Development and optimization of ciprofloxacin-loaded gelatin microparticles by single-step spray-drying technique

Enhancing the stability of spray-dried vitamin A acetate: the role of synergistic wall materials in microencapsulation

BACKGROUND

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that is susceptible to environmental factors, which can result in reduced activity. The stability of vitamins directly affects the shelf life and market competitiveness of products in the nutrient-fortified foods/drugs sector. Encapsulation via emulsion spray drying is a commonly utilized method to enhance the stability of active substances. It boasts a wide range of applications and capability for automated and continuous production. The wall material of microcapsules represents one of the pivotal factors influencing their properties, potentially mitigating the degradation of active substances during storage.

RESULTS

This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of vitamin A acetate (VAA) high-loading-capacity emulsions and microcapsules formulated with different encapsulating agents (gum arabic (GA), gelatin (GEL), white sugar (WS) and octenyl succinic acid-modified starch) prepared by spray drying. According to the accelerated storage experiment formula, the shelf life of microcapsules stored at 60 °C for 35 days is about 1 year, and the retention rate of GA + GEL/WS microcapsules with a loading capacity of 100 g kg-1 reaches over 90%. The performance of microcapsules with different wall materials was investigated and the reasons for the enhanced stability through the interaction between wall materials were analyzed.

CONCLUSION

The results showed that spray drying of microcapsules improved the water solubility and storage stability of VAA. At high loading levels, the synergistic effect between wall materials can improve the density of microcapsules, thereby enhancing the storage stability of VAA microcapsules. Such higher storage stability is beneficial for extending the shelf life of fortified foods and pharmaceuticals, thereby expanding the application of VAA in the food sector. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.

Ciprofloxacin-Loaded Spray-Dried Lactose Particles: Formulation Optimization and Antibacterial Efficacy

Background/Objectives: Bacterial infections in the oral cavity and outer ear require effective and targeted drug delivery systems. This study details the production of drug-loaded lactose microparticles, with the aim of creating antibiotic formulations for ultimate use in combatting oral and outer ear bacterial infections. Methods: Lactose particles were prepared via spray drying and optimized with varying ciprofloxacin (cipro) loadings to maximize the drug content. The particles were characterized to evaluate their performance in terms of physicochemical properties, drug-loading efficiency, drug-release kinetics, and antibacterial activity. Results: The resulting particles exhibited spherical morphology, efficient cipro loading (in the range of 1.1-52.9% w/w) and rapid cipro release within 5 h (achieving 70-81% release). In addition, they demonstrated effective concentration-dependent antibacterial activity against gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with bacterial growth effectively inhibited for more than 24 h when particle concentrations reached the minimum inhibitory concentration. Conclusions: These findings highlight the potential of spray-dried cipro loaded lactose particles as an efficient approach for localized antibacterial treatment, offering a promising solution for managing bacterial infections in the oral cavity and outer ear.

Uniform Spray Dried Loxapine Microparticles Potentially for Nasal Delivery: Exploring Discriminatory In Vitro Release Evaluation Methods

This study aimed to develop suitable in vitro evaluation methods for the release behavior of nasal powders (NPs). We synthesized a range of standardized microparticles with adjustable size and morphology by co-spray-drying loxapine succinate (LOX) and gelatin (GEL) using an ethanol/water solvent mixture in a self-designed micro-fluidic jet spray dryer (MFJSD). The influence of the LOX/GEL mass ratio and solvent composition on particle characteristics, including size, morphology, and crystalline properties, was systematically investigated. In vitro release profiles of NPs were thoroughly assessed across different release medium, apparatus, and membranes. The modified Transwell® system, utilizing simulated nasal electrolyte solution (SNES) as the release medium, was identified as the most effective in distinguishing the performance of microparticles with diverse attributes. Furthermore, the impact of particle size, morphology, and crystalline properties on in vitro release profiles was discussed. This research presents a robust methodology for the in vitro evaluation of NPs release profiles and provides a practical approach for the rational fabrication of high-quality NPs products.

Electrospun Gelatin Scaffolds with Incorporated Antibiotics for Skin Wound Healing

Recent advances in regenerative medicine provide encouraging strategies to produce artificial skin substitutes. Gelatin scaffolds are successfully used as wound-dressing materials due to their superior properties, such as biocompatibility and the ability to mimic the extracellular matrix of the surrounding environment. In this study, five gelatin combination solutions were prepared and successfully electrospun using an electrospinning technique. After careful screening, the optimal concentration of the most promising combination was selected for further investigation. The obtained scaffolds were crosslinked with 25% glutaraldehyde vapor and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The incorporation of antibiotic agents such as ciprofloxacin hydrochloride and gentamicin sulfate into gelatin membranes improved the already existing antibacterial properties of antibiotic-free gelatin scaffolds against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Also, the outcomes from the in vivo model study revealed that skin regeneration was significantly accelerated with gelatin/ciprofloxacin scaffold treatment. Moreover, the gelatin nanofibers were found to strongly promote the neoangiogenic process in the in vivo chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane assay. Finally, the combination of gelatin's extracellular matrix and antibacterial agents in the scaffold suggests its potential for effective wound-healing treatments, emphasizing the importance of gelatin scaffolds in tissue engineering.

Wall Materials for Encapsulating Bioactive Compounds via Spray-Drying: A Review

Spray-drying is a continuous encapsulation method that effectively preserves, stabilizes, and retards the degradation of bioactive compounds by encapsulating them within a wall material. The resulting capsules exhibit diverse characteristics influenced by factors such as operating conditions (e.g., air temperature and feed rate) and the interactions between the bioactive compounds and the wall material. This review aims to compile recent research (within the past 5 years) on spray-drying for bioactive compound encapsulation, emphasizing the significance of wall materials in spray-drying and their impact on encapsulation yield, efficiency, and capsule morphology.

Developing ciprofloxacin dry powder for inhalation: A story of challenges and rational design in the treatment of cystic fibrosis lung infection

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited multisystem disease affecting the lung which leads to a progressive decline in lung function as a result of malfunctioning mucociliary clearance and subsequent chronic bacterial infections. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the predominant cause of lung infection in CF patients and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Thus, antibiotic therapy remains the cornerstone of the treatment of CF. Pulmonary delivery of antibiotics for lung infections significantly reduces the required dose and the associated systemic side effects while improving therapeutic outcomes. Ciprofloxacin is one of the most widely used antibiotics against P. aeruginosa and the most effective fluoroquinolone. However, in spite of the substantial amount of research aimed at developing ciprofloxacin powder for inhalation, none of these formulations has been commercialized. Here, we present an integrated view of the diverse challenges associated with delivering ciprofloxacin dry particles to the lungs of CF patients and the rationales behind recent formulations of ciprofloxacin dry powder for inhalation. This review will discuss the challenges in developing ciprofloxacin powder for inhalation along with the physiological and pathophysiological challenges such as ciprofloxacin lung permeability, overproduction of viscous mucus and bacterial biofilms. The review will also discuss the current and emerging particle engineering approaches to overcoming these challenges. By doing so, we believe the review will help the reader to understand the current limitations in developing an inhalable ciprofloxacin powder and explore new opportunities of rational design strategies.

Cosmetic, Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Applications of Fish Gelatin/Hydrolysates

There are several reviews that separately cover different aspects of fish gelatin including its preparation, characteristics, modifications, and applications. Its packaging application in food industry is extensively covered but other applications are not covered or covered alongside with those of collagen. This review is comprehensive, specific to fish gelatin/hydrolysate and cites recent research. It covers cosmetic applications, intrinsic activities, and biomedical applications in wound dressing and wound healing, gene therapy, tissue engineering, implants, and bone substitutes. It also covers its pharmaceutical applications including manufacturing of capsules, coating of microparticles/oils, coating of tablets, stabilization of emulsions and drug delivery (microspheres, nanospheres, scaffolds, microneedles, and hydrogels). The main outcomes are that fish gelatin is immunologically safe, protects from the possibility of transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy and foot and mouth diseases, has an economic and environmental benefits, and may be suitable for those that practice religious-based food restrictions, i.e., people of Muslim, Jewish and Hindu faiths. It has unique rheological properties, making it more suitable for certain applications than mammalian gelatins. It can be easily modified to enhance its mechanical properties. However, extensive research is still needed to characterize gelatin hydrolysates, elucidate the Structure Activity Relationship (SAR), and formulate them into dosage forms. Additionally, expansion into cosmetic applications and drug delivery is needed.

Nanoparticle-mediated macrophage targeting-a new inhalation therapy tackling tuberculosis

Despite the potent clinical efficacy of linezolid (LNZ) against drug-resistant tuberculosis, its safety and tolerability remain of major concern. Our objective is to develop antitubercular inhalable LNZ nano-embedded microparticles. In this context, LNZ incorporated in non-structured lipid carriers (NLCs) was characterized in terms of colloidal, morphological, thermal, and release profiles. The potential of LNZ-NLCs to cross mucosal barriers and invade alveolar macrophages (AM, MH-S cells) was appraised. In vivo proof of concept was accomplished via orotracheal administration to mice. Respirable microparticles prepared by spray drying NLCs with diluents were assessed for their size, shape, flowability, aerosolization performance, and lung deposition pattern. NLCs (809-827 nm in size, zeta potential - 37.4 to - 58.9 mV) ensued 19% LNZ loading and pH-independent sustained release. Penetration studies revealed 73% LNZ crossing mucus within 1 h. Meanwhile, viability assay on A549 cells ensured an IC50 of 1.2 and 0.32 mg/mL for plain and LNZ-NLCs, respectively. CLSM confirmed phagocytosis of NLCs by MH-S macrophages, while H&E staining demonstrated NLC accumulation in murine AM in vivo with no signs of histopathological/biochemical changes. Bronchoalveolar lavage showed significantly low levels of LDH and total proteins (TP) for LNZ-NLCs highlighting their superior safety. Respirable microparticles embedding LNZ-NLCs ensured excellent aerosolization (MMAD 2 μm, FPF 93%) denoting perfect alveolar deposition. The developed inhalation therapy provided sustained LNZ release, mucus penetrability, potential safety in therapeutic doses, in vitro and in vivo macrophage targetability, and preferential deposition in the deep lung. Overall positive outcomes rely on reduced dose, dosing frequency, and per se superior safety circumventing systemic-associated life-threatening side effects. Graphical abstract.

Micro and nanoscale technologies in oral drug delivery

Oral administration is a pillar of the pharmaceutical industry and yet it remains challenging to administer hydrophilic therapeutics by the oral route. Smart and controlled oral drug delivery could bypass the physiological barriers that limit the oral delivery of these therapeutics. Micro- and nanoscale technologies, with an unprecedented ability to create, control, and measure micro- or nanoenvironments, have found tremendous applications in biology and medicine. In particular, significant advances have been made in using these technologies for oral drug delivery. In this review, we briefly describe biological barriers to oral drug delivery and micro and nanoscale fabrication technologies. Micro and nanoscale drug carriers fabricated using these technologies, including bioadhesives, microparticles, micropatches, and nanoparticles, are described. Other applications of micro and nanoscale technologies are discussed, including fabrication of devices and tissue engineering models to precisely control or assess oral drug delivery in vivo and in vitro, respectively. Strategies to advance translation of micro and nanotechnologies into clinical trials for oral drug delivery are mentioned. Finally, challenges and future prospects on further integration of micro and nanoscale technologies with oral drug delivery systems are highlighted.