Formulation of Emulgels Containing Clotrimazole for the Treatment of Vaginal Candidiasis.

Vaginal candidiasis poses significant health concerns that affect approximately 75% of women globally and often leads to discomfort and a decrease in quality of life. Traditional treatments, despite their effectiveness, may cause discomfort and adverse effects, such as vaginal discharge, bleeding, and dryness, promoting the exploration of alternative formulations. In this study, we aimed to develop a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of vaginal candidiasis utilizing oleic acid containing emulgels made from thermoresponsive poloxamer-based hydrogels.

Viscoelasticity of Liposomal Dispersions.

Janus-faced viscoelastic gelling agents-possessing both elastic and viscous characteristics-provide materials with unique features including strengthening ability under stress and a liquid-like character with lower viscosities under relaxed conditions. The mentioned multifunctional character is manifested in several body fluids such as human tears, synovial liquids, skin tissues and mucins, endowing the fluids with a special physical resistance property that can be analyzed by dynamic oscillatory rheology. Therefore, during the development of pharmaceutical or cosmetical formulations-with the intention of mimicking the physiological conditions-rheological studies on viscoelasticity are strongly recommended and the selection of viscoelastic preparations is highlighted.

Determination of the Main Phase Transition Temperature of Phospholipids by Oscillatory Rheology.

Knowledge of the physical and chemical properties of phospholipids, such as phase transition temperatures (Tc), is of great importance in order to reveal the functionalities of biological and artificial membranes. Our research group developed an oscillatory rheological method for the simple and rapid determination of phase transition temperatures (Tc). The phospholipids constructing the membranes undergo conformational changes at their Tc, which cause alterations of viscoelastic properties of the molecules.

Rheological Considerations of Pharmaceutical Formulations: Focus on Viscoelasticity.

Controlling rheological properties offers the opportunity to gain insight into the physical characteristics, structure, stability and drug release rate of formulations. To better understand the physical properties of hydrogels, not only rotational but also oscillatory experiments should be performed. Viscoelastic properties, including elastic and viscous properties, are measured using oscillatory rheology.

Inclusion complexation of the anticancer drug pomalidomide with cyclodextrins: fast dissolution and improved solubility.

Pomalidomide (POM), a potent anticancer thalidomide analogue was characterized in terms of cyclodextrin complexation to improve its aqueous solubility and maintain its anti-angiogenic activity. The most promising cyclodextrin derivatives were selected by phase-solubility studies. From the investigated nine cyclodextrins - differing in cavity size, nature of substituents, degree of substitution and charge - the highest solubility increase was observed with sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrin (SBE-β-CD).

Configuration-Controlled Crystal and/or Gel Formation of Protected d-Glucosamines Supported by Promiscuous Interaction Surfaces and a Conformationally Heterogeneous Solution State.

The configuration-dependent self-association mode of the two anomers of O-Ac,N-Fmoc-d-glucosamine, a foldamer building block, leading to gel and/or single crystal formation is described. The β-anomer of the sugar amino acid (2) forms a gel from various solvents (confirmed by SEM, rheology measurements, NMR, and ECD spectroscopy), whereas the α-anomer (1) does not form a gel with any solvent tested. Transition from the solution state to a gel is coupled to a concurrent shift of the Fmoc-groups: from a freely rotating (almost symmetrical) to a specific, asymmetric orientation.

Optimization of liposomal encapsulation for ceftazidime for developing a potential eye drop formulation.

Ceftazidime is a broad spectrum third generation cephalosporin antibiotic which is effective mainly against Gram-negative bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter and Enterobacteriaceae, the pathogens which most often cause ophthalmological infections. Unlike other commonly used beta lactam antibiotics, ceftazidime is resistant to several types of beta lactamases (e.g.

Liposomes for topical use: a physico-chemical comparison of vesicles prepared from egg or soy lecithin.

Developments in nanotechnology and in the formulation of liposomal systems provide the opportunity for cosmetic dermatology to design novel delivery systems. Determination of their physico-chemical parameters has importance when developing a nano-delivery system. The present study highlights some technological aspects/characteristics of liposomes formulated from egg or soy lecithins for topical use.

Natural oils and waxes: studies on stick bases.

The objective of the present article was to examine the role of origin and quantity of selected natural oils and waxes in the determination of the thermal properties and hardness of stick bases. The natural oils and waxes selected for the study were sunflower, castor, jojoba, and coconut oils. The selected waxes were yellow beeswax, candelilla wax, and carnauba wax.

[Importance of the HLB-value in drug technology].

Surface active agents can be classified 60 years ago with the introduction of the HLB system. The characterization of emulgents allowed their common use in the practice. The objective of the review is to summarize the research in the field of surface active agents and HLB-value.

Nanoencapsulated and microencapsulated enzymes in drug antidotal therapy.

A catalytic bioscavenger for the therapeutic and prophylactic defense against recognized chemical threat agents has been a long-standing objective of civilian and military research. Among the toxic agents, organophosphate molecules and cyanide have been widely studied. In order to overcome the limitations of traditional antidotal therapies, isolated, purified, recombinant enzymes with bacterial origin possessing fast catalytic activity were used in in vitro and in vivo experiments.

Analysis of complex oligosaccharides using graphitized carbon liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.

The sugar fraction of alpha-1 acid glycoprotein (AGP) was studied using porous graphitized carbon (PGC) chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Electrospray ionization provides efficient control over fragmentation; at low collision energy only molecular species were observed, allowing accurate oligosaccharide profiling. PGC chromatography was useful separating 18 sugars differing in monosaccharide composition.

Investigation of genetic variants of alpha-1 acid glycoprotein by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Genetic variants of human plasma alpha-1 acid glycoprotein (AGP) have been studied in cancer, compared with a group of healthy control. AGP has four genetic variants: AGP F1, F2, and S variants correspond to the ORM1 gene whereas AGP A corresponds to the ORM2 gene. The proportion of ORM1 and ORM2 variants were studied in plasma using a novel UPLC-MS method.

[Methods to increase the encapsulation efficiency for liposomal drugs].

Liposomes as drug delivery systems--in comparison to the traditional dosage forms--offer the advantage of the targeted drug delivery and as a consequence, reduction of the side effects. In case of fluoroquinolone antibiotics, such as lomefloxacin, the liposomal encapsulation of the active ingredient can result in an enhancement of its therapeutic efficacy against intracellular bacteria. The aim to improve the liposomal encapsulation efficiency of drugs--which is one of the main factors influencing the therapeutic effect of vesicular dosage forms--is one of the important challenges in the field of pharmaceutical technology.

Gels and liposomes in optimized ocular drug delivery: studies on ciprofloxacin formulations.

Ciprofloxacin (CPFX) containing therapeutic systems were developed using gel- and liposome-based formulations to minimize tear-driven dilution in the conjunctival sac, a long-pursued objective in ophthalmology. Physicochemical properties (pH, osmolarity, viscosity, expansivity, membrane fluidity and in vitro CPFX release rate) of the preparations were studied by the appropriate methods. For gel preparation, the bio-adhesive poly(vinyl alcohol) and polymethacrylic acid derivatives were applied in various concentrations.