Development, optimization and characterization of cisplatin loaded cubosomes for human lung carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to develop, optimize and evaluate glyceryl monooleate (GMO) based cubosomes as a drug delivery system containing cisplatin for treatment of human lung carcinoma. SIGNIFICANCE: The significance of this research was to successfully incorporate slightly water soluble and potent anticancer drug (cisplatin) into cubosomes, which provide slow and sustained release of drug for longer period of time. METHODS: The delivery system was developed through top-down approach by melting GMO and poloxamer 407 (P407) at 70 °C and then drop-wise addition of warm deionized water (70 °C) containing cisplatin. The formulation then exposed to probe sonicator for about 2 min. A randomized regular two level full factorial design with help of Design Expert was used for optimization of blank cubosomal formulations. Cisplatin loaded cubosomes were then subjected to physico-chemical characterization. RESULTS: The characterization of the formulation revealed that it had a sufficient surface charge of -9.56 ± 1.33 mV, 168.25 ± 5.73 nm particle size, and 60.64 ± 0.11% encapsulation efficiency. The in vitro release of cisplatin from the cubosomes at pH 7.4 was observed to be sustained, with 94.5% of the drug being released in 30 h. In contrast, 99% of cisplatin was released from the drug solution in just 1.5 h. In vitro cytotoxicity assay was conducted on the human lung carcinoma NCI-H226 cell line, the cytotoxicity of cisplatin-loaded cubosomes was relative to that of pure cisplatin solution, while blank (without cisplatin) cubosomes were nontoxic. CONCLUSIONS: The obtained results demonstrated the successful development of cubosomes for sustained delivery of cisplatin.

Cubosomes were prepared, optimized, and evaluated for cisplatin delivery.A randomized regular two level full factorial design was constructed to optimize blank cubosomes.Blank cubosomes consisted of GMO as the lipid and P407 as an emulsifying agent.In vitro release studies demonstrated sustained release of cisplatin from cubosomes at pH 7.4.Cytotoxicity assay on human lung carcinoma cell line NCI-H226 showed similar cytotoxicity between cisplatin-loaded cubosomes and pure cisplatin solution while blank cubosomes exhibited no toxicity.

Nanoparticles incorporated hydrogels for delivery of antimicrobial agents: developments and trends.

The prevention and treatment of microbial infections is an imminent global public health concern due to the poor antimicrobial performance of the existing antimicrobial regime and rapidly emerging antibiotic resistance in pathogenic microbes. In order to overcome these problems and effectively control bacterial infections, various new treatment modalities have been identified. To attempt this, various micro- and macro-molecular antimicrobial agents that function by microbial membrane disruption have been developed with improved antimicrobial activity and lesser resistance. Antimicrobial nanoparticle-hydrogels systems comprising antimicrobial agents (antibiotics, biological extracts, and antimicrobial peptides) loaded nanoparticles or antimicrobial nanoparticles (metal or metal oxide) constitute an important class of biomaterials for the prevention and treatment of infections. Hydrogels that incorporate nanoparticles can offer an effective strategy for delivering antimicrobial agents (or nanoparticles) in a controlled, sustained, and targeted manner. In this review, we have described an overview of recent advancements in nanoparticle-hydrogel hybrid systems for antimicrobial agent delivery. Firstly, we have provided an overview of the nanoparticle hydrogel system and discussed various advantages of these systems in biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. Thereafter, different hybrid hydrogel systems encapsulating antibacterial metal/metal oxide nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles, antibiotics, biological extracts, and antimicrobial peptides for controlling infections have been reviewed in detail. Finally, the challenges and future prospects of nanoparticle-hydrogel systems have been discussed.

Platinum-based targeted chemotherapies and reversal of cisplatin resistance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Lung cancer is the one of the most prevalent cancer in the world. It kills more people from cancer than any other cause and is especially common in underdeveloped nations. With 1.2 million instances, it is also the most prevalent cancer in men worldwide, making about 16.7% of the total cancer burden. Surgery is the main form of curative treatment for early-stage lung cancer. However, the majority of patients had incurable advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) recurrence after curative purpose surgery, which is indicative of the aggressiveness of the illness and the dismal outlook. The gold standard of treatment for NSCLC patients includes drug targeting of specific mutated genes drive in development of lung cancer. Furthermore, patients with advanced NSCLC and those with early-stage illness needing adjuvant therapy should use cisplatin as it is the more active platinum drug. So, this review encompasses the non-small cell lung cancer microenvironment, treatment approaches, and use of cisplatin as a first-line regimen for NSCLC, its mechanism of action, cisplatin resistance in NSCLC and also the prevention strategies to revert the drug resistance.

Fibrin-targeted phase shift microbubbles for the treatment of microvascular obstruction.

Rationale: Microvascular obstruction (MVO) following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is a common problem associated with adverse clinical outcomes. We are developing a novel treatment, termed sonoreperfusion (SRP), to restore microvascular patency. This entails using ultrasound-targeted microbubble cavitation (UTMC) of intravenously administered gas-filled lipid microbubbles (MBs) to dissolve obstructive microthrombi in the microvasculature. In our prior work, we used standard-sized lipid MBs. In the present study, to improve upon the efficiency and efficacy of SRP, we sought to determine the therapeutic efficacy of fibrin-targeted phase shift microbubbles (FTPSMBs) in achieving successful reperfusion of MVO. We hypothesized that owing to their much smaller size and affinity for thrombus, FTPSMBs would provide more effective dissolution of microthrombi when compared to that of the corresponding standard-sized lipid MBs. Methods: MVO in the rat hindlimb was created by direct injection of microthrombi into the left femoral artery. Definity MBs (Lantheus Medical Imaging) were infused through the jugular vein for contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging (CEUS). A transducer was positioned vertically above the hindlimb for therapeutic US delivery during the concomitant administration of various therapeutic formulations, including (1) un-targeted MBs; (2) un-targeted phase shift microbubbles (PSMBs); (3) fibrin-targeted MB (FTMBs); and (4) fibrin-targeted PSMBs (FTPSMBs). CEUS cine loops with burst replenishment were obtained at baseline (BL), 10 min post-MVO, and after each of two successive 10-minute SRP treatment sessions (TX1, TX2) and analyzed (MATLAB). Results: In-vitro binding affinity assay showed increased fibrin binding peptide (FBP) affinity for the fibrin clots compared with the untargeted peptide (DK12). Similarly, in our in-vitro model of MVO, we observed a higher binding affinity of fluorescently labeled FTPSMBs with the porcine microthrombi compared to FTMBs, PSMBs, and MBs. Finally, in our hindlimb model, we found that UTMC with FTPSMBs yielded the greatest recovery of blood volume (dB) and flow rate (dB/sec) following MVO, compared to all other treatment groups. Conclusions: SRP with FTPSMBs achieves more rapid and complete reperfusion of MVO compared to FTMBs, PSMBs, and MBs. Studies to explore the underlying physical and molecular mechanisms are underway.