Development of a new inhaled swellable microsphere system for the dual delivery of naringenin-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles and doxofylline for the treatment of asthma.

This study developed a new dual delivery system of naringenin (NRG), a polyphenol, and doxofylline (DOX), a xanthine derivative, as an inhaled microsphere system. In this system, NRG has been first loaded into glyceryl tristearate-based solid lipid nanoparticles (NRG SLN), which were further loaded with DOX into swellable chitosan-tripolyphosphate-based microspheres (NRG SLN DOX sMS). The system was characterized based on particle size, PDI, zeta potential, surface morphology (SEM, AFM, and TEM), solid-state and chemical properties (XRD, IR, and NMR), aerodynamic parameters, drug loading, entrapment efficiency and in vitro drug release study. The optimized NRG SLN DOX sMS exhibited particle size, zeta potential, and PDI of 2.1 µm, 31.2 mV, and 0.310, respectively; a drug entrapment efficiency > 79 %; a drug loading efficiency > 13 %; cumulative drug releases of about 78 % for DOX and 72 % for NRG after 6 and 12 h, respectively; good swelling and desirable aerodynamic properties. In addition, in vivo studies conducted in mice, a murine model of asthma showed significant reductions in serum bicarbonate and eosinophil counts and improvement in respiratory flow rate, tidal volume, and bronchial wall lining compared with the asthmatic control group. Overall, this novel inhalable dual-delivery system may represent a good alternative for the effective treatment of asthma.

Designing a nanothermometer using gel-to-liquid phase transition property of hybrid niosome.

The gel-to-liquid phase transition property of a hybrid niosome, which is made with a non-ionic surfactant, span 60 (S60), and triblock copolymer L64, is effectively utilized to design a nanothermometer for temperature sensing in the physiological range (20 °C to 50 °C). The fluorescence signal of a polarity-sensitive probe, Coumarin 153, loaded into the niosome, is used as an indicator for temperature sensing. Due to its excellent temperature sensitivity and resolution, the sensor is capable of sensing temperature inside FaDu cells.