Specific delivery of metronidazole using microparticles and thermosensitive in situ hydrogel for intrapocket administration as an alternative in periodontitis treatment.

Periodontitis is a common chronic inflammatory disease primarily caused by the prevalence of bacterial overgrowth resulting in the development of an inflammatory condition that destroys the tooth's supporting tissues and eventual tooth loss. Comparatively, to other treatment methods, it is difficult for topical antibacterial drugs to effectively permeate the biofilm's physical barrier, making conventional therapy for periodontitis more challenging. This novel study combines thermosensitive in situ hydrogel with microparticles (MPs) to enhance the targeted delivery of metronidazole (MET) to the periodontal pocket. Polycaprolactone (PCL) polymer was utilized to produce bacteria-sensitive MPs. Additionally, the study assessed the attributes of MPs and demonstrated an enhancement in the in vitro antibacterial efficacy of MPs towards Staphylococcus aureus (SA) and Escherichia coli (EC). Subsequently, we incorporated MET-MPs into thermosensitive in situ hydrogel formulations using chitosan. The optimized formulations exhibited stability, appropriate gelation temperature, mucoadhesive strength, and viscosity. In vitro permeation tests showed selective and prolonged drug release against SA and EC. Ex vivo experiments demonstrated no significant differences between in situ hydrogel containing pure MET and MET-MPs in biofilm quantity, bacterial counts, and metabolic activity in biofilms. According to in vitro tests and the effectiveness of the antibacterial activity, this study has exhibited a novel methodology for more efficacious therapies for periodontitis. This study aims to utilize MET in MPs to improve its effectiveness, enhance its antibacterial activity, and improve patient treatment outcomes. In further research, the efficacy of the treatment should be investigated in vivo using an appropriate animal model.

Production of propolis and honey from Tetragonula laeviceps cultivated in Modular Tetragonula Hives.

Propolis and honey produced by stingless bees are regarded as high economic value products due to their bioactive components, which are significantly influenced by conditions at the cultivation location. This study investigated the effect of cultivation location on the amount and quality of propolis and honey produced by Tetragonula laeviceps cultivated in Modular Tetragonula Hives. Fifteen bee colonies were cultivated for at least three months in coffee plantations at two different locations, namely Cibodas and Cileunyi Wetan, Indonesia. The propolis was harvested from the hives and then evaluated to compare product quality from each location. The average production of propolis in both locations was found to lie in the range of 4.26-4.54 g/colony/month with a flavonoid content of 11.4-14.8 mg/g qE. Meanwhile, the average production of honey in both locations after eight months of cultivation was found to lie in the range of 0.93-1.44 g/colony/month. The vitamin C content of the honey obtained from both locations was 17.2-69.5 mg/100 g with an IC50 of 1188-1341 mg/L, in terms of its ability to inhibit the free radical 2,2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl. This study shows that cultivation of stingless bees on a coffee plantation in the studied locations has the potential to provide sustainable production of propolis and honey from T. laeviceps.

Comparison of l-tyrosine containing dipeptides reveals maximum ATP availability for l-prolyl-l-tyrosine in CHO cells.

Increasing markets for biopharmaceuticals, including monoclonal antibodies, have triggered a permanent need for bioprocess optimization. Biochemical engineering approaches often include the optimization of basal and feed media to improve productivities of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell cultures. Often, l-tyrosine is added as dipeptide to deal with its poor solubility at neutral pH. Showcasing IgG1 production with CHO cells, we investigated the supplementation of three l-tyrosine (TYR, Y) containing dipeptides: glycyl-l-tyrosine (GY), l-tyrosyl-l-valine (YV), and l-prolyl-l-tyrosine (PY). While GY and YV led to almost no phenotypic and metabolic differences compared to reference samples, PY significantly amplified TYR uptake thus maximizing related catabolic activity. Consequently, ATP formation was roughly four times higher upon PY application than in reference samples.