siRNA intervention inhibiting viral replication and delivery strategies for treating herpes simplex viral infection.

The effective treatment of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections generally involves the use of antiviral nucleoside drugs, but with increasing reports of antiviral resistance, the use of these drugs is challenged. Hence, a need arises to explore alternate treatment options. In this review we have discussed various targets that have been explored to control the HSV replication using siRNA therapeutics.

Exploring the potential of marine microbes in clinical management of Alzheimer's disease: A road map for bioprospecting and identifying promising isolates.

Pervasiveness of Alzheimer's disease (AD) across the globe is on rise, devitalizing the essential brain functions of the afflicted individual. Multiple neurological pathways viz., cholinergic, amyloidogenic and tau protein pathways underlying the disease and interdependence make it more complex to develop effective treatment strategies.

Strategies for improving the specificity of siRNAs for enhanced therapeutic potential.

RNA interference has become a tool of choice in the development of drugs in various therapeutic areas of Post Transcriptional Gene Silencing (PTGS). The critical element in developing successful RNAi therapeutics lies in designing small interfering RNA (siRNA) using an efficient algorithm satisfying the designing criteria. Further, translation of siRNA from bench-side to bedside needs an efficient delivery system and/or chemical modification.

Development and evaluation of carboplatin-loaded PCL nanoparticles for intranasal delivery.

Context: The study was aimed to develop a polymeric nanoparticle formulation of anticancer drug carboplatin using biodegradable polymer polycaprolactone (PCL). The formulation is intended for intranasal administration to treat glioma anticipating improved brain delivery as nasal route possess direct access to brain and nanoparticles have small size to overcome the mucosal and blood-brain barrier.

Objective: Development and evaluation of carboplatin-PCL nanoparticles for brain delivery by nasal route.

Development and validation of reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography method for estimation of lercanidipine HCl in pure form and from nanosuspension formulation.

Aim: Quantitative estimation of lercanidipine HCl in bulk material as well as from nanosuspension formulations via a developed reverse phase HPLC method.

Materials And Methods: Optimized chromatographic condition was used to achieve separation on a Kromasil (100-5c18 250 × 4.6 mm) column using Shimadzu HPLC system.

Polycaprolactone-based in situ implant containing curcumin-PLGA nanoparticles prepared using the multivariate technique.

Studies on the effect of curcumin/PLGA ratio (CPR), stabilizer (PVA) concentration, homogenization speed, homogenization time, and sonication time on mean particle size (MPS) and percentage drug encapsulation (PDE) were performed using the multivariate technique. MPS and PDE were found to be more dependent on the interaction of sonication time with the other variables. Curcumin was released in a sustained manner from curcumin-PLGA nanoparticles (CPN).

Antiapoptotic Bcl-2 protein as a potential target for cancer therapy: A mini review.

Bcl-2, an antiapoptotic protein, is considered as a potential target in cancer treatment since its oncogenic potential has been proven and is well documented. Antisense technology and RNA interference (RNAi) have been used to reduce the expression of the Bcl-2 gene in many types of cancer cells and are effective as adjuvant therapy along with the chemotherapeutic agents. The lack of appropriate delivery systems is considered to be the main hurdle associated with the RNAi.

Preparation and characterization of novel PBAE/PLGA polymer blend microparticles for DNA vaccine delivery.

Context: Poly(beta-amino ester) (PBAE) with its pH sensitiveness and Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) with huge DNA cargo capacity in combination prove to be highly efficient as DNA delivery system.

Objective: To study the effectiveness of novel synthesized PBAE polymer with PLGA blend at different ratios in DNA vaccine delivery.

Methods: In the present study, multifunctional polymer blend microparticles using a combination of PLGA and novel PBAE polymers A1 (bis(3-(propionyloxy)propyl)3,3'-(propane-1,3-diyl-bis(methylazanediyl))dipropanoate) and A2 (bis(4-(propionyloxy)butyl)3,3'-(ethane-1,2-diyl-bis(isopropylazanediyl))dipropanoate) at different ratios (85:15, 75:25, and 50:50) were prepared by double emulsion solvent removal method.

A review on response of immune system in spinal cord injury and therapeutic agents useful in treatment.

Every year more than 12,000 people in US alone suffer from spinal cord injury. However, complete recovery of physical function is difficult due to multiple factors involved in disease progression. Currently available therapeutic regimens do not address all the factors concerned with the disease progression.

Chondroitinase: A promising therapeutic enzyme.

Even after 20 years of granting orphan status for chondroitinase by US FDA, there is no visible outcome in terms of clinical use. The reasons are many. One of them could be lack of awareness regarding the biological application of the enzyme.

Application of experimental design in preparation of nanoliposomes containing hyaluronidase.

Hyaluronidase is an enzyme that catalyzes breakdown of hyaluronic acid. This property is utilized for hypodermoclysis and for treating extravasation injury. Hyaluronidase is further studied for possible application as an adjuvant for increasing the efficacy of other drugs.

In-situ implant containing PCL-curcumin nanoparticles developed using design of experiments.

Context: Polymeric delivery system is useful in reducing pharmacokinetic limitations viz., poor absorption and rapid elimination associated with clinical use of curcumin. Design of experiment is a precise and cost effective tool useful in analyzing the effect of independent variables and their interaction on the product attributes.

A study on the role of (+)-catechin in suppression of HepG2 proliferation via caspase dependent pathway and enhancement of its in vitro and in vivo cytotoxic potential through liposomal formulation.

Catechin is a known hepatoprotective and anticancer agent but has limited bioavailability. Its apoptotic signaling pathway in human hepatocellular carcinoma is vaguely explored. Thus, this study was designed to explore cytotoxicity by MTT assay, induction of apoptosis via DNA fragmentation, nuclear staining, bivariate flow cytometric analysis using annexin V- FITC and propidium iodide, cell cycle analysis and apoptotic markers by RT-PCR and western blotting in HepG2 cells.

Preliminary evaluation of in vitro cytotoxicity and in vivo antitumor activity of Xanthium strumarium in transplantable tumors in mice.

In the present study, active fractions of the methanolic extract of Xanthium strumarium (XS) showing potent cytotoxicity were determined using microculture tetrazolium (MTT) and sulforhodamine B (SRB) assays in selected cancer cell lines. The active fractions viz., chloroform soluble fraction of root (CEXSR), hexane soluble fraction of leaf (HEXSL), hexane soluble fraction of fruits (HEXSF) and chloroform soluble fraction of fruits (CEXSF) of XS were tested in transplantable animal tumor models for their antitumor potential.

Improvement of therapeutic efficacy of PLGA nanoformulation of siRNA targeting anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 through chitosan coating.

Potential use of siRNA as therapeutic agent has elicited a great deal of interest. However, insufficient cellular uptake and poor stability limited its application in therapeutics. In our earlier study, we prepared PLGA nanoparticles for effective delivery of siRNA targeting Bcl-2 gene to block its expression.

A nanoformulation of siRNA and its role in cancer therapy: in vitro and in vivo evaluation.

Overexpression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 is often observed in a wide variety of human cancers. It prevents the induction of apoptosis in neoplastic cells and contributes to resistance to chemotherapy. RNA interference has emerged as an efficient and selective technique for gene silencing.

Nanoformulation of siRNA silencing Bcl-2 gene and its implication in cancer therapy.

The purpose of this research work was to prepare poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles for delivery of siRNA (small interfering RNA) for silencing anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 gene in cancerous cells by using the double emulsion solvent diffusion (DESE) method. Overexpression of Bcl-2 is often seen in a wide variety of human cancers. This prevents the induction of programmed cell death (i.