Pathophysiology to advanced intra-articular drug delivery strategies: Unravelling rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the most prevalent life-long autoimmune diseases with an unknown genesis. It primarily causes chronic inflammation, pain, and synovial joint-associated cartilage and bone degradation. Unfortunately, limited information is available regarding the etiology and pathogenesis of this chronic joint disorder.

Digitization in Skin Shade Matching for Maxillofacial Prostheses: A Systematic Review.

Color matching of maxillofacial prostheses for the restoration of maxillofacial defects is an important factor for esthetic results. Various methods have been introduced for the accurate and reliable color matching of prostheses with the skin color of patients. A systematic review was conducted to search the existing literature on color-matching digital techniques for maxillofacial prostheses.

Designing nanoformulation for the nose-to-brain delivery in Parkinson's disease: Advancements and barrier.

Parkinson's disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons, which results in the loss of motor activity. In the management of PD, the primary aim is to increase the dopamine content in the brain either by delivering the precursors of dopamine or by inhibiting the molecules responsible for dopamine degradation. Due to the low bioavailability, a higher dosage of drugs needs to be administered repeatedly for achieving the desired therapeutic effect.

Synthesis and characterization of an injectable microparticles integrated hydrogel composite biomaterial: In-vivo biocompatibility and inflammatory arthritis treatment.

Polymeric hydrogels and microparticles have been widely used for localized drug delivery applications for the treatment of arthritis. Nonetheless, owing to initial burst drug release, non-specific biodistribution and low retention time at the target site in body, these polymeric drug delivery systems have been found with low in-vivo performance. Hence, the above limitations need to be resolved by designing a smart novel drug delivery system which is the current need in biomedicine.

Chitosan-polycaprolactone blend sponges for management of chronic osteomyelitis: A preliminary characterization and in vitro evaluation.

Blending two polymers is an effective technique to obtain a novel material with desirable properties. Chitosan (CH) has limited applications in tissue engineering owing to its poor mechanical strength in a wet state. Polycaprolactone (PCL) has low toxicity with good mechanical strength and controlled release properties, but lack cell recognition signals.

Chitosan sponges as a sustained release carrier system for the prophylaxis of orthopedic implant-associated infections.

The present investigation aims to study the chitosan sponge as a carrier matrix for the sustained antibiotic release system for the prophylaxis of orthopedic implant-associated infections (OIAIs). We have prepared sponges of three broad-spectrum antibiotics, namely vancomycin, ciprofloxacin and cefuroxime possessing different physicochemical properties. The blank, vancomycin, ciprofloxacin and cefuroxime loaded chitosan sponges were denoted as Blank-CH, CH-VAN, CH-CIP, and CH-CEF sponges.

Cefuroxime conjugated chitosan hydrogel for treatment of wound infections.

Hydrogels are excellent drug delivery systems for the treatment of chronic wound infections. However, the problem of high burst release still remains a challenge that needs to be tackled. In terms of antibiotic release from the hydrogels, as the drug payload depletes it could act as a substrate for bacterial seeding which can create a life-threatening condition.

Chitosan nanoparticles and povidone iodine containing alginate gel for prevention and treatment of orthopedic implant associated infections.

Orthopedic Implant associated infections (OIAIs) are the most serious complications in the orthopedic surgery. Such complications are of major concern unless encountered during initial stages of contamination due to the bacterial biofilm formation. Thus, our aim is to eradicate bacteria at the early stages of infection.

Dual-purpose Injectable Doxorubicin Conjugated Alginate Gel Containing Polycaprolactone Microparticles for Anti-Cancer and Anti-Inflammatory Therapy.

Background: In situ gel formulations have been widely reported as a carrier for sustained release delivery systems due to certain advantages such as targeted drug delivery, minimal invasiveness and potent therapeutic activity.

Objective: Herein, in situ gel system for sustained release of doxorubicin and ibuprofen for anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activity is reported.

Method: Doxorubicin-conjugated alginate (dox-alg) gel was prepared using EDC-NHS chemistry and loaded with ibuprofen encapsulated polycaprolactone (PCL) microparticles (dox-alg composite).

Nanobiotechnology Perspectives on Prevention and Treatment of Ortho-paedic Implant Associated Infection.

Implants are an inevitable part of orthopaedic surgery. However, implant associated infection remains a major challenge for orthopaedic surgeons and researchers. This review focuses on current options available for prevention of implant associated infection, their drawbacks and future promising applications of nanotechnology-based approaches.

Clinical characteristics of patients with community-acquired complicated intra-abdominal infections: a prospective, multicentre, observational study.

In this prospective, observational, multicentre study using data from five countries (Columbia, The Philippines, Portugal, Taiwan and Thailand), the clinical impact of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing organisms on hospitalised patients with community-acquired complicated intra-abdominal infections (CA-cIAIs) was compared with that of non-ESBL-producing organisms during the period April 2010 to December 2011. Adult patients (aged ≥18 years) requiring surgery or percutaneous drainage were enrolled and were followed during the first hospitalisation course. An unadjusted statistical comparison of risk factors for ESBL-positive and ESBL-negative patients was performed.