A review of recent developments on micro/nanostructured pharmaceutical systems for intravesical therapy of the bladder cancer.

Bladder cancer (BC) is the most common tumor type of genitourinary tract, which affects more men than women. The conventional treatment is through chemotherapy or immunotherapy, but the radiotherapy and surgery may be necessary in cases of invasive cancer. The search for less invasive, safe and effective therapies has attracted researchers to the development of new drug delivery systems to carry drugs to be administered by catheter into the bladder. The research on intravesical systems for the BC treatment continues at a rapid pace and a variety of micro or nanostructured systems have been used. Micro/nanoparticles, liposomes, micelles, carbon nanotubes, hydrogels and nanogels can contribute to reduce the number of intravesical administrations due to the extended drug release as well as to reduce the adverse effects and to increase the patient adherence to the treatment. Thus, this article reviews relevant studies regarding these systems, which have shown promising perspectives for the treatment of BC. It is hoped that in a near future they can prove to be safe and efficient to benefit patients with BC.

Development, characterization, and in vitro biological performance of fluconazole-loaded microemulsions for the topical treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a resistant form of leishmaniasis that is caused by a parasite belonging to the genus Leishmania. FLU-loaded microemulsions (MEs) were developed by phase diagram for topical administration of fluconazole (FLU) as prominent alternative to combat CL. Three MEs called F1, F2, and F3 (F1-60% 50 M phosphate buffer at pH 7.4 (PB) as aqueous phase, 10% cholesterol (CHO) as oil phase, and 30% soy phosphatidylcholine/oil polyoxyl-60 hydrogenated castor oil/sodium oleate (3/8/6) (S) as surfactant; F2-50% PB, 10% CHO, and 40% S; F3-40% PB, 10% CHO, and 50 % S) were characterized by droplet size analysis, zeta potential analysis, X-ray diffraction, continuous flow, texture profile analysis, and in vitro bioadhesion. MEs presented pseudoplastic flow and thixotropy was dependent on surfactant concentration. Droplet size was not affected by FLU. FLU-loaded MEs improved the FLU safety profile that was evaluated using red cell haemolysis and in vitro cytotoxicity assays with J-774 mouse macrophages. FLU-unloaded MEs did not exhibit leishmanicidal activity that was performed using MTT colourimetric assays; however, FLU-loaded MEs exhibited activity. Therefore, these MEs have potential to modulate FLU action, being a promising platform for drug delivery systems to treat CL.