Preparation and Evaluation of Topically Applied Azithromycin Based on Sodium Hyaluronate in Treatment of Conjunctivitis

Recent Advances in the Use of Cubosomes as Drug Carriers with Special Emphasis on Topical Applications

Topical drug delivery employing drug nanocarriers has shown prominent results in treating topical ailments, especially those confined to the skin and eyes. Conventional topical formulations persist with drug and disease-related challenges during treatment. Various nanotechnology-driven approaches have been adopted to mitigate the issues associated with conventional formulations. Among these, cubosomes have shown potential applications owing to their liquid crystalline structure, which aids in bioadhesion, retention, sustained release, and loading hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties. The phase transition behavior of glyceryl monooleate, the concentration of stabilizers, and critical packing parameters are crucial parameters that affect the formation of cubosomes. Microfluidics-based approaches constitute a recent advance in technologies for generating stable cubosomes. This review covers the recent topical applications of cubosomes for treating skin (psoriasis, skin cancer, cutaneous candidiasis, acne, and alopecia) and eye (fungal keratitis, glaucoma, conjunctivitis, and uveitis) diseases. The article summarizes the manufacturing and biological challenges (skin and ocular barriers) that must be considered and encountered for successful clinical outcomes. The patented products are successful examples of technological advancements within cosmeceuticals that support various topical applications with cubosomes in the pharmaceutical field.

Eflornithine Hydrochloride-Loaded Electrospun Nanofibers as a Potential Face Mask for Hirsutism Application

Hirsutism is a distressing condition that can affect women's self-esteem due to the excessive amount of hair growth in different body parts, including the face. A temporary managing option is to develop a self-care routine to remove unwanted hair through shaving or waxing. Laser or electrolysis are alternative methods, but in some cases, the use of medications, such as the topical cream Vaniqa®, can help in reducing the growth of unwanted hair. Electrospun fibers have been used in several drug delivery applications, including skin care products, owing to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, high surface area-to-volume ratio, and dry nature that can release the encapsulated drugs with maximum skin penetration. Therefore, polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) fibers were fabricated in combination with hyaluronic acid to deliver the active compound of Vaniqa®, i.e., Eflornithine hydrochloride (EFH), as a face mask to inhibit excess facial hair growth. The prepared drug-loaded fibers showed a diameter of 490 ± 140 nm, with an encapsulation efficiency of 88 ± 7% and a drug loading capacity of 92 ± 7 μg/mg. The in vitro drug release of EFH-loaded fibers exhibited an initial burst release of 80% in the first 5 min, followed by a complete release after 360 min, owing to the rapid disintegration of the fibrous mat (2 s). The in vitro cytotoxicity indicated a high safety profile of EFH at all tested concentrations (500-15.625 μg/mL) after 24-h exposure to human dermal fibroblast (HFF-1) cells. Therefore, this drug-loaded nanofibrous system can be considered a potentially medicated face mask for the management of hirsutism, along with the moisturizing effect that it possesses. Topical applications of the developed system showed reduced hair growth in mice to a certain extent.

Preparation of a Sunitinib loaded microemulsion for ocular delivery and evaluation for the treatment of corneal neovascularization in vitro and in vivo

Background: Corneal neovascularization (CNV) is a pathological condition that can disrupt corneal transparency, thus harming visual acuity. However, there is no effective drug to treat CNV. Sunitinib (STB), a small-molecule multiple receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, was shown to have an effect on CNV. The purpose of this study was to develop an STB microemulsion (STB-ME) eye drop to inhibit CNV by topical application. Methods: We successfully prepared an STB-ME by the phase inversion emulsification method, and the physicochemical properties of STB-MEs were investigated. The short-term storage stability, cytotoxicity to human corneal epithelial cells, drug release, ocular irritation, ocular pharmacokinetics and the inhibitory effect on CNV were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Results: The optimal formulation of STB-ME is composed of oleic acid, CRH 40, Transcutol P, water and sodium hyaluronate (SH). It is a uniform spherical particle with a mean droplet size of 18.74 ± 0.09 nm and a polydispersity index of 0.196 ± 0.004. In the in vitro drug release results, STB-ME showed sustained release and was best fitted by a Korsmeyer-Peppas model (R ² = 0.9960). The results of the ocular pharmacokinetics in rabbits showed that the formulation containing SH increased the bioavailability in the cornea (2.47-fold) and conjunctiva (2.14-fold). STB-ME (0.05% and 0.1%), administered topically, suppressed alkali burn-induced CNV in mice more effectively than saline, and high-dose (0.1%) STB-ME had similar efficacy to dexamethasone (0.025%). Conclusion: This study provides a promising formulation of STB-ME for the inhibition of CNV by topical administration, which has the excellent characteristics of effectiveness, sustained release and high ocular bioavailability.

Hyaluronic Acid: Its Versatile Use in Ocular Drug Delivery with a Specific Focus on Hyaluronic Acid-Based Polyelectrolyte Complexes

Extensive research is currently being conducted into novel ocular drug delivery systems (ODDS) that are capable of surpassing the limitations associated with conventional intraocular anterior and posterior segment treatments. Nanoformulations, including those synthesised from the natural, hydrophilic glycosaminoglycan, hyaluronic acid (HA), have gained significant traction due to their enhanced intraocular permeation, longer retention times, high physiological stability, inherent biocompatibility, and biodegradability. However, conventional nanoformulation preparation methods often require large volumes of organic solvent, chemical cross-linkers, and surfactants, which can pose significant toxicity risks. We present a comprehensive, critical review of the use of HA in the field of ophthalmology and ocular drug delivery, with a discussion of the physicochemical and biological properties of HA that render it a suitable excipient for drug delivery to both the anterior and posterior segments of the eye. The pivotal focus of this review is a discussion of the formation of HA-based nanoparticles via polyelectrolyte complexation, a mild method of preparation driven primarily by electrostatic interaction between opposing polyelectrolytes. To the best of our knowledge, despite the growing number of publications centred around the development of HA-based polyelectrolyte complexes (HA-PECs) for ocular drug delivery, no review articles have been published in this area. This review aims to bridge the identified gap in the literature by (1) reviewing recent advances in the area of HA-PECs for anterior and posterior ODD, (2) describing the mechanism and thermodynamics of polyelectrolyte complexation, and (3) critically evaluating the intrinsic and extrinsic formulation parameters that must be considered when designing HA-PECs for ocular application.

Antibiofilm Effects of Macrolide Loaded Microneedle Patches: Prospects in Healing Infected Wounds

AIM

The aim of this study was to fabricate polymeric microneedles, loaded with macrolides (erythromycin, azithromycin), using hyaluronic acid and polyvinyl pyrollidone.

METHODS

These microneedles were fabricated using a vacuum micromolding technique. The integrity of the microneedle patches was studied by recording their morphologic features, folding endurance, swelling and micro-piercing. Physicochemical characteristics were studied by differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. In-vitro drug release, antibiofilm and effect of microneedle patch on wound healing were also studied to confirm the efficacy of the formulations.

RESULTS

Formulated patches displayed acceptable folding endurance (>100) and uniform distribution of microneedles (10 × 10) that can penetrate parafilm. Differential scanning calorimetry results depict a decrease in the crystallinity of macrolides following their incorporation in to a polymer matrix. Percentage release of azithromycin and erythromycin from the polymeric patch formulations (over 30 min) was 90% and 63% respectively. Broadly, the zone of bacterial growth inhibition follows the same order for Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica. After 5 days of treatment with azithromycin patches, the wound healing was complete and skin structure (e.g. hair follicles and dermis) was regenerated.

CONCLUSION

It was concluded that azithromycin loaded microneedle patches can be used to treat biofilms in the infected wounds.