Rapid separation of bacteria from primary nasal samples using inertial microfluidics.

Microbial populations play a crucial role in human health and the development of many diseases. These diseases often arise from the explosive proliferation of opportunistic bacteria, such as those in the nasal cavity. Recently, there have been increases in the prevalence of these opportunistic pathogens displaying antibiotic resistance.

Investigating potential TRPV1 positive feedback to explain TRPV1 upregulation in airway disease states.

Objective: The airway epithelium is a potential source of pathophysiology through activation of transient potential receptor vallinoid type 1 (TRPV1) channel. A positive feedback cycle caused by TRPV1 activity is hypothesized to induce upregulation and production of inflammatory cytokines, leading to exacerbations of chronic airway diseases. These cytokine and protein regulation effects were investigated in this study.

A 3D-printed microfluidic platform for simulating the effects of CPAP on the nasal epithelium.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a chronic disorder that involves a decrease or complete cessation of airflow during sleep. It occurs when the muscles supporting the soft tissues in the throat relax during sleep, causing narrowing or closure of the upper airway. Sleep apnea is a serious medical condition with an increased risk of cardiovascular complications and impaired quality of life.

Nasal Powder Formulation of Tranexamic Acid and Hyaluronic Acid for the Treatment of Epistaxis.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop a nasal powder formulation of the antifibrinolytic drug, tranexamic acid (TXA), in combination with the wound-healing agent hyaluronic acid (HA) for the local treatment of epistaxis (nose bleeding).

Methods: Formulations of TXA alone and with different concentrations of HA were freeze-dried and characterised according to their physicochemical properties. Aerosol performance was assessed to ensure nasal deposition with minimal lung deposition.

Effect of continuous positive airway pressure treatment on permeability, inflammation and mucus production of human epithelial cells.

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is the gold standard treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea, which affects millions of people worldwide. However, this therapy normally results in symptoms such as dryness, sneezing, rhinorrhoea, post-nasal drip, nasal congestion and epistaxis in the upper airways. Using bronchial epithelial (Calu-3) and nasal epithelial (RPMI 2650) cells in an respiratory model, this study, for the first time, investigates the effect of CPAP positive pressure on the human respiratory epithelial mechanisms that regulate upper airways lubrication characteristics.

Clinical side effects of continuous positive airway pressure in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea.

CPAP is considered the gold standard treatment in OSA and is highly efficacious in controlling OSA symptoms. However, treatment effectiveness is limited because of many factors including low adherence due to side effects. This review highlights the range of side effects associated with CPAP therapy in patients with OSA.

Lung-on-a-chip: the future of respiratory disease models and pharmacological studies.

Recently, organ-on-a-chip models, which are microfluidic devices that mimic the cellular architecture and physiological environment of an organ, have been developed and extensively investigated. The chips can be tailored to accommodate the disease conditions pertaining to many organs; and in the case of this review, the lung. Lung-on-a-chip models result in a more accurate reflection compared to conventional models.

Co-Spray-Dried Urea Cross-Linked Hyaluronic Acid and Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate as Novel Inhalable Dry Powder Formulation.

The pathogenesis and progression of several lung disorders is propagated by inflammatory and oxidative processes, which can be controlled by adjunctive inhaled therapies. The present study aimed to develop an inhalable dry powder formulation consisting of co-spray-dried urea-crosslinked hyaluronic acid and sodium ascorbyl phosphate (SD HA-CL-SAP), a novel combination which was recently shown to possess anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and wound healing properties. Native HA and SAP were co-spray dried (SD HA-SAP) and evaluated as control formulation.

Strategies to Enhance Drug Absorption via Nasal and Pulmonary Routes.

New therapeutic agents such as proteins, peptides, and nucleic acid-based agents are being developed every year, making it vital to find a non-invasive route such as nasal or pulmonary for their administration. However, a major concern for some of these newly developed therapeutic agents is their poor absorption. Therefore, absorption enhancers have been investigated to address this major administration problem.

In vitro characterization of physico-chemical properties, cytotoxicity, bioactivity of urea-crosslinked hyaluronic acid and sodium ascorbyl phosphate nasal powder formulation.

An innovative lyophilized dry powder formulation consisting of urea-crosslinked hyaluronic acid (HA-CL) and sodium ascorbyl phosphate (SAP) - LYO HA-CL - SAP- was prepared and characterized in vitro for physico-chemical and biological properties. The aim was to understand if LYO HA-CL - SAP could be used as adjuvant treatment for nasal inflammatory diseases. LYO HA-CL - SAP was suitable for nasal delivery and showed to be not toxic on human nasal septum carcinoma-derived cells (RPMI 2650 cells) at the investigated concentrations.

The potential to treat lung cancer via inhalation of repurposed drugs.

Lung cancer is a highly invasive and prevalent disease with ineffective first-line treatment and remains the leading cause of cancer death in men and women. Despite the improvements in diagnosis and therapy, the prognosis and outcome of lung cancer patients is still poor. This could be associated with the lack of effective first-line oncology drugs, formation of resistant tumors and non-optimal administration route.

Combination of urea-crosslinked hyaluronic acid and sodium ascorbyl phosphate for the treatment of inflammatory lung diseases: An in vitro study.

This in vitro study evaluated, for the first time, the safety and the biological activity of a novel urea-crosslinked hyaluronic acid component and sodium ascorbyl phosphate (HA-CL - SAP), singularly and/or in combination, intended for the treatment of inflammatory lung diseases. The aim was to understand if the combination HA-CL - SAP had an enhanced activity with respect to the combination native hyaluronic acid (HA) - SAP and the single SAP, HA and HA-CL components. Sample solutions displayed pH, osmolality and viscosity values suitable for lung delivery and showed to be not toxic on epithelial Calu-3 cells at the concentrations used in this study.

The use of fatty acids as absorption enhancer for pulmonary drug delivery.

A limitation in the systemic uptake of many inhalable drugs is the restricted permeation through the pulmonary epithelial layer barrier. One strategy to bypass the epithelial layer when delivering non-permeable drugs is to alter the paracellular transport, allowing the uptake of drugs into the systemic circulation. In this study, the potential of sodium decanoate (Na dec), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) as absorption enhancers has been investigated to increase pulmonary paracellular permeability by modulating epithelial cells' tight junctions.

The effect of non-specific tight junction modulators on the transepithelial transport of poorly permeable drugs across airway epithelial cells.

The epithelial barrier in the respiratory system is a major obstacle for drug delivery to the systemic circulation in the lung. Epithelial barrier hinders the transport of large macromolecules or polar drugs. Essential components of this epithelial fence are physical intercellular structures termed tight junctions.

Cell-based therapies for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) disease.

Introduction: During the last few decades, cell-based therapies have shown great potential to treat patients with lung diseases. It has been proposed that the administration of cells into an injured lung could be considered as a therapeutic method to repair and replace lost lung tissue. Using this method, transplanted cells with the ability to proliferate and differentiate into alveolar cells, have been suggested as a therapeutic strategy for IPF treatment.

Scalable surface area characterization by electrokinetic analysis of complex anion adsorption.

By means of the in situ electrokinetic assessment of aqueous particles in conjunction with the addition of anionic adsorbates, we develop and examine a new approach to the scalable characterization of the specific accessible surface area of particles in water. For alumina powders of differing morphology in mildly acidic aqueous suspensions, the effective surface charge was modified by carboxylate anion adsorption through the incremental addition of oxalic and citric acids. The observed zeta potential variation as a function of the proportional reagent additive was found to exhibit inverse hyperbolic sine-type behavior predicted to arise from monolayer adsorption following the Grahame-Langmuir model.

Curcumin as a wound healing agent.

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a popular Indian spice that has been used for centuries in herbal medicines for the treatment of a variety of ailments such as rheumatism, diabetic ulcers, anorexia, cough and sinusitis. Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is the main curcuminoid present in turmeric and responsible for its yellow color. Curcumin has been shown to possess significant anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anti-mutagenic, anti-coagulant and anti-infective effects.

Investigation into physical-chemical variables affecting the manufacture and dissolution of wet-milled clarithromycin nanoparticles.

A critical problem associated with poor water-soluble drugs is their low and variable bioavailability, which is derived from the slow dissolution and erratic absorption. Nano-formulation has been identified as one approach to enhance the rate and extent of drug absorption for compounds that demonstrate limited water solubility. This study aimed to investigate the physico-chemical variables that affect the manufacture, dissolution and consequent bioavailability of wet-milled clarithromycin (CLA) nanoparticles, a macrolide antibiotic.