Polymeric micelles: Basic research to clinical practice.

Rapidly developing polymeric micelles as potential targeting carriers has intensified the need for better understanding of the underlying principles related to the selection of suitable delivery materials for designing, characterizing, drug loading, improving stability, targetability, biosafety and efficacy. The emergence of advanced analytical tools such as fluorescence resonance energy transfer and dissipative particle dynamics has identified new dimensions of these nanostructures and their behavior in much greater details. This review summarizes recent efforts in the development of polymeric micelles with respect to their architecture, formulation strategy and targeting possibilities along with their preclinical and clinical aspects.

Spasmolytic effect of traditional herbal formulation on guinea pig ileum.

Background: The herbal formulation consisting of Andrographis paniculata Nees., Cassia fistula L., Foeniculum vulgare Mill.

In vitro cytotoxicity and in vivo efficacy of 5-fluorouracil-loaded enteric-coated PEG-cross-linked chitosan microspheres in colorectal cancer therapy in rats.

Purpose: Microspheres of chitosan (CS) cross-linked with polyethylene glycol (PEG) were prepared by emulsion-cross-linking followed by the solvent evaporation technique. The formulations were characterized and subjected to in vitro and in vivo tests to assess cell growth, changes in cell morphology, and activities by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay on human HT-29 colon cancer cell-lines.

Methods: In vivo activity was evaluated for dimethyl hydrazine-induced colorectal cancer in albino male Wistar rats.

In vitro cytotoxicity and in vivo efficacy of 5-fluorouracil-loaded enteric-coated PEG-crosslinked chitosan microspheres in colorectal cancer therapy in rats.

Purpose: Microspheres of chitosan (CS) crosslinked with polyethylene glycol (PEG) were prepared by emulsion crosslinking followed by solvent evaporation technique. The formulations were characterized and subjected to in vitro and in vivo tests to assess cell growth, changes in cell morphology and activities by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay on human HT-29 colon cancer cell lines.

Methods: In vivo activity was evaluated for dimethyl hydrazine-induced colorectal cancer in albino male Wistar rats.

Oral insulin delivery using deoxycholic acid conjugated PEGylated polyhydroxybutyrate co-polymeric nanoparticles.

Aim: To develop insulin loaded deoxycholic acid conjugated PEGylated polyhydroxybutyrate co-polymeric nanoparticles and carry out in vitro and in vivo testing of enteric coated granules comprising these nanoparticles.

Materials & Methods: Insulin loaded nanoparticles were prepared and characterized in vitro. Cellular uptake was studied using hyperspectral and live cell confocal microscopy.

Polysaccharide-based micro/nanohydrogels for delivering macromolecular therapeutics.

Increased interest in developing novel micro/nanohydrogel based formulations for delivering macromolecular therapeutics has led to multiple choices of biodegradable and biocompatible natural polymers. This interest is largely due to the availability of large number of highly pure recombinant proteins and peptides with tunable properties as well as RNA interference technology that are used in treating some of the deadly diseases that were difficult to be treated by the conventional approaches. The majority of marketed drugs that are now available are in the form of injectables that pose limited patient compliance and convenience.

Activity of Plumbago zeylanica Linn. root and Holoptelea integrifolia Roxb. bark pastes in acute and chronic paw inflammation in Wistar rat.

Background: The pastes prepared from roots of Plumbago zeylanica Linn. and barks of Holoptelea integrifolia Roxb. are widely used by traditional healers for the treatment of arthritis in rural northern Karnataka.

Polymeric hydrogels for oral insulin delivery.

The search for an effective and reliable oral insulin delivery system has been a major challenge facing pharmaceutical scientists for over many decades. Even though innumerable carrier systems that protect insulin from degradation in the GIT with improved membrane permeability and biological activity have been developed, yet a clinically acceptable device is not available for human application. Efforts in this direction are continuing at an accelerated speed.

Cyclodextrin-based siRNA delivery nanocarriers: a state-of-the-art review.

Introduction: The discovery of synthetic small interfering RNA (siRNA) has led to a surge of interest in harnessing RNA interference (RNAi) technology for biomedical applications and drug development. Even though siRNA can be a powerful therapeutic drug, its delivery remains a major challenge, due to the difficulty in its cellular uptake. Naked siRNA has a biological half-life of less than an hour in human plasma.