Application of Design of Expert software for evaluating the influence of formulation variables on the encapsulation efficacy, drug content and particle size of PEO-PPO-PEO/Poly (DL-lactide-co-caprolactone) nanoparticles as carriers for SN-38.

Background And Aims: Hydrophobic substances are mainly encapsulated into polymer nanocarriers in order to improve their solubility, enable their administration, at the same time to empower targeted tissue or cell specific delivery of the drug using the encapsulating vehicle as targeting and controlled release platform. 7-Ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN-38) is an active metabolite of Irinotecan, showing 100-fold to 1000-fold higher effect than Irinotecan, but its clinical use is limited because of its extreme hydrophobicity, as it is practically insoluble in most physiologically compatible and pharmaceutically acceptable solvents.

Method: In order to fully exploit the potential of the nanoprecipitation as a method for preparation of Poly(DL-lactide-co-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene oxide) - poly(propylene oxide) - poly(ethylene oxide) (P(DL)LCL/PEO-PPO-PEO) nanoparticles and evaluate the influence of the polymer P(DL)LCL, stabilizing agent PEO-PPO-PEO copolymer (Lutrol F127) and the drug concentration (SN-38) upon drug entrapment efficiency, size and drug content, a D-optimal experimental design for response surface using Design Expert Version 9.

A review of the current understanding of nanoparticles protein corona composition.

Upon entering into the biological environments, the surface of the nanoparticles is immediately coated with proteins and form the so-called a protein corona due to which a nanoparticle changes its "synthetic" identity to a new "biological" identity. Different types of nanoparticles have different protein binding profiles, which is why they have different protein corona composition and therefore it cannot be said that there is a universal protein corona. The composition and amount of protein in the corona depends on the physical and chemical characteristics of the nanoparticles, the type of biological medium and the exposure time.

Essential Oil Composition of Pinus peuce Griseb. Needles and Twigs from Two National Parks of Kosovo.

The principal aim of this study was to analyze the chemical composition and qualitative and quantitative variability of essential oils obtained from seven naturally grown populations of the Pinus peuce Grisebach, Pinaceae in Kosovo. Plant materials were collected from three populations in the Sharri National Park and from four other populations in the Bjeshkët e Nemuna National Park, in Kosovo. Essential oils were obtained by steam distillation and analyzed by GC-FID (Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detection) and GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry).