factorial design was employed to deduce the optimal concentrations of PLF-127 and PLF-68. The optimized formulations were sterilized by gamma radiation. The formulated NLC smart gels were characterized and evaluated for various parameters. The efficacy evaluation by antigen-induced monoarthritis model and biocompatibility testing by histopathological studies was performed. Formulated NLCs exhibited an average particle size of 165.12 nm, entrapment efficiency of 72.15%, and zeta potential of -21.67 mV. The optimized CUR-NLC smart gel was demonstrated to have a sol-gel transformation at 33.21 °C and 94.32% drug release at 84 h. NLC's which were sterile and easily syringeable, continued to remain within the colloidal range. CUR-NLC smart gels were found to be biocompatible and showed a significant reduction in rat knee joint inflammation compared to free drug.

Targeted drug delivery of Methotrexate in situ gels for the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is considered a debilitating disease that increases the risk of significant morbidity and premature mortality. To circumvent drug-related toxicity and ineffectiveness of anti-inflammatory drugs, there is a significant need for an advanced delivery system that increases bioavailability. The feasibility of in situ gel of methotrexate sodium (MTS) as an effective management for Rheumatoid arthritis was investigated. It was formulated with pluronic F-127 (PLF-127) as primary polymer, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose K4M (HK4M), and polycarbophil (PCL) as a copolymer and characterized by various parameters. The efficacy evaluation by Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA) model, biocompatibility assessment by histopathological studies conducted. The optimized in situ gel (M4) was thermoresponsive, released 93.26 ±â€¯2.39% MTS at 96 hours. In addition, distribution of MTS was even in the optimized sterile and syringeable in situ gel. In vivo studies on wistar rats demonstrated a substantial reduction in paw oedema during the 28-day study period and were biocompatible with the tissues at the injection site. The study was successful in formulating, optimizing MTS in situ gel for effective management of RA.

Evaluation of a curcumin-containing mucoadhesive film for periodontal postsurgical pain control.

BACKGROUND: Management of pain and discomfort is important to make the postoperative period as pleasant as possible. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are traditionally prescribed; however, they are associated with numerous side effects. As a result, nutraceuticals such as curcumin are widely used for its well-known safety and medicinal values. Hence, the aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a curcumin mucoadhesive film for postsurgical pain control. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a split-mouth study, consisting of 15 systemically healthy patients with 30 sites, who were randomly allocated into test (curcumin mucoadhesive film) and control (placebo mucoadhesive film) groups using coin toss method. A questionnaire was given to patients to evaluate the postoperative pain and swelling and the number of rescue medications taken. Statistical analyses used were Friedman test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and McNemar's test. RESULTS: No adverse effects were reported and healing was uneventful in all patients. The Numerical rating scale pain score showed significantly lesser pain at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 24 h in the test group. Significantly more number of analgesics was consumed in total in the control group than that in the test group. CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of this study, it may be concluded that curcumin mucoadhesive film showed promising results in reducing postoperative pain and swelling over a period of 1 week, hence showing its analgesic effect after periodontal surgeries.

Current Developments in Therapeutic Drug Targeting for the Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Emerging Paradigm.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a debilitating condition that results in impairment of joints and ligaments and thus constrained mobility and decreased array of movement. It is a broad expression that encompasses additional 100 very diverse disorders mainly affecting joints. In the field of drug discovery, there is no well-known treatment for RA that can eradicate the disease permanently and alleviate the pain. The common non-targeted treatment approaches leads to serious side effects and systemic complications for RA patients. Therefore, targeted drug delivery systems, strategies, and diverse therapeutic approach for treatment of RA have gained increasing attention in the past few years. However, with the current understandings, researchers aim at accomplishing complete and long-lasting remission by the development of smart formulations/smart drug-delivery systems. Treatment for RA patients can be more efficient and effective utilizing these smart approaches. The present review focuses on the existing novel drug-delivery systems, strategies, and current trends in the treatment of RA.