Biological Potential and Bioaccessibility of Encapsulated Curcumin into Cetyltrimethylammonium Bromide Modified Cellulose Nanocrystals.

Curcumin is a natural phenolic compound with important biological functions. Despite its demonstrated efficacy in vitro, curcumin biological activities in vivo are dependent on its bioaccessibility and bioavailability, which have been highlighted as a crucial challenge. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide-modified cellulose nanocrystals (CNC-CTAB) have been shown to be effective in curcumin encapsulation, as they have the potential to enhance biological outcomes.

Design of Innovative Biocompatible Cellulose Nanostructures for the Delivery and Sustained Release of Curcumin.

Poor aqueous solubility, stability and bioavailability of interesting bioactive compounds is a challenge in the development of bioactive formulations. Cellulose nanostructures are promising and sustainable carriers with unique features that may be used in enabling delivery strategies. In this work, cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and cellulose nanofibers were investigated as carriers for the delivery of curcumin, a model liposoluble compound.

Polymeric nanoparticles as oral delivery systems for a grape pomace extract towards the improvement of biological activities.

Grape pomace (GP) is a major by-product from the wine industry, known for its bioactive compounds and their impact upon gastrointestinal (GI) health. However, bioaccessibility is often poor due to their degradation during digestion. This work aimed to encapsulate bioactive GP extract (GPE) into chitosan (CS) and alginate (Alg) nanoparticles (NPs) to mitigate degradation in the GI tract.

Microembolic Signals Detected by Transcranial Doppler Predict Future Stroke and Poor Outcomes.

Background And Purpose: Although transcranial Doppler detects microembolic signals (MES) in numerous settings, the practical significance of such findings remains unclear.

Methods: Clinical information from ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack patients (n = 248) who underwent embolic monitoring from January 2015 to December 2018 was obtained.

Results: MES were found in 15% of studies and ischemic recurrence was seen in 11% of patients (over 7 ± 6 days).

Novel and revisited approaches in nanoparticle systems for buccal drug delivery.

The buccal route is considered patient friendly due to its non-invasive nature and ease of administration. Such delivery route has been used as an alternative for the delivery of drugs that undergo first-pass metabolism or are susceptible to pH and enzymatic degradation, such as occurs in the gastrointestinal tract. However, the drug concentration absorbed in the buccal mucosa is often low to obtain an acceptable therapeutic effect, mainly due to the saliva turnover, tongue and masticatory movements, phonation, enzymatic degradation and lack of epithelium permeation.

Film-nanoparticle composite for enhanced oral delivery of alpha-casozepine.

Whey-derived alpha-casozepine bioactive peptide (YLGYLEQLLR) was associated with previously optimized guar-gum film-PLGA nanoparticles, aiming to increase both stability across gastrointestinal tract and permeability across absorptive epithelia. Oral films associated with nanoparticles (FNp) enhance buccal absorption along with protection of carried bioactive molecules that are swallowed, with inherent increase of bioavailability. None of developed formulations induced significant loss of cell viability.

Ageing affects the balance between central and peripheral mechanisms of cerebrovascular regulation with increasing influence of systolic blood pressure levels.

Background: Arterial baroreflex (BR) and cerebral autoregulation (CA) are two major regulatory mechanisms that maintain constant cerebral perfusion. Little is known about the interplay between these mechanisms, particularly when considering the effects of ageing or sex.

Purpose: We studied the relationship between dynamic CA and BR sensitivity (BRS) in healthy subjects by sex and in different age strata.

Incorporation of beads into oral films for buccal and oral delivery of bioactive molecules.

The association of alginate beads and guar-gum films in a single delivery system was idealized to promote a more effective buccal and oral delivery of bioactive molecules. A response surface method (experimental design approach) was performed to obtain optimal formulations of alginate beads to be incorporated into guar gum oral films as combined buccal and oral delivery systems for caffeine delivery. The combined formulation was further characterized regarding physicochemical properties, drug release, cell viability and buccal permeability.

Combination of PLGA nanoparticles with mucoadhesive guar-gum films for buccal delivery of antihypertensive peptide.

Oral administration of proteins and peptides still is a challenging task to overcome due to low permeability through absorptive epithelia, degradation and metabolism that lead to poor bioavailability. Attempting to overcome such limitations, an antihypertensive peptide derived from whey protein, with KGYGGVSLPEW sequence, was incorporated for the first time into polymeric nanoparticles. An experimental design was followed in order to optimize drug-loading, association efficiency, mean particle size, zeta-potential and polydispersity index of a formulation of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles as carriers for bioactive peptides.

Recent insights in the use of nanocarriers for the oral delivery of bioactive proteins and peptides.

Bioactive proteins and peptides have been used with either prophylactic or therapeutic purposes, presenting inherent advantages as high specificity and biocompatibility. Nanocarriers play an important role in the stabilization of proteins and peptides, offering enhanced buccal permeation and protection while crossing the gastrointestinal tract. Moreover, preparation of nanoparticles as oral delivery systems for proteins/peptides may include tailored formulation along with functionalization aiming bioavailability enhancement of carried proteins or peptides.

Atrial Fibrillation as an Ischemic Stroke Clinical and Economic Burden Modifier: A 15-Year Nationwide Study.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major risk factor for ischemic stroke (IS). Patients with AF may undergo preventive therapy. Although the AF impact in the clinical burden of IS has been studied, information is lacking in Southern Europe and there are no studies about the impact in potential years of life lost.

Optimization of two biopolymer-based oral films for the delivery of bioactive molecules.

An experimental design was established in order to optimize the mechanical properties of two oral film formulations intended for oral delivery of bioactive compounds. Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and gelatin type A (GelTA) were selected as polymeric matrix. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that caffeine crystals were homogeneously dispersed onto oral film matrix.

Hydrogels containing porphyrin-loaded nanoparticles for topical photodynamic applications.

5,10,15,20-tetrakis(1-methylpyridinium-4-yl)-porphyrin tetra-iodide (TMPyP), a potent water-soluble photosensitizer (PS) used in antimicrobial applications, was encapsulated into poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (TMPyP-PLGA) for topical delivery purposes. Nanoparticles resulted in a mean particle size around 130nm, narrow polydispersity index (PdI), spherical morphology and association efficiency up to 93%. Free TMPyP and TMPyP-PLGA nanoparticles were incorporated into Carbopol(®) hydrogels, resulting in controlled TMPyP release of about 60% and 20% after 4.

Oral films as breakthrough tools for oral delivery of proteins/peptides.

Therapeutic proteins and peptides demonstrate unique, peerless, pharmacological characteristics such as high specificity to receptors and superior biological mimicking of physiological mechanisms, resulting in a better therapeutic index compared to conventional chemical-derived drugs. However, proteins also present inherent bioavailability limitations. Thus, this paper proposes several effective tools to improve protein/peptide drugs stability, permeability and pharmacokinetics with special emphasis on oral polymeric films as oral delivery platforms.

Autonomic dysfunction affects dynamic cerebral autoregulation during Valsalva maneuver: comparison between healthy and autonomic dysfunction subjects.

The role of autonomic nervous system (ANS) in adapting cerebral blood flow (CBF) to arterial blood pressure (ABP) fluctuations [cerebral autoregulation (CA)] is still controversial. We aimed to study the repercussion of autonomic failure (AF) on dynamic CA during the Valsalva maneuver (VM). Eight AF subjects with familial amyloidotic polineuropahty (FAP) were compared with eight healthy controls.