Diabetes is considered one of the main threats to global public health in this era. It is increasing rapidly in every part of the world; the prevalence of the disease will grow to the point where 366 million people will be affected by 2030. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) in the Saudi population is high, and the majority of patients suffer from type 2 DM. Marketed oral antidiabetic drugs have indicated poor tolerability during chronic treatments, and this contributes to the moderately large proportion of type 2 DM patients that remain inadequately managed. Vildagliptin nanospheres were prepared with aminated gelatin using a spray-drying method; narrow particle-size distribution was seen at 445 nm. The angle of repose was found to be θ <33.5°. The nanospheres appeared to be spherical with a smooth surface. The drug content and percentage yield of the nanospheres were found to be 76.2%±4.6% and 83%±2%, respectively. The nanosphere-swell profile was found to be 165%±7%. The pure drug was 100% dissolved in 30 minutes, and the nanosphere formulation took 12 hours to dissolve (97.5%±2%), and followed a Korsmeyer–Peppas kinetic model with an R² of 0.9838. The wash-off test of nanospheres found that they exhibited an excellent mucoadhesive property at 86.7% for 8 hours. The stability-study data showed no changes in the physicochemical properties of the nanospheres, and suggested that the nanospheres be stored below room temperature. The amount of vildagliptin retained was 1.6% within 3 hours, and in comparison with the gelatin vildagliptin nanoparticles formulation, the percentage that was retained was much higher (98.2% in 12 hours).

Nanotechnology has transformed engineering designs across a wide spectrum of materials and applications. Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles (MSNs) are one of the new fabrications of nanostructures as medication delivery systems. MSNs have pore sizes varying from 2 to 50 nm, making them ideal for a variety of biological applications. They offer unique characteristics such as a tunable surface area, well-defined surface properties, and the ability to improve drug pharmacokinetic characteristics. Moreover, they have the potential to reduce adverse effects by delivering a precise dose of medications to a specific spot rather than the more frequent systemic delivery, which diffuses across tissues and organs. In addition, the vast number of pores allow drug incorporation and transportation of drugs to various sites making MSNs a feasible platform for orally administered drugs. Though the oral route is the most suitable and convenient platform for drug delivery, conventional oral drug delivery systems are associated with several limitations. Surpassing gastrointestinal barriers and the low oral bioavailability of poorly soluble medicines pose a major challenge in the pharmaceutical industry. This review provides insights into the role of MSNs and its mechanism as an oral drug delivery system.

The present investigation demonstrates renewable cardanol-based polyol for the formulation of nanocomposite polyurethane (PU) coatings. The functional and structural features of cardanol polyol and nanoparticles were studied using FT-IR and 1H NMR spectroscopic techniques. The magnetic hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (MHAPs) were dispersed 1–5% in PU formulations to develop nanocomposite anticorrosive coatings. An increase in the strength of MHAP increased the anticorrosive performance as examined by immersion and electrochemical methods. The nanocomposite PU coatings showed good coating properties, viz., gloss, pencil hardness, flexibility, cross-cut adhesion, and chemical resistance. Additionally, the coatings were also studied for surface morphology, wetting, and thermal properties by scanning electron microscope (SEM), contact angle, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), respectively. The hydrophobic nature of PU coatings increased by the addition of MHAP, and an optimum result (105°) was observed in 3% loading. The developed coatings revealed its hydrophobic nature with excellent anticorrosive performance.

The purpose of the present research work was to design, optimize, and evaluate fluvastatin-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (FLV-SLNPs) using 3² factorial design for enhancing the bioavailability. Fluvastatin has several disadvantages, including the low solubility and substantial first-pass metabolism resulting in a low (30%) bioavailability and a short elimination half-life. FLV-SLNPs were prepared using the nano-emulsion technique. For the optimization of the FLV-SLNPs, a total of nine formulations were prepared by varying two independent factors at three levels, using full factorial design. In this design, lipid (A) and surfactant (B) concentrations were chosen as independent factors, whereas entrapment efficiency (Y1) and in-vitro drug release (Y2) were selected as the dependent variables. Additionally, the prepared SLNPs were characterized for X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. These studies revealed that there were no interactions between the drug and the selected excipients and the selected formulation components are compatible with the drug. Pharmacokinetic studies in rats confirmed significant improvement in AUC and MRT of SLNPs in comparison with the pure drug indicating the enhanced bioavailability of SLNPs. This study provides a proof-of-concept for the fact that SLNPs can be effectively developed via experimental factorial design, which requires relatively minimal experimentation.

Objective: Free radical generation has a strong role in the pathogenesis of renal damage associated with the use of gentamicin. Therefore, the present study was carried out to evaluate the renoprotective effect of Mentha piperita against gentamicin induced nephrotoxicity. Materials and Methods: A total of 24 male rabbits were divided into 4 groups receiving normal saline, gentamicin, M. piperita extract and co-therapy of extract and gentamicin respectively. Gentamicin was provided as 80 mg/kg/day intramuscularly and extract was given 200 mg/kg/day orally for a period of 21 days. Serum and urinary biochemical parameters and histological changes were studied for each group. The impact of the extract on the antibacterial action of gentamicin was also evaluated. Results: Animals treated with gentamicin showed derangements in serum and urinary biochemical parameters. These alterations were reversed by treatment with M. piperita extract. The histological changes showed in gentamicin group were also reverted by treatment with the extract. Further the plant did not influence the efficacy of gentamicin with respect to its antimicrobial properties. Conclusion: Co-therapy of M. piperita with gentamicin successfully attenuated biochemical kidney functioning derangements and morphological changes associated with gentamicin.

Morus alba L. (Moraceae) is traditionally used for the treatment of urinary incontinency due its strong diuretic properties. The present study explores the renal protective effects of M. alba, due to its free radical scavenging properties, in order to provide experimental evidence for its established use. Ethanolic extract (200 mg/kg/d) derived from M. alba fruit was employed in rabbits as a co-therapy (GM-al) with gentamicin (80 mg/kg/d) for a period of 3 weeks. Biochemical kidney functioning parameters, urinary isozymes, and histopathological examination were performed. The results showed that ethanol extract of Morus alba L. prevented alterations in serum creatinine (4.02 ± 0.14, p < 0.0001), blood urea nitrogen (54.18 ± 2.60, p < 0.0001), and serum uric acid levels (2.34 ± 0.12, p < 0.001). However, a decrease in creatinine clearance and urinary volume was observed in experimental groups. Histopathological examination and urinary enzymes excretion also suggested the protective role of the extract. The co-administration of M. alba with gentamicin prevented renal functioning alterations expected with the use of gentamicin alone. Therefore, it can be concluded that M. alba to protect from kidney damage, which may be because of its free radical scavenging and diuretic properties.