Nanoparticles

Biofilm-associated lung infections, particularly those caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis and bronchiectasis patients, represent a major therapeutic challenge. The extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) matrix, metabolic heterogeneity, and microenvironmental gradients within biofilms drastically reduce antibiotic penetration and efficacy. Nanoparticle (NP)-based therapeutics offer unique advantages, such as enhanced biofilm penetration, controlled release, and localized delivery via inhalation. This review summarizes the latest developments in the design, synthesis, and characterization of nanoparticles intended for treating biofilm-associated pulmonary infections. The discussion emphasizes materials selection, fabrication routes, and physicochemical parameters influencing antibiofilm performance, with critical perspectives on translational challenges, safety, and future directions.

Nanotechnology is the science that deals with matter at the scale of 1 billionth of a meter and is also the study of manipulating matter at the atomic and molecular scale. Recently particulate systems like nanoparticles have been used as a physical approach to alter and improve the quality of human life. The potential use of polymeric nanoparticles as carriers for a wide range of drugs for therapeutic applications has been increased due to their versatility and wide range of properties Different types of nanoparticulate material used in electronic, magnetic pharmaceutical, cosmetics, energy, catalytic and material industries. In this review the synthesis method of nanoparticles and their applications has been discussed Keywords:  Nanoparticles, Methods of preparation evaluation, route of administration

Keratin is a fibrous structural protein and major component of hair, horns, claws, hooves, feather, wool, hoof and outer layer of skin. These keratinous materials are formed by cells filled with keratin and are considered ‘dead tissue’. Keratin acts both as an external protective protein & internal structural protein in the cortex. It is insoluble in water and organic solvents. Keratin can be derived from the human and animal sources by the advancement in extraction, purification and characterization process. It consists of highly repetitive amino acid sequences which result in formation of various homogeneous secondary structures. Keratin has been processed in oxidized and reduced forms in term of keratose and kerateine which shows strong mucoadhesive properties in drug delivery systems .It can also be processed as keratin hydrolysate by using acid, alkali and enzyme. Especially for hair care products, skin treatment and harsh products such as detergents, shampoos, conditioners etc. As it does not contain any harmful effect, it can be used to produce variety of cosmetics and pharmaceutical products. In addition, extracted keratins are capable of forming self-assembled structures that regulate cellular recognition and behavior. These qualities of keratin led to the development of biomaterials with applications in wound healing, drug delivery, target release action, tissue engineering, trauma and medical devices. This review discusses the natural sources of keratin and their derivatives and application of keratin biomaterials in pharmaceutics and cosmetics.

The main aim of this review article is to introduce the basic concepts of drug targeting as they have evolved over previous decades. The most important chemical features and biological behavioral characteristics of the carrier molecules exploited for drug targeting purposes will be addressed. Targeted drug delivery is also known as smart drug delivery. This is self-contained, discrete dosage form which is applied to intact skin, at a controlled rate to the systemic circulation. In this system medicament given to a patient in a manner that increases the concentration of the medication in some parts of the body relative to others. System involves nanoparticles-mediated drug delivery in order to reduce drawback of conventional drug delivery. Active and passive targeting are two types of methods used for targeted drug delivery. Targeted drug delivery has some side advantages like reduces side effects, avoid hepatic first pass metabolism, enhance drug absorption, dose is less as compare to conventional drug delivery, reduced fluctuation in circulating drug levels etc. Brain targeted drug delivery system and tumor targeted drug delivery system are most widely used. Many drug carriers are used in this advanced drug delivery system are lipoprotein, liposome, micelles and immune micelles. The goal of targeted drug delivery system is to prolong, localize, target and have a protected drug interaction with disease tissues.

Nanotechnology belongs to the production and utilization of materials at the nanoscale up to 100nm in size. Nanotechnology is emerging technique has application in biology and biotechnology as well as medical technology. It is expected to provide reasonable products by this technology in various fields of application. Novel nanodevices, nano and bio-materials are fabricated by nanotechnology. Paramagnetic nanoparticles, nanoshells, quantum dots, nanosomes are some of the nanoparticles used in diagnosis. These are the targeted drug delivery system. It provides therapeutically active drug molecule only to the site of action, without affecting other tissues, at comparatively lower doses. The prospective medical applications are in detection, diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of disease. It is effective in the treatment of cancer, tuberculosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and heart diseases. The clinical applications are in dentistry, ophthalmology, tissue engineering and surgery are discussed. The purpose is to improve the health by amplifying the safety and efficacy of nanodevices. Nanotechnology will have global impact in the development of future health systems.

Vasopressin, nonapeptide, used as an antidiuretic hormone. Very few method has been reported for analysis of Vasopressin from pharmaceutical dosage form. A simple and rapid high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for the quantitative analysis of arginine vasopressin released from polymeric nanoparticles. Chromatographic analysis was performed on an RP C18 column with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and phosphate buffer (13:87 v/v) at a flow rate of 1.6 ml/min at a wavelength of 220 nm,  with a retention time 4.1 min. The method was shown to be specific and linear in the range of 1-50 IU/ml (r2 = 0.9997). Developed method was validated for various evaluation parameters as per ICH guidelines. The method showed no peak interference in presence of formulation excipients. The limit of detection and quantitation were 0.32 and 1.06 IU/ml, respectively. The method was applied to the quantitative analysis of drug to study in vitro drug release from polymeric nanoparticles.

The purpose of this study was selection of most influential variable for the preparation of prolonged release nanoparticulate formulation by desolvation method for diltiazem hydrochloride with bioadhesive polymer gelatin. Formulation and processing variables which effect various response variables were studied by a Taguchi design. Independent variables studied were the amount of polymer, amount of glutaraldehyde, amount of Poloxamer 237, acetone addition rate, pH, stirring time and stirring speed. The dependent variables considered were the particle size, polydispersity index, amount of drug released in 6 h, time required to release 60 % of drug, mucoadhesiveness, entrapment efficiency and loading efficiency. Pareto charts showed that the two significant factors affecting the response variables were amount of glutaraldehyde and amount of polymer.

The aim of present work was to enhance the dissolution of poorly soluble drug metaxalone  by particle size reduction. Metaxalone nanoparticles are obtained by high pressure homogenization followed by drying, which are characterized for mean particle size (MPS), polydispersity-index(PDI), zeta-potential(ZP), X-ray diffraction(XRD), Differential scanning calorimetry(DSC), Fourier-transform infra-red(FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), flow properties, saturation solubility and in-vitro release. The MPS of nanoparticles was observed to be less than 200 nm. The negative ZP indicates the stable nanoparticles obtained by sufficient adsorption of the stabilizers onto drug surface. The XRD and DSC  show the retention of drug crystallinity. Out of three drying methods,  SD and SG have obtained stable nanoparticles with improved flow properties. Nanoparticles increased the drug solubility by approximately 4 folds with Hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose and sodium lauryl sulfate as surface stabilizers. In-vitro release studies showed a remarkable increase in rate of drug release from 3 % (pure drug) to 34-36 % (nanoparticles) after 15 minutes and at the end of dissolution study almost 95 % of drug dissolved when compared to only 30 % of pure drug. The combining methods of HPH followed by SD/SG was observed to be promising method to produce stable nanoparticles of metaxalone with remarkable increase dissolution rate.. Results from this study suggest that these metaxalone nanoparticles may be a potential candidate for oral administration with quick onset of action for relief of acute painful musculoskeletal conditions.                            

Targeted drug delivery, also known as smart drug delivery, is a method of treatment that involves the increase in medicament in one or few body parts in comparison to others. Two strategies are widely used for drug targeting to the desired organ/tissue: passive targeting and active targeting. Drug delivery vehicles transport the drug either within or in the vicinity of target. An ideal drug delivery vehicle is supposed to cross even stubborn sites such as a blood brain barrier. Recently, nano medicine has emerged as the medical application of nanotechnology. Since nanoparticles are very small in size, nano drug delivery can allow for the delivery of drugs with poor solubility in water and also aid in avoiding the first pass metabolism of liver. Nanotechnology derived drug delivery can cause the drug to remain in blood circulation for a long time, thereby leading to lesser fluctuations in plasma levels and therefore, minimal side effects. These include polymer-drug conjugates and nano particulate systems such as liposomes, quantum dots, dendrimers, etc. There are several other approaches as well. These also include the strategies wherein the therapeutic agents are coupled with “targeting ligands” that possess the ability to recognize antigens associated with tumors.

In this study, we formulated and investigated the effects of Temozolomide (TM)/Poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles on the behaviour of C6 glioma cells. The nanoparticles were fabricated by the emulsifying solvent evaporation, and they were characterized by using X-Ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that such nanoparticles had a smooth surface and a spherical geometry. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) results indicated that TM trapped in the nanoparticles existed in an amorphous or disordered-crystalline status in the polymer matrix. The release profiles of Temozolomide from nanoparticles resulted in biphasic patterns. After an initial burst, a continuous drug release was observed for up to 1 month. Finally, a cytotoxicity test was performed using Glioma C6 cancer cells to investigate the cytotoxicity of Temozolomide delivered from PLGA nanoparticles. It has been found that the cytotoxicity of Temozolomide to Glioma C6 cancer cells is enhanced when TM is delivered from PLGA polymeric carrier and while Temozolomide powder shows activity only up to 12 hours, where as Temozolomide loaded PLGA nanoparticles shows cytotoxicity in much more enhanced way.