Simple and rapid high performance liquid chromatography method for the determination of polidocanol as bulk product and in pharmaceutical polymer matrices using charged aerosol detection.

Currently, neither the European nor the United States Pharmacopoeia provide a method for the determination of polidocanol (PD) content despite the fact that PD, besides being an excipient, is also used as an active pharmaceutical ingredient. We therefore developed a method where the PD content was determined using a Kinetex C18 column operated at 40°C with water-acetonitrile (15:85, v/v) as mobile phase. A Corona(®) charged aerosol detector was employed for the detection of PD that is lacking a suitable UV chromophore. The method was fully validated. Additionally, the method was applied for the determination of PD release from a pharmaceutical polymer matrix consisting of poly-ɛ-caprolactone and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) and PD.

Protein release from electrospun nonwovens: improving the release characteristics through rational combination of polyester blend matrices with polidocanol.

Nonwoven scaffolds consisting of poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL), poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and polidocanol (PD), and loaded with lysozyme crystals were prepared by electrospinning. The composition of the matrix was varied and the effect of PD content in binary mixtures, and of PD and PLGA content in ternary mixtures regarding processability, fiber morphology, water sorption, swelling and drug release was investigated. Binary PCL/PD blend nonwovens showed a PD-dependent increase in swelling of up to 30% and of lysozyme burst release of up to 45% associated with changes of the fiber morphology. Furthermore, addition of free PD to the release medium resulted in a significant increase of lysozyme burst release from pure PCL nonwovens from approximately 2-35%. Using ternary PCL/PD/PLGA blends, matrix degradation could be significantly improved over PCL/PD blends, resulting in a biphasic release of lysozyme with constant release over 9 weeks, followed by constant release with a reduced rate over additional 4 weeks. Based on these results, protein release from PCL scaffolds is improved by blending with PD due to improved lysozyme desorption from the polymer surface and PD-dependent matrix swelling.

Silk fibroin layer-by-layer microcapsules for localized gene delivery.

Herein, we describe the delivery of plasmid DNA (pDNA) using silk fibroin (SF) layer-by-layer assembled microcapsules. Deposition of fluorescently labeled SF onto polystyrene (PS) template particles resulted in increasing fluorescence intensity and decreasing surface charge in correlation to SF layer number. After removal of the PS core, hollow, monodisperse, and structurally stable SF microcapsules of variable size and shell thickness were obtained. Plasmid DNA encoding for enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) was loaded onto 1 or 4 µm capsules, either by incorporation of pDNA within the innermost layer of the shell or by adsorption to the microcapsules surface, and in vitro pDNA release, cytotoxicty and eGFP expression were studied. Sustained pDNA release over 3 days was observed using both loading techniques, being accelerated in the presence of protease. DNA loaded SF microcapsules resulted in efficient cell transfection along with low cytotoxicity after 3 days incubation compared to treatment with pDNA/branched polyethylenimine complexes. Among the tested conditions highest transfection efficiencies were achieved using 1 µm capsules where pDNA was adsorbed to the capsule surface. Our results suggest that SF microcapsules are suitable for the localized delivery of pDNA, combining low cytotoxicity and high transfection efficiency.

Controlled protein delivery from electrospun non-wovens: novel combination of protein crystals and a biodegradable release matrix.

Poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) is an excellent polymer for electrospinning and matrix-controlled drug delivery combining optimal processability and good biocompatibility. Electrospinning of proteins has been shown to be challenging via the use of organic solvents, frequently resulting in protein unfolding or aggregation. Encapsulation of protein crystals represents an attractive but largely unexplored alternative to established protein encapsulation techniques because of increased thermodynamic stability and improved solvent resistance of the crystalline state. We herein explore the electrospinning of protein crystal suspensions and establish basic design principles for this novel type of protein delivery system. PCL was deployed as a matrix, and lysozyme was used as a crystallizing model protein. By rational combination of lysozyme crystals 0.7 or 2.1 µm in diameter and a PCL fiber diameter between 1.6 and 10 µm, release within the first 24 h could be varied between approximately 10 and 100%. Lysozyme loading of PCL microfibers between 0.5 and 5% was achieved without affecting processability. While relative release was unaffected by loading percentage, the amount of lysozyme released could be tailored. PCL was blended with poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) to further modify the release rate. Under optimized conditions, an almost constant lysozyme release over 11 weeks was achieved.

Synthesis and structure-activity relationships of new quinolone-type molecules against Trypanosoma brucei.

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) or sleeping sickness is caused by two subspecies of Trypanosoma brucei , Trypanosoma brucei gambiense , and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and is one of Africa's old plagues. It causes a huge number of infections and cases of death per year because, apart from limited access to health services, only inefficient chemotherapy is available. Since it was reported that quinolones such as ciprofloxacin show antitrypanosomal activity, a novel quinolone-type library was synthesized and tested. The biological evaluation illustrated that 4-quinolones with a benzylamide function in position 3 and cyclic or acyclic amines in position 7 exhibit high antitrypanosomal activity. Structure-activity relationships (SAR) are established to identify essential structural elements. This analysis led to lead structure 29, which exhibits promising in vitro activity against T. b. brucei (IC(50) = 47 nM) and T. b. rhodesiense (IC(50) = 9 nM) combined with low cytotoxicity against macrophages J774.1. Screening for morphological changes of trypanosomes treated with compounds 19 and 29 suggested differences in the morphology of mitochondria of treated cells compared to those of untreated cells. Segregation of the kinetoplast is hampered in trypanosomes treated with these compounds; however, topoisomerase II is probably not the main drug target.