Dutasteride nanoemulsion preparation to inhibit 5-alpha-hair follicle reductase enzymes in the hair follicle; an ex vivo study.

Alopecia is a treatable disorder that usually occurs due to high levels of 5-alpha dihydrotestosterone in hair follicles. To enhance the storage capacity of hair follicles and alleviate the inherent characteristics of dutasteride, 5-alpha reductase inhibitor, a prolonged-release nanocarrier was synthesised, and its influence on rat abdomen's skin was investigated. Results showed the lower ratio of S/Co (higher ethanol concentration) increased the hydrodynamic nanocarriers' particle size due to thermodynamic disturbance and Ostwald ripening. In contrast, an increase in surfactant through a decrease in interfacial tension resulted in smaller nanocarriers of 32.4 nm. Moreover, an increase in viscosity had an inverse correlation with the nanoemulsions' particle size. Nanocarriers containing ethanol showed less entrapment efficacy, perhaps due to the rapid dissolution of dutasteride into ethanol during nanoemulsification, while, based on Stokes' equation, the addition of ethanol resulted in smaller particle size and stability of the system. Skin permeation analysis using Franz diffusion cells showed nanocarriers could pass through the skin and release dutasteride for 6 days. In conclusion, the optimum concentration of ingredients is decisive in guaranteeing the ideal particle size, stability, and skin permeation of nanocarriers. The Present dutasteride nanocarrier would promise a prolonged and sustained-release drug delivery system for Alopecia therapy.

Probing the conformational changes and peroxidase-like activity of cytochrome c upon interaction with iron nanoparticles.

Herein, the interaction of iron nanoparticle (Fe-NP) with cytochrome c (Cyt c) was investigated, and a range of techniques such as dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential measurements, static and synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy, near and far circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy were used to analyze the interaction between Cyt c and Fe-NP. DLS and zeta potential measurements showed that the values of hydrodynamic radius and charge distribution of Fe-NP are 83.95 ± 3.7 nm and 4.5 ± .8 mV, respectively. The fluorescence spectroscopy results demonstrated that the binding of Fe-NP with Cyt c is mediated by hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions. Also Fe-NP induced conformational changes in Cyt c and reduced the melting temperature value of Cyt c from 79.18 to 71.33°C. CD experiments of interaction between Fe-NP and Cyt c revealed that the secondary structure of Cyt c with the dominant α-helix structures remained unchanged whereas the tertiary structure and heme position of Cyt c are subjected to remarkable changes. Absorption spectroscopy at 695 nm revealed that Fe-NP considerably disrupt the Fe…S(Met80) bond. In addition, the UV-vis experiment showed the peroxidase-like activity of Cyt c upon interaction with Fe-NP. Hence, the data indicate the Fe-NP results in unfolding of Cyt c and subsequent peroxidase-like activity of denatured species. It was concluded that a comprehensive study of the interaction of Fe-NP with biological system is a crucial step for their potential application as intracellular delivery carriers and medicinal agents.