Dexamethasone (DXM) is a commonly used corticosteroid in the treatment of ocular inflammatory conditions that affect more and more people. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the combination of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPBCD), in situ gelling formulations, and other mucoadhesive polymers, i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLidocaine is generally recognized and preferred for local anaesthesia, but in addition, studies have described additional benefits of lidocaine in cancer therapy, inflammation reduction, and wound healing. These properties contribute to its increasing importance in dermatological applications, and not only in pain relief but also in other potential therapeutic outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to enhance lidocaine delivery through the skin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanotechnology is playing a significant role in modern life with tremendous potential and promising results in almost every domain, especially the pharmaceutical one. The impressive performance of nanomaterials is shaping the future of science and revolutionizing the traditional concepts of industry and research. Titanate nanotubes (TNTs) are one of these novel entities that became an appropriate choice to apply in several platforms due to their remarkable properties such as preparation simplicity, high stability, good biocompatibility, affordability and low toxicity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParkinson's disease (PD) is neurodegenerative chronic illness which affects primarily the elderly over 45 years of age. The symptoms can be various, both non-motor and motor symptoms can appear. The biggest problem in the treatment of the disease is the difficulty in swallowing for the patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe vast scope of 3D printing has ignited the production of tailored medical device (MD) development and catalyzed a paradigm shift in the health-care industry, particularly following the COVID pandemic. This review aims to provide an update on the current progress and emerging opportunities for additive manufacturing following the introduction of the new medical device regulation (MDR) within the EU. The advent of early-phase implementation of the Quality by Design (QbD) quality management framework in MD development is a focal point.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn recent years, we have witnessed prominent improvements in urinary catheter coatings to tackle the commonly occurring catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) in catheterized patients. CAUTIs are claimed to be one of the most frequent nosocomial infections that can lead to various complications, from catheter encrustation to severe septicaemia and pyelonephritis. Besides general prevention hygienic strategies, antimicrobial-coated urinary catheters show great potential in the prevention of urinary catheter-associated complications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPoor bioavailability of eye drops is a well-known issue, which can be improved by increasing the residence time on the eye surface and the penetration of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). This study aims to formulate in situ gelling mucoadhesive ophthalmic preparations. To increase the residence time, the formulations were based on a thermosensitive polymer (Poloxamer 407 (P407)) and were combined with two types of mucoadhesive polymers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe term "Medical devices" includes technology-based devices or articles, both basic and complex. Due to these types of variations, a strict, robust, transparent, and sustainable regulatory framework is required. In recent clinical practice, incidents including the breast implant and the hip replacement crisis have made it necessary to improve the regulatory and compliance approaches for the industry to ensure the manufacturing and distribution of safe and innovative MDs within the EU.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMolecular complexation with cyclodextrins (CDs) has long been a known process for modifying the physicochemical properties of problematic active pharmaceutical ingredients with poor water solubility. In current times, the focus has been on the solvent-free co-grinding process, which is an industrially feasible process qualifying as a green technology. In this study, terbinafine hydrochloride (TER), a low solubility antifungal drug was used as a model drug.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCounterfeiting of the products for healing is as old as trading, and it is difficult to quantify the magnitude of the problem. It is known that substandard and/or falsified (SF) medicines are a growing global threat to health, and they cause serious social and economic damage. The EU has a strong legal framework for medicines, it is mandatory to meet the requirements of Directive 2011/62/EU.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurrently, pharmaceutical companies are working on innovative methods, processes and products. Oral mucoadhesive systems, such as tablets, gels, and polymer films, are among these possible products. Oral mucoadhesive systems possess many advantages, including the possibility to be applied in swallowing problems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe translation of nanomedicines from the lab level into marketed product faces several challenges, including characterization of physicochemical properties, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, process control, biocompatibility, and nanotoxicity, scaling-up as well as reproducibility. The challenges of nanomedicine development are in connection with the different requirements from the patient (clinical and therapeutic use), industry (production), and regulatory bodies (authorization process). This paper aims at reviewing the status and regulatory aspects of nano-based drug delivery systems with a focus on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicine Agency (EMA) regulations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSubstandard and/or falsified medicines are a growing global threat for health and they cause serious social and economic damage. In low- and middle-income countries the failure rate of these medical products is approximately 10.5%.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: In intensive care units numerous drugs have to be infused simultaneously, resulting inline incompatibility. Propofol is formulated as a lipid emulsion and it is well known that electrolytes can affect the stability of an emulsion system. Our goal was to evaluate and to compare the physical compatibility of three commercial propofol lipid emulsions of different manufacturers, mixing them with the most commonly used crystalloids in intensive care units.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, authors adapt the Quality by Design (QbD) concept as well as the Risk Assessment (RA) method to the early development phase of a new nano-sized liposomal formulation for nasal administration with brain target. As a model active agent, a BCS II class drug was chosen to investigate the behaviour of the drugs with lipophilic character. This research presents how to apply this risk-focused approach and concentrates on the first four stages of the QbD implementation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMeloxicam is an anti-inflammatory drug that could be interesting to deliver locally to the lungs to treat inflammation occurring in cystic fibrosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Spray drying conditions were optimized to prepare inhalable dry powders, from meloxicam aqueous solution with pH adjustment. A comparison study between non-porous and large porous particles (LPPs) was carried out to demonstrate the relevance of the aimed large size (>5 µm) and low density (<0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The article reports a wet milling process, where the planetary ball mill was combined with pearl milling technology to reach nanosize range of meloxicam (Mel; 100-500 nm). The main purpose was to increase the dissolution rate and extent of a poorly water-soluble Mel as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug as well as to study its permeability across cultured intestinal epithelial cell layers.
Methods: Viscosity of milled dispersion and particle size distribution and zeta potential of Mel were investigated and differential scanning calorimeter and X-ray powder diffractometer were used to analyse the structure of the suspended Mel.
The nasal delivery of drugs offers a great alternative route to avoid adverse events and to increase patient compliance due to its advantageous properties. Besides nasal application, topical, systemic and central effects are also available. Nasal powders (NPs) have better adhesion due to the additive polymers that may be, eg, gelling or good wettability agents; thus, their bioavailability is better compared to the liquid formulations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe focus of this research was to apply the in situ coating technology for producing paracetamol- (PCT-) containing pastilles for paediatric use from a eutectic of two sugar alcohols (sorbitol, xylitol) in one step. This type of melt-technology is more cost-efficient and simpler than other conventional tableting technologies, whereby the formation of the pastilles and their coating occur upon the same fabrication step. We managed to produce pastilles having a softer core and a harder, resistant shell in one cooling step.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this work was an investigation of the physical changes of the amorphous model material spray-dried trehalose through the use of various analytical techniques and to identify a suitable, rapid method able to quantify the changes. The crystallinity changes and recrystallization process of amorphous samples were investigated by hot-humidity stage X-ray powder diffractometry (HH-XRPD) with fresh samples, conventional X-ray powder diffractometry (XRPD) used stored samples and by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The data from the three methods were compared and the various forms of trehalose were analysed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article reports on the effects of a new combined wet milling technique on the physicochemical properties of meloxicam (MEL). The influence of milling time on the particle size, the crystallinity, the morphology and the dissolution rate of MEL has been studied in the presence and absence of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a stabilizer agent. Micronized MEL particles were produced in aqueous medium which did not contain additive after milling for 10 min.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this work was a preliminary study of the "in-process" amorphization of clopidogrel hydrogensulfate (CLP) as model drug during the production of tablets as dosage form. A solvent method was used for amorphization and the crystalline phase of CLP was detected by differential scanning calorimetry; the physical parameters of fresh and stored tablets were investigated. For the amorphous form, Aerosil 200 was selected as crystallization inhibitor as the most suitable of eight auxiliary agents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF