New Pharmaceutical Microemulsion System for Encapsulation and Delivery of Diospyrin, a Plant-Derived Bioactive Quinonoid Compound

Design and formulation technique of a novel drug delivery system for azithromycin and its anti-bacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus

Azithromycin, an important member of the azalide subclass is effective against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms. Certain physicochemical properties of the drug like poor water solubility and relatively low bioavailability of 37% due to incomplete absorption after ingestion, aroused the need for the development of a novel drug delivery system to enhance the solubilization potential and antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus at a very low concentration. Cinnamon oil (Cinnamonum zeylanicum)-based microemulsion system formulated using non-ionic surfactant, Tween 20, and water was characterized. The drug-incorporated system F4 (oil to surfactant ratio of 1:4 (v/v)) showed enhanced solubilization of the drug, droplet diameter of 5-8 nm, and a good thermodynamic stability. The effect of surfactant concentration exhibited a negative correlation with droplet size diameter and turbidity and a positive correlation with stability and viscosity. The system was investigated for its antibacterial activity that demonstrated a significantly higher activity at a minimum concentration (4 μg/ml) of the novel drug-loaded system in comparison with the conventional formulation (128 μg/ml). Examination through scanning electron microscopy analysis further confirmed a considerable morphologic variation due to alteration in the membrane permeability of the microemulsion-treated system. The small droplet size of the microemulsion system and the antibacterial property of cinnamon oil, together, accounts clearly for the enhanced efficacy of the new formulated system F4 and not just azithromycin alone. Staining with acridine orange/ethidium bromide dyes as examined through fluorescence microscopy also substantiated with the results of membrane permeability of bacteria. Thus, our study discloses a potential oral drug delivery system of azithromycin with improved biocompatibility.

Integrative self-assembly of functional hybrid nanoconstructs by inorganic wrapping of single biomolecules, biomolecule arrays and organic supramolecular assemblies

Synthesis of functional hybrid nanoscale objects has been a core focus of the rapidly progressing field of nanomaterials science. In particular, there has been significant interest in the integration of evolutionally optimized biological systems such as proteins, DNA, virus particles and cells with functional inorganic building blocks to construct mesoscopic architectures and nanostructured materials. However, in many cases the fragile nature of the biomolecules seriously constrains their potential applications. As a consequence, there is an on-going quest for the development of novel strategies to modulate the thermal and chemical stabilities, and performance of biomolecules under adverse conditions. This feature article highlights new methods of "inorganic molecular wrapping" of single or multiple protein molecules, individual double-stranded DNA helices, lipid bilayer vesicles and self-assembled organic dye superstructures using inorganic building blocks to produce bio-inorganic nanoconstructs with core-shell type structures. We show that spatial isolation of the functional biological nanostructures as "armour-plated" enzyme molecules or polynucleotide strands not only maintains their intact structure and biochemical properties, but also enables the fabrication of novel hybrid nanomaterials for potential applications in diverse areas of bionanotechnology.

Biocompatible microemulsions and their prospective uses in drug delivery

Efficacy of lipophilic drugs is often hindered due to their poor aqueous solubility leading to low absorption after in vivo administration. A part of the administered dose is absorbed and reaches the pharmacological site of action and the remainder causes toxicity and undesirable side effects due to unwanted biodistribution. Enhancement in drug efficacy and lowering of drug toxicity could be achieved through encapsulation and delivery of the lipophilic drugs in aqueous based delivery systems. Microemulsions are macroscopically homogeneous pseudoternary and ternary colloidal assemblies having polar and nonpolar micro domains. Their dispersed phases in nanodimension have good shelf-life (due to thermodynamic stability), large surface area, low viscosity (in some compositions), and ultraslow surface tension. These properties qualify them to be prospective drug delivery systems provided they are composed of biocompatible excipients. Due to the existence of polar, nonpolar, and interfacial microdomains, encapsulation of different kinds of drugs is possible. The review entails reports on development and characterization of biocompatible microemulsion systems and their evaluation as probable vehicles for encapsulation, stabilization, and delivery of bioactive natural products and prescription drugs.