Targeting enteral endocrinal L-cells with dietary carbohydrates, by increasing the availability of miglitol in the intestinal lumen, leads to multi-fold enhancement of plasma glucagon-like peptide-1 levels in non-diabetic canines.

The principle aim of this study was to design a controlled release (CR), bioadhesive formulation of miglitol (in form of pellets) which would regulate the post-prandial glucose levels via reversible inhibition of α-glucosidase enzyme as well as by modulating the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) pathway in non-diabetic canines. A multilayered pellet formulation which was both bioadhesive (because of hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose polymer) and CR (because of the ethyl cellulose layer) was formulated. We report a novel finding that the CR formulation of miglitol (S3) induced a 2.

Design and evaluation of oral bioadhesive controlled release formulations of miglitol, intended for prolonged inhibition of intestinal alpha-glucosidases and enhancement of plasma glucagon like peptide-1 levels.

Alpha-glucosidase enzyme is present ubiquitously throughout the lumen of the small intestine. It is responsible for the breakdown of complex into simple carbohydrates. alpha-Glucosidase inhibitors such as miglitol, are drugs that have greater affinity towards this enzyme in comparison to carbohydrates.

Synergistic effect of ultrasound and PEI on DNA transfection in vitro.

Ultrasound and poly(ethylenimine) (PEI) have each separately been shown to increase DNA transfection efficiency. This study tested the hypothesis that the combination of ultrasound and PEI can have a synergistic effect to increase DNA transfection. This in vitro study assessed transfection efficiency of two different DNA plasmids encoding green fluorescent protein and firefly luciferase in two different cell types, a primary culture of human aortic smooth muscle cells and an immortal line of human prostate cancer cells.

Biodegradable poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) microparticles for injectable delivery of vaccine antigens.

Injectable biodegradable polymeric particles (usually microspheres) represent an exciting approach to control the release of vaccine antigens to reduce the number of doses in the immunization schedule and optimize the desired immune response via selective targeting of antigen to antigen presenting cells. After the first couple of decades of their study, much progress has been made towards the clinical use of antigen-loaded microspheres. Poly(lactide-co-glycolic acids) (PLGAs) have been studied most commonly for this purpose because of their proven safety record and established use in marketed products for controlled delivery of several peptide drugs.

The effect of poly(ethylene glycol) molecular architecture on cellular interaction and uptake of DNA complexes.

The cellular uptake of plasmid DNA complexes with a series of tertiary amine methacrylate-ethylene glycol (DMAEMA-EG) copolymers with various architectures was studied using flow cytofluorometry and laser confocal microscopy. The complexes displayed different rates and extents of cellular interaction and internalisation, depending on the copolymer molecular architecture. In general, introduction of oligo(ethylene glycol) [OEG] or poly(ethylene glycol) [PEG] chains decreased both the interaction and cellular internalisation of the DNA complexes but subtle differences were observed.

Influence of polymer architecture on the structure of complexes formed by PEG-tertiary amine methacrylate copolymers and phosphorothioate oligonucleotide.

The influence of polymer structure on the characteristics of complexes of a phosphorothioate antisense oligonucleotide (ISIS 5132) was studied, using well-defined cationic copolymers based on 2-(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). The three related copolymer structures were: DMAEMA-PEG (a diblock copolymer) DMAEMA-OEGMA 7 (a brush-type copolymer), DMAEMA-stat-PEGMA (a comb-type copolymer); each of these were examined together with DMAEMA homopolymer, which served as a control. The results revealed that all the polymers exhibited good binding ability with the oligonucleotide (ON).