Solubilized delivery of paliperidone palmitate by D-alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate micelles for improved short-term psychotic management.

The objective of this work was to formulate paliperidone palmitate-loaded d-alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (vitamin E TPGS or TPGS) micelles for improved antipsychotic effect during short-term management of psychotic disorders. Vitamin E TPGS micelles containing paliperidone palmitate were prepared by the solvent casting method and control paliperidone palmitate formulations were prepared by simple sonication method. The prepared micelles and control paliperidone palmitate formulations were evaluated for different parameters. Particle sizes of prepared micelles, control paliperidone palmitate formulations were determined at 25 °C by dynamic light scattering technique and external surface morphology was determined by transmission electron microscopy analysis. The encapsulation efficiency was determined by spectrophotometery. In-vitro release studies of micelles and control formulations were carried out by dialysis bag diffusion method. The particle sizes of the paliperidone palmitate-loaded TPGS micelles were 26.5 nm. About 92% of drug encapsulation efficiency was achieved with micelles. The drug release from paliperidone palmitate-loaded TPGS micelles was sustained for more than 24 h with 40% of drug release. The TPGS product, i.e. paliperidone palmitate-loaded micelles, resulted in nano-sized delivery, solubility enhancement and permeability of the micelles which provided an improved and prolonged anti-psychotic effect in comparison to control paliperidone palmitate formulation.

Transferrin receptor-targeted vitamin E TPGS micelles for brain cancer therapy: preparation, characterization and brain distribution in rats.

The effective treatment of brain cancer is hindered by the poor transport across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the low penetration across the blood-tumor barrier (BTB). The objective of this work was to formulate transferrin-conjugated docetaxel (DTX)-loaded d-alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (vitamin E TPGS or TPGS) micelles for targeted brain cancer therapy. The micelles with and without transferrin conjugation were prepared by the solvent casting method and characterized for their particle size, polydispersity, drug encapsulation efficiency, drug loading, in vitro release study and brain distribution study. Particle sizes of prepared micelles were determined at 25 °C by dynamic light scattering technique. The external surface morphology was determined by transmission electron microscopy analysis and atomic force microscopy. The encapsulation efficiency was determined by spectrophotometery. In vitro release studies of micelles and control formulations were carried out by dialysis bag diffusion method. The particle sizes of the non-targeted and targeted micelles were <20 nm. About 85% of drug encapsulation efficiency was achieved with micelles. The drug release from transferrin-conjugated micelles was sustained for >24 h with 50% of drug release. The in vivo results indicated that transferrin-targeted TPGS micelles could be a promising carrier for brain targeting due to nano-sized drug delivery, solubility enhancement and permeability which provided an improved and prolonged brain targeting of DTX in comparison to the non-targeted micelles and marketed formulation.

Association of primary biliary cirrhosis with variants in the CLEC16A, SOCS1, SPIB and SIAE immunomodulatory genes.

We fine mapped two primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) risk loci, CLEC16A (C-type lectin domain family 16 member A)-suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1) and Spi-B protein (SPIB) and sequenced a locus, sialic acid acetylesterase (SIAE), proposed to harbor autoimmunity-associated mutations. In all, 1450 PBC cases and 2957 healthy controls were genotyped for 84 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across the CLEC16A-SOCS1 and SPIB loci. All 10 exons of the SIAE gene were resequenced in 381 cases and point substitutions of unknown significance assayed for activity and secretion. Fine mapping identified 26 SNPs across the CLEC16A-SOCS1 and 11 SNPs across the SPIB locus with significant association to PBC, the strongest signals at the CLEC16A-SOCS1 locus emanating from a SOCS1 intergenic SNP (rs243325; P=9.91 × 10(-9)) and at the SPIB locus from a SPIB intronic SNP (rs34944112; P=3.65 × 10(-9)). Among the associated SNPs at the CLEC16A-SOCS1 locus, two within the CLEC16A gene as well as one SOCS1 SNP (rs243325) remained significant after conditional logistic regression and contributed independently to risk. Sequencing of the SIAE gene and functional assays of newly identified variants revealed six patients with functional non-synonymous SIAE mutations (Fisher's P=9 × 10(-4) vs controls) We demonstrate independent effects on risk of PBC for CLEC16A, SOCS1 and SPIB variants, while identifying functionally defective SIAE variants as potential factors in risk for PBC.

Stimulus-responsive targeted nanomicelles for effective cancer therapy.

Emerging nanotechnology has already developed various innovative nanomedicines. Nanomicelles, self-assemblies of block copolymers, are promising nanomedicines for targeted drug delivery and imaging. Stimulus-responsive targeted nanomicelles are designed to release drugs based on stimuli such as pH, temperature, redox potential, magnetism and ultrasound. This article will focus on recent advancements in the design of stimulus-responsive targeted nanomicelles loaded with anticancer drugs to fulfill the challenges associated with cancer cells (e.g., multidrug resistance) for the effective treatment of cancer. The significant toxicity issues and a possible future perspective associated with nanomicelles are also discussed here.