Recent Advances in Biomedical Applications of Mannans and Xylans.

Plant-based phytochemicals, including flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, saponins, and other metabolites, have attracted considerable attention due to their central role in synthesizing nanomaterials with various biomedical applications. Hemicelluloses are the second most abundant among naturally occurring heteropolymers, accounting for one-third of all plant constituents. In particular, xylans, mannans, and arabinoxylans are structured polysaccharides derived from hemicellulose. Mannans and xylans are characterized by their linear configuration of ß-1,4-linked mannose and xylose units, respectively. At the same time, arabinoxylan is a copolymer of arabinose and xylose found predominantly in secondary cell walls of seeds, dicotyledons, grasses, and cereal tissues. Their widespread use in tissue engineering, drug delivery, and gene delivery is based on their properties, such as cell adhesiveness, cost-effectiveness, high biocompatibility, biodegradability, and low immunogenicity. Moreover, it can be easily functionalized, which expands their potential applications and provides them with structural diversity. This review comprehensively addresses recent advances in the field of biomedical applications. It explores the potential prospects for exploiting the capabilities of mannans and xylans in drug delivery, gene delivery, and tissue engineering.

Novel vesicular bilosomal delivery systems for dermal/transdermal applications.

The application of therapeutically active molecules through the dermal/transdermal route into the skin has evolved as an attractive formulation strategy in comparison to oral delivery systems for the treatment of various disease conditions. However, the delivery of drugs across the skin is limited due to poor permeability. Dermal/transdermal delivery is associated with ease of accessibility, enhanced safety, better patient compliance, and reduced variability in plasma drug concentrations. It has the ability to bypass the first-pass metabolism, which ultimately results in steady and sustained drug levels in the systemic circulation. Vesicular drug delivery systems, including bilosomes, have gained significant interest due to their colloidal nature, improved drug solubility, absorption, and bioavailability with prolonged circulation time for a large number of new drug molecules. Bilosomes are novel lipid vesicular nanocarriers comprising bile salts, such as deoxycholic acid, sodium cholate, deoxycholate, taurocholate, glycocholate or sorbitan tristearate. These bilosomes are associated with high flexibility, deformability, and elasticity attributed to their bile acid component. These carriers are advantageous in terms of improved skin permeation, increased dermal and epidermal drug concentration, and enhanced local action with reduced systemic absorption of the drug, resulting in reduced side effects. The present article provides a comprehensive overview of the biopharmaceutical aspects of dermal/transdermal bilosome delivery systems, their composition, formulation techniques, characterization methods, and applications.

miRNA and antisense oligonucleotide-based α-synuclein targeting as disease-modifying therapeutics in Parkinson's disease.

α-synuclein is the synaptic protein majorly involved in neuronal dysfunction and death and it is well known for the last two decades as a hallmark of Parkinson's disease. Alpha-synuclein is involved in neurodegeneration mediated through various neurotoxic pathways, majorly including autophagy or lysosomal dysregulation, mitochondrial disruption, synaptic dysfunction, and oxidative stress. Moreover, the alpha-synuclein aggregation has been associated with the development of several neurodegenerative conditions such as various forms of Parkinson's disease. The recent discovery in oligonucleotide chemistry has developed potential alpha-synuclein targeting molecules for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The present review article focuses on recent advances in the applications of oligonucleotides acting via alpha-synuclein targeting mechanisms and their implication in combating Parkinson's disease. Moreover, the article emphasizes the potential of miRNAs, and antisense oligonucleotides and the challenges associated with their use in the therapeutical management of Parkinson's disease.