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Merivaara A, Puranen J, Sadeghi A, Zashikhina N, Pirskanen L, Lajunen T, Terasaki T, Auriola S, Vellonen KS, Urtti A. Barcode lipids for absolute quantitation of liposomes in ocular tissues. J Control Release 2024; 370:1-13. [PMID: 38615893 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2024.04.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
Lipid-based drug formulations are promising systems for improving delivery of drugs to ocular tissues, such as retina. To develop lipid-based systems further, an improved understanding of their pharmacokinetics is required, but high-quality in vivo experiments require a large number of animals, raising ethical and economic questions. In order to expedite in vivo kinetic testing of lipid-based systems, we propose a barcode approach that is based on barcoding liposomes with non-endogenous lipids. We developed and evaluated a liquid-chromatography-mass spectrometry method to quantify many liposomes simultaneously in aqueous humor, vitreous, and neural retina at higher than ±20% precision and accuracy. Furthermore, we showed in vivo suitability of the method in pharmacokinetic evaluation of six different liposomes after their simultaneous injection into the rat vitreal cavity. We calculated pharmacokinetic parameters in vitreous and aqueous humor, quantified liposome concentrations in the retina, and quantitated retinal distribution of the liposomes in the rats. Compared to individual injections of the liposome formulations, the barcode-based study design enabled reduction of animal numbers from 72 to 12. We believe that the proposed approach is reliable and will reduce and refine ocular pharmacokinetic experiments with liposomes and other lipid-based systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arto Merivaara
- School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1 C, Kuopio 70210, Finland.
| | - Jooseppi Puranen
- School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1 C, Kuopio 70210, Finland
| | - Amir Sadeghi
- School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1 C, Kuopio 70210, Finland
| | - Natalia Zashikhina
- School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1 C, Kuopio 70210, Finland
| | - Lea Pirskanen
- School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1 C, Kuopio 70210, Finland
| | - Tatu Lajunen
- School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1 C, Kuopio 70210, Finland; Drug Research Program, Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00014, Finland
| | - Tetsuya Terasaki
- School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1 C, Kuopio 70210, Finland
| | - Seppo Auriola
- School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1 C, Kuopio 70210, Finland.
| | - Kati-Sisko Vellonen
- School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1 C, Kuopio 70210, Finland
| | - Arto Urtti
- School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1 C, Kuopio 70210, Finland; Drug Research Program, Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00014, Finland
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2
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Santana-Garrido Á, Durán-Lobato M, Mate A, Martín-Banderas L, Vázquez CM. Ophthalmic wild olive (ACEBUCHE) oil nanoemulsions exert oculoprotective effects against oxidative stress induced by arterial hypertension. Int J Pharm 2024; 649:123602. [PMID: 37967686 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2023.123602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/11/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023]
Abstract
Oxidative stress plays a key role in several systemic and ocular diseases, including hypertensive eye diseases. In this context, we previously showed that oral administration of wild olive (acebuche, ACE) oil from Olea europaea var. sylvestris can counteract ocular damage secondary to arterial hypertension by modulating excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by the enzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase. Therefore, this work describes the development of an ACE oil-based formulation for ocular administration as a local therapy to counteract hypertension-related oxidative damage. Specifically, ACE oil nanoemulsions (NEs) were successfully produced and characterized, exhibiting appropriate features for ophthalmic administration, including a nanometer size (<200 nm), moderate negative ZP, adequate osmolality and pH, and colloidal stability in biorelevant fluids. Likewise, the NEs presented a shear thinning behavior, especially convenient for ocular instillation. In vivo evaluation was performed through either intravitreal injection or topical ophthalmic administration in mice with hypertension induced via administration of Nω-nitro-L-arginine-methyl-ester (L-NAME). Both routes of administration reduced hypertensive morphological alterations and demonstrated a noticeable antioxidant effect thanks to the reduction of the activity/expression of NADPH oxidase in cornea and retina. Thus, an ACE oil ophthalmic formulation represent a promising therapy for ocular pathologies associated with arterial hypertension.
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Affiliation(s)
- Á Santana-Garrido
- Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Sevilla. CL Profesor García González 2, 41012 Sevilla, Spain; Epidemiología Clínica y Riesgo Cardiovascular, Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBIS), Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Universidad de Sevilla. Avda. Manuel Siurot s/n, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
| | - M Durán-Lobato
- Departamento de Farmacia y Tecnología Farmacéutica, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Sevilla. CL Profesor García González 2, 41012 Sevilla, Spain
| | - A Mate
- Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Sevilla. CL Profesor García González 2, 41012 Sevilla, Spain; Epidemiología Clínica y Riesgo Cardiovascular, Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBIS), Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Universidad de Sevilla. Avda. Manuel Siurot s/n, 41013 Sevilla, Spain.
| | - L Martín-Banderas
- Departamento de Farmacia y Tecnología Farmacéutica, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Sevilla. CL Profesor García González 2, 41012 Sevilla, Spain.
| | - C M Vázquez
- Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Sevilla. CL Profesor García González 2, 41012 Sevilla, Spain; Epidemiología Clínica y Riesgo Cardiovascular, Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBIS), Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Universidad de Sevilla. Avda. Manuel Siurot s/n, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
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3
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Puranen J, Ranta VP, Ruponen M, Urtti A, Sadeghi A. Quantitative intravitreal pharmacokinetics in mouse as a step towards inter-species translation. Exp Eye Res 2023; 235:109638. [PMID: 37657528 DOI: 10.1016/j.exer.2023.109638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2023] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023]
Abstract
Although mouse models are widely used in retinal drug development, pharmacokinetics in mouse eye is poorly understood. In this study, we applied non-invasive in vivo fluorophotometry to study pharmacokinetics of intravitreal fluorescein sodium (molecular weight 0.38 kDa) and fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran (FD-150; molecular weight 150 kDa) in mice. Intravitreal half-lives of fluorescein and FD-150 in mouse eyes were 0.53 ± 0.06 h and 2.61 ± 0.86 h, respectively. These values are 8-230 times shorter than the elimination half-lives of similar compounds in the human vitreous. The apparent volumes of distribution in the mouse vitreous were close to the anatomical volume of the mouse vitreous (FD-150, 5.1 μl; fluorescein, 9.6 μl). Dose scaling factors were calculated from mouse to rat, rabbit, monkey and human translation. Based on pharmacokinetic modelling and compound concentrations in the vitreous and anterior chamber, fluorescein is mainly eliminated posteriorly across blood-retina barrier, but FD-150 is cleared via aqueous humour outflow. The results of this study improve the knowledge of intravitreal pharmacokinetics in mouse and facilitate inter-species scaling in ocular drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jooseppi Puranen
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1, 70210, Kuopio, Finland.
| | - Veli-Pekka Ranta
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1, 70210, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Marika Ruponen
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1, 70210, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Arto Urtti
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1, 70210, Kuopio, Finland; Drug Research Program, Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 5 E, FI-00790, Finland
| | - Amir Sadeghi
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1, 70210, Kuopio, Finland.
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Ramsay E, Lajunen T, Bhattacharya M, Reinisalo M, Rilla K, Kidron H, Terasaki T, Urtti A. Selective drug delivery to the retinal cells: Biological barriers and avenues. J Control Release 2023; 361:1-19. [PMID: 37481214 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2023.07.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/24/2023]
Abstract
Retinal drug delivery is a challenging, but important task, because most retinal diseases are still without any proper therapy. Drug delivery to the retina is hampered by the anatomical and physiological barriers resulting in minimal bioavailability after topical ocular and systemic administrations. Intravitreal injections are current method-of-choice in retinal delivery, but these injections show short duration of action for small molecules and low target bioavailability for many protein, gene based drugs and nanomedicines. State-of-art delivery systems are based on prolonged retention, controlled drug release and physical features (e.g. size and charge). However, drug delivery to the retina is not cell-specific and these approaches do not facilitate intracellular delivery of modern biological drugs (e.g. intracellular proteins, RNA based medicines, gene editing). In this focused review we highlight biological factors and mechanisms that form the basis for the selective retinal drug delivery systems in the future. Therefore, we are presenting current knowledge related to retinal membrane transporters, receptors and targeting ligands in relation to nanomedicines, conjugates, extracellular vesicles, and melanin binding. These issues are discussed in the light of retinal structure and cell types as well as future prospects in the field. Unlike in some other fields of targeted drug delivery (e.g. cancer research), selective delivery technologies have been rarely studied, even though cell targeted delivery may be even more feasible after local administration into the eye.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Ramsay
- Drug Research Programme, Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - Tatu Lajunen
- Drug Research Programme, Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland; School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1 C, 70211 Kuopio, Finland
| | - Madhushree Bhattacharya
- Drug Research Programme, Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - Mika Reinisalo
- School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1 C, 70211 Kuopio, Finland
| | - Kirsi Rilla
- School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1 C, 70211 Kuopio, Finland
| | - Heidi Kidron
- Drug Research Programme, Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - Tetsuya Terasaki
- School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1 C, 70211 Kuopio, Finland
| | - Arto Urtti
- Drug Research Programme, Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland; School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1 C, 70211 Kuopio, Finland.
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5
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Puranen J, Korhonen S, Haugas M, Lingasamy P, Teesalu T, Subrizi A, Urtti A, Ruponen M, Reinisalo M. Intravitreal CendR peptides target laser-induced choroidal neovascularization sites in mice. J Control Release 2023; 360:810-817. [PMID: 37473807 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2023.07.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Abstract
Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) is a common ocular pathology that may be associated in a variety of eye diseases. Although intravitreal injection treatment of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) drugs shows significant clinical benefits in CNV treatment, the limitations of the current therapy need to be addressed. The aim of our study was to investigate the potential utility of three C-end Rule (CendR) peptides (RPARPAR, PL3, iRGD) for CNV targeting and to evaluate the efficacy of peptides for treating experimental CNV in mice. We observed that the CendR peptides localize to the CNV lesion sites after intravitreal injection and were mainly found in the outer nuclear cell layer (ONL) of the mouse retina. Interestingly, experimental therapy with tenascin-C (TNC-C) and neuropilin-1 (NRP-1)-targeting PL3 peptide, reduced angiogenesis and decreased vascular leakage. The results suggest that PL3 and potentially other CendR peptides could serve as affinity targeting ligands and therapeutics for ocular diseases that involve pathological CNV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jooseppi Puranen
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1 C, 70210 Kuopio, Finland.
| | - Sonja Korhonen
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1 C, 70210 Kuopio, Finland
| | - Maarja Haugas
- Laboratory of Precision and Nanomedicine, Department of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Ravila 14b, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Prakash Lingasamy
- Laboratory of Precision and Nanomedicine, Department of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Ravila 14b, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Tambet Teesalu
- Laboratory of Precision and Nanomedicine, Department of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Ravila 14b, 50411 Tartu, Estonia; Materials Research Laboratory, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara 93106, USA
| | - Astrid Subrizi
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1 C, 70210 Kuopio, Finland
| | - Arto Urtti
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1 C, 70210 Kuopio, Finland; Drug Research Program, Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 5 E, FI-00790, Finland
| | - Marika Ruponen
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1 C, 70210 Kuopio, Finland
| | - Mika Reinisalo
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1 C, 70210 Kuopio, Finland
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Schnichels S, Simmang D, Löscher M, Herrmann A, de Vries JW, Spitzer MS, Hurst J. Lipid-DNA Nanoparticles as Drug-Delivery Vehicles for the Treatment of Retinal Diseases. Pharmaceutics 2023; 15:pharmaceutics15020532. [PMID: 36839853 PMCID: PMC9961589 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15020532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 01/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/28/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Retinal eye diseases are the leading cause of blindness in the Western world. Up to date, the only efficient treatment for many retinal diseases consists of invasive intravitreal injections of highly concentrated drugs. Despite the fact that these injections are unpleasant for the patients, they potentially cause serious side effects, e.g., infections, bleeding within the eye or retinal detachment, especially when performed on a monthly basis, thus decreasing the injection frequency and lowering the desired drug dose. Therefore, a sustained released at the region of interest with a sustained release is desired. Recently, novel lipid-DNA nanoparticles (NPs) were shown to be an efficient drug delivery platform to the anterior segment of the eye. In this study, we investigated the distribution and tropism of the NPs when applied intravitreally, as a potential medication carrier to the posterior part of the eye. This technology is perfectly suited for the delivery of low molecular weight drugs to the back of the eye, which so far is greatly hindered by fast diffusion rates of the free drugs in the vitreous body and their intrinsically low retainability in ocular tissue. Excellent biodistribution, adherence and presence for up to five days was found for the different tested nanoparticles ex vivo and in vivo. In conclusion, our lipid-DNA based nanocarrier system was able to reach the retina within minutes and penetrate the retina providing potentially safe and long-term carrier systems for small molecules or nucleotide-based therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sven Schnichels
- Centre for Ophthalmology, University Eye Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-70712987888
| | - David Simmang
- Centre for Ophthalmology, University Eye Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marina Löscher
- Centre for Ophthalmology, University Eye Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas Herrmann
- DWI—Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Forckenbeckstr. 50, 52056 Aachen, Germany
- Institute for Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 2, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Jan Willem de Vries
- Centre for Ophthalmology, University Eye Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Martin S. Spitzer
- University Eye Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20251 Hamburg, Germany
| | - José Hurst
- Centre for Ophthalmology, University Eye Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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Al-Amin MD, Mastrotto F, Subrizi A, Sen M, Turunen T, Arango-Gonzalez B, Ueffing M, Malfanti A, Urtti A, Salmaso S, Caliceti P. Tailoring surface properties of liposomes for dexamethasone intraocular administration. J Control Release 2023; 354:323-36. [PMID: 36641118 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2023.01.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Revised: 12/31/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Diseases of the posterior eye segment are often characterized by intraocular inflammation, which causes, in the long term, severe impairment of eye functions and, ultimately, vision loss. Aimed at enhancing the delivery of anti-inflammatory drugs to the posterior eye segment upon intravitreal administration, we developed liposomes with an engineered surface to control their diffusivity in the vitreous and retina association. Hydrogenated soybean phosphatidylcholine (HSPC)/cholesterol liposomes were coated with (agmatinyl)6-maltotriosyl-acetamido-N-(octadec-9-en-1-yl)hexanamide (Agm6-M-Oleate), a synthetic non-peptidic cell penetration enhancer (CPE), and/or 5% of mPEG2kDa-DSPE. The zeta potential of liposomes increased, and the mobility in bovine vitreous and colloidal stability decreased with the Agm6-M-Oleate coating concentration. Oppositely, mPEG2kDa-DSPE decreased the zeta potential of liposomes and restored both the diffusivity and the stability in vitreous. Liposomes with 5 mol% Agm6-M-Oleate coating were well tolerated by ARPE-19 retina cells either with or without mPEG2kDa-DSPE, while 10 mol% Agm6-M-Oleate showed cytotoxicity. Agm6-M-Oleate promoted the association of liposomes to ARPE-19 cells with respect to plain liposomes, while mPEG2kDa-DSPE slightly reduced the cell interaction. Dexamethasone hemisuccinate (DH) was remotely loaded into liposomes with a loading capacity of ∼10 wt/wt%. Interestingly, mPEG2kDa-DSPE coating reduced the rate of DH release and enhanced the disposition of Agm6-M-Oleate coated liposomes in the ARPE-19 cell cytosol resulting in a more efficient anti-inflammatory effect. Finally, mPEG2kDa-DSPE enhanced the association of DH-loaded Agm6-M-Oleate coated liposomes to explanted rat retina, which reflected in higher viability of inner and outer nuclear layer cells.
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8
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Ullah A, Mirani ZA, Binbin S, Wang F, Chan MWH, Aslam S, Yonghong L, Hassan N, Naveed M, Hussain S, Khatoon Z. An Elucidative Study of the Anti-biofilm Effect of Selenium Nanoparticles (SeNPs) on Selected Biofilm Producing Pathogenic Bacteria: A Disintegrating Effect of SeNPs on Bacteria. Process Biochem 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.procbio.2022.12.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
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Annala A, Ilochonwu BC, Wilbie D, Sadeghi A, Hennink WE, Vermonden T. Self-Healing Thermosensitive Hydrogel for Sustained Release of Dexamethasone for Ocular Therapy. ACS Polym Au 2022; 3:118-131. [PMID: 36785837 PMCID: PMC9912331 DOI: 10.1021/acspolymersau.2c00038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Revised: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to develop an injectable hydrogel delivery system for sustained ocular delivery of dexamethasone. To this end, a self-healing hydrogel consisting of a thermosensitive ABA triblock copolymer was designed. The drug was covalently linked to the polymer by copolymerization of methacrylated dexamethasone with N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) and N-acryloxysuccinimide (NAS) through reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization, using poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) functionalized at both ends with a chain transfer agent (CTA). Hydrogel formation was achieved by mixing aqueous solutions of the formed thermosensitive polymer (with a cloud point of 23 °C) with cystamine at 37 °C, to result in covalent cross-linking due to the reaction of the N-hydroxysuccimide (NHS) functionality of the polymer and the primary amines of cystamine. Rheological analysis showed both thermogelation and covalent cross-linking at 37 °C, as well as the self-healing properties of the formed network, which was attributed to the presence of disulfide bonds in the cystamine cross-links, making the system injectable. The release of dexamethasone from the hydrogel occurred through ester hydrolysis following first-order kinetics in an aqueous medium at pH 7.4 over 430 days at 37 °C. Based on simulations, administration of 100 mg of hydrogel would be sufficient for maintaining therapeutic levels of dexamethasone in the vitreous for at least 500 days. Importantly, dexamethasone was released from the hydrogel in its native form as determined by LC-MS analysis. Cytocompatibility studies showed that at clinically relevant concentrations, both the polymer and the cross-linker were well tolerated by adult retinal pigment epithelium (ARPE-19) cells. Moreover, the hydrogel did not show any toxicity to ARPE-19 cells. The injectability of the hydrogel, together with the long-lasting release of dexamethasone and good cytocompatibility with a retinal cell line, makes this delivery system an attractive candidate for treatment of ocular inflammatory diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ada Annala
- Department
of Pharmaceutics, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty
of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CG, The Netherlands
| | - Blessing C. Ilochonwu
- Department
of Pharmaceutics, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty
of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CG, The Netherlands
| | - Danny Wilbie
- Department
of Pharmaceutics, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty
of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CG, The Netherlands
| | - Amir Sadeghi
- School
of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio 70210, Finland
| | - Wim E. Hennink
- Department
of Pharmaceutics, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty
of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CG, The Netherlands
| | - Tina Vermonden
- Department
of Pharmaceutics, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty
of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CG, The Netherlands,
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