Artesunate Dry Emulsion Formulation Combined with Antibiotics for Treatment of Helicobacter pylori Infections: In Vitro/In Vivo Evaluation.

Helicobacter pylori is the primary pathogen responsible for causing gastroduodenal ulcers and stomach cancer. The standard treatment for H. pylori typically involves a combination of antibiotics and acid-reducing medications. However, the recurrence of ulcers is closely linked to the emergence of antibiotic resistance in H. pylori, necessitating the development of alternative drugs. This report focuses on the investigation of artesunate as a potential alternative to reduce antibiotic use and enhance effectiveness against H. pylori. Unfortunately, commercial artesunate is available in an acid form, which has poor solubility, especially in gastric acid fluid. The aim of this study is to utilize a water-soluble formulation of artesunate called dry emulsion formulation (ADEF) and combine it with amoxicillin to eradicate H. pylori. In vitro studies were conducted to evaluate the activity of ADEF against H. pylori and determine its inhibitory concentrations. In addition, pharmacokinetic parameters of orally administered ADEF and native artesunate were investigated in rats for in vivo studies. The results showed that when combined with amoxicillin and pantoprazole, ADEF exhibited effectiveness against H. pylori. It is worth noting that the solubility of ADEF in gastric acid appears to be a critical factor for achieving successful treatment. Consequently, ADEF could be considered a promising candidate for H. pylori therapy.

Preparation and in-vitro/in-vivo evaluation of doxorubicin-loaded magnetic SBA-15 nanocomposites from rice husk for enhancing therapeutic efficacy.

In recent years, nanoscience has attracted considerable attention in the field of biomedicine. This involves the use of engineered nanomaterials as vital platforms for targeted drug delivery, diagnosis, imaging, and observation of therapeutic efficiency. This study explored the preparation, characterization, and applications of doxorubicin-loaded magnetic rice husk ash-derived SBA-15 (MIO@RHAS15-DOX nanocomposites) for drug delivery and in vitro/in vivo efficiency in the treatment of liver cancer. The small-angle XRD patterns of the MIO@RHAS15 nanocomposites demonstrated a core diffraction peak at 0.94°, with two noticeable peaks at 1.6° and 1.8°, representing (100), (110), and (200) crystalline planes, respectively, thereby indicating the existence of a well-defined mesostructure. A sharp melting endothermic peak (Tm) at 79 °C was observed for MIO@RHAS15 nanocomposites. The DOX release from MIO@RHAS15 followed the Higuchi model with the best correlation coefficient R2 value of 0.9799. The in vitro studies indicated a concentration dependent anticancer efficiency, with high cancer cells inhibition for MIO@RHAS15-DOX than free DOX. At the highest concentration of DOX (120 µg/mL), there was less than 25% and 15% cell viability after 24 h and 48 h, respectively. The in vivo studies demonstrated that the tumor sizes after treatment with PBS, MIO@RHAS15, free DOX, and MIO@RHS15-DOX were 1081, 904, 143, and 167 mm3, respectively. The in vivo animal test results depicted that the MIO@RHAS15-DOX nanocomposites were able to inhibit liver tumors in all tested mice. Therefore, the prepared nanocomposites possess a great potential for drug delivery application towards cancer treatment, thereby overcoming the limitations of traditional chemotherapy.

Preparation and evaluation of resveratrol-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles modified by amino / 中国药学杂志

OBJECTIVE: To prepare and evaluate resveratrol-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles modified by amino (NH2-MSN-RES) to improve the bioavailability of resveratrol. METHODS: Mesoporous silica nanoparticles modified by amino (NH2-MSN) were synthesized by the modified Stober method. The structure of the nanoparticles were analyzed and characterized by FT-IR, Malvern particle size analyzer, and TEM. By introducing the innovative preparation process of repeated saturated solution adsorbing method, RES was encapsulated into NH2-MSN in larger amount. Dialysis bag method was used to investigate the in vitro drug release characteristics and MTT method was used to investigate the cytotoxicity on Caco-2 cells. The transport ability of the carrier was investigated by the Caco-2 cells monolayer model. Finally, the pharmacokinetics of NH2-MSN-RES was studied in rats. RESULTS: The particle size distribution of NH2-MSN was uniform with an average value of (98.4±2.8) nm, and the Zeta potential was (13.2±1.8) mv. Within the scope of 0-20 μg·mL-1, NH2-MSN had no obvious toxicity on Caco-2 cells. After 8 times of repeated adsorption, the drug loading of NH2-MSN-RES reached up to (19.26±2.51)%. In the drug release experiment, the cumulative release quantity of NH2-MSN-RES was 73.3% within 48 h, indicating sustained-release characteristics. NH2-MSN-RES had good ability of transmembrane transport in the Caco-2 cell monolayer model, and the two-way apparent permeability coefficient (Papp) was much larger than the RES solution. In the pharmacokinetic study, RES solution complied with one-compartment model, whereas NH2-MSN-RES complied with two-compartment model, indicating that the carrier changed the pharmacokinetic characteristics of RES. The AUC0-∞ of NH2-MSN-RES was 2.58-fold of that of RES solution, what's more, the t1/2, tmax, and ρmax of NH2-MSN-RES were significantly greater than those of RES solution. CONCLUSION: NH2-MSN is synthesized by modified Stober method successfully. Repeated saturated solution adsorbing method could effectively improve the drug loading. NH2-MSN-RES improves the bioavailability of RES prominently. NH2-MSN will be a promising nano-material for oral drug delivery carrier.