Design of an efficient fingerprint that detects homologous proteins at distant sequence identity has been a great challenge. This paper proposes a strategy to extract an ideal-like fingerprint with high specificity and sensitivity from a group of sequences related to a fold. The approach is devised based on the assumptions that the critical residues for a protein fold may be conserved in three aspects, i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFToday, ∼74% of drugs are taken orally and are not found to be as effective as desired. To improve such characteristics, transdermal drug delivery was brought to existence. This delivery system is capable of transporting the drug or macromolecules painlessly through skin into the blood circulation at fixed rate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPeriodontitis is an inflammatory disease of gums involving the degeneration of periodontal ligaments, creation of periodontal pocket and resorption of alveolar bone, resulting in the disruption of the support structure of teeth. According to WHO, 10-15% of the global population suffers from severe periodontitis. The disease results from the growth of a diverse microflora (especially anaerobes) in the pockets and release of toxins, enzymes and stimulation of body's immune response.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aims to prepare spray-dried inhalable powders containing anti-tubercular drugs-loaded HPMC nanoaggregates for sustained delivery of drugs to the lung. Nanoaggregates were prepared by precipitation technique. Results showed that the powders obtained had excellent aerosolization property.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVaginal candidiasis or vulvovaginal candidiasis (VC) is a common mucosal infection of vagina, mainly caused by Candida species. The major symptoms of VC are dyspareunia, pruritis, itching, soreness, vagina as well as vulvar erythema and edema. Most common risk factors that lead to the imbalance in the vaginal micro biota are the use of antibiotics, pregnancy, diabetes mellitus, immuno suppression as in AIDS or HIV patients, frequent sexual intercourse, spermicide and intra-uterine devices and vaginal douching.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCrit Rev Ther Drug Carrier Syst
February 2015
Electrospinning is a simple unit operation process by which polymeric nanofibers with diameters ranging from a few nanometers to hundreds of micrometers can be fabricated using an electrostatically operated jet of polymer solution or polymer melt. Nanofibers because of their interesting features, such as surface-to-volume ratio, high surface area, microporosity, and nonwoven structure, provide numerous opportunities to design novel carrier systems for large commodities of therapeutics. Physicochemical properties of nanofibers depend on several process and formulation parameters, such as applied voltage, flow rate, polymer selection, and concentration of polymer used.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCrit Rev Ther Drug Carrier Syst
February 2015
Periodontal disease is a localized inflammatory disorder, with tissue destruction resulting from the host response to bacterial antigens and irritants. Several other risk factors, such as smoking, hormonal changes, diabetes, drugs, disease, and genetic factors, play an important role in the progression of periodontal disease. This disease results in the formation of periodontal pockets or deepened crevices between the gingival and tooth root that produce occasional pain and discomfort, impaired mastication, and irreversible tooth loss.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArtif Cells Nanomed Biotechnol
October 2016
Permeability plays an important role to achieve the desired therapeutic outcomes. Present study was designed to investigate the permeability of ciprofloxacin from ultrathin polyvinyl alcohol nanofiber through different biological membranes. Results of the permeability studies indicated that nanofibers exhibit higher drug permeability than plane drug.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTuberculosis, MTB or tubercle bacillus (TB) is a lethal, infectious disease mainly caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In this study, guar gum-based porous nanoaggregates were formulated by precipitation technique with two frontline antitubercular drugs, i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDifferentiating between low-grade gliomas (LGGs) of astrocytic and oligodendroglial origin remains a major challenge in neurooncology. Here the authors analyzed The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) profiles of LGGs with the goal of identifying distinct molecular characteristics that would afford accurate and reliable discrimination of astrocytic and oligodendroglial tumors. They found that 1) oligodendrogliomas are more likely to exhibit the glioma-CpG island methylator phenotype (G-CIMP), relative to low-grade astrocytomas; 2) relative to oligodendrogliomas, low-grade astrocytomas exhibit a higher expression of genes related to mitosis, replication, and inflammation; and 3) low-grade astrocytic tumors harbor microRNA profiles similar to those previously described for glioblastoma tumors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLong-length, high-temperature superconducting (HTS) wires capable of carrying high critical current, Ic, are required for a wide range of applications. Here, we report extremely high performance HTS wires based on 5 μm thick SmBa2Cu3O7--δ (SmBCO) single layer films on textured metallic templates. SmBCO layer wires over 20 meters long were deposited by a cost-effective, scalable co-evaporation process using a batch-type drum in a dual chamber.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBACTEC 460 has now been phased out, so the search for an alternative is imperative. We have determined the activity of standard anti-tuberculosis drugs against intramacrophage Mycobacterium tuberculosis, in vitro, by using BACTEC 460 and MGIT 960 methods. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol and streptomycin against intracellular M.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present work has been envisaged to develop a pH responsive multiple emulsion (W/O/W) adjuvant for successful antigen delivery via oral route. The formulation was prepared by double emulsion technique using squalene as oil phase and a combination of antigens and Quil A as internal aqueous phase. Squalene emulsion (O/W) adjuvants are well accepted for parenteral administration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg
July 2014
CHARGE syndrome is a common cause of congenital anomalies. Its rate of incidence is about 1:10,000. It is phenotypically heterogeneous, usually a sporadic or autosomal dominant disorder resulting from a mutation in the CHD7 (chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein) gene.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Biomaterial-based scaffold formulations (three-dimensional Porous matrix, nano-fibre mesh, hydrogels and microspheres) are the major components that are used to deliver the bioactive molecules into the body organs through different routes for an effective treatment of various diseases.
Areas Covered: Various fabrication techniques such as freeze-drying, polymerisation, spray drying, gas foaming, supercritical fluid technology, etc., are successfully used for fabrication of scaffold formulations.
Artif Cells Nanomed Biotechnol
May 2016
The aim of the present study is to design a mucoadhesive nano-carrier system which retains at the site of application and maximizes the therapeutic potential of anticancer drug as well as reduces their systemic side effects. In the present study PVA nanofibers of Docetaxel were prepared using electrospinning machine. The resulting nanofibers were characterized through various parameters such as surface morphology, drug loading, in-vitro drug release, tensile strength, mucoadhesiveness, drug permeability, degree of swelling and anticancer activities against selective cell lines to establish their therapeutics potential.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe main aim of this study was to develop an effective carrier system containing Ag85A-loaded guar gum nanoparticles for oral vaccination against tuberculosis. Nanoparticles were prepared by Nanoprecipitation method. The developed particles with mean diameter 895.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCrit Rev Ther Drug Carrier Syst
October 2014
Tuberculosis (TB) has gone from being a forgotten disease to a modern and recrudescent pathology from past decades. Some clinical problems and challenges associated with conventional TB chemotherapy include poor patient compliance, longer duration of chemotherapy, lesser cell permeability, primary drug resistance, difficulty in maintaining higher drug concentrations at the infected site, and degradation of the drug before reaching the target site. Thus, newer drug delivery approaches involving micrometric or nanometric carriers are needed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSkin is the largest organ of the human body and plays the most important role in protecting against pathogen and foreign matter. Three important modes such as topical, regional and transdermal are widely used for delivery of various dosage forms. Among these modes, the topical dosage forms are preferred because it provides local therapeutic activity when applied to the skin or mucous membranes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Human tuberculosis (TB), a chronic inflammatory disease is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a facultative intramacrophage pathogen. The highly complex interactions between mycobacteria and macrophages (MΦs), characterized in part by the induction and elaboration of several cytokines including IL-1, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12 p40 and IL-12 p70 are not yet fully understood. The cytokines are known to have important bearing on the pathogenesis and host defense during TB.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith an increasing number of adult patients coming to the orthodontic clinic, the orthodontic professional is constantly looking for ways to accelerate tooth movement. Surgical intervention to affect the alveolar housing and tooth movement has been described in various forms for over a hundred years. However, it is the spirit of interdisciplinary collaboration in orthodontics has expanded the realm of traditional orthodontic tooth movement protocols.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt Immunopharmacol
March 2014
Route of vaccine administration plays an important role in the development of immune response. Antigen administered via different anatomical sites interacts with diverse subsets of antigen presenting cells. Diverse population of antigen presenting cells directs a drastically different immune response.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Pharm (Cairo)
November 2015
Approximately 34 million people were living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) at the end of 2011. From the last two decades, researchers are actively involved in the development of an effective HIV-1 treatment, but the results intended are still doubtful about the eradication of HIV. The HIV-1 virus has gone from being an "inherently untreatable" infectious agent to the one liable to be affected by a range of approved therapies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF