Despite significant advancements in highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) remains a global health challenge due to its high mutation rate, drug resistance, and the complexity of treatment optimization. Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative tool in HIV research, offering innovative solutions for predicting viral mutations, optimizing drug discovery and formulation design. However, challenges such as limited access to diverse datasets, ethical concerns, and model interpretability hinder the full potential of AI in HIV research. This review highlights gaps in AI-driven HIV research and explores advancements to address these challenges. AI-driven platforms, such as DeepHIV and geno2pheno, have demonstrated success in forecasting resistance mutations and guiding therapeutic decisions. AI is also revolutionizing drug formulation development by enhancing solubility, bioavailability, and stability, while improving patient adherence through advanced delivery systems. Current applications of AI in HIV mutation prediction, drug discovery, and formulation optimization have highlighted the potential of AI towards HIV management and eradication while addressing gaps in data availability and model transparency. By integrating structural, pharmacological, and clinical data, AI provides a comprehensive framework for rational drug design and personalized treatment strategies. By leveraging AI-driven insights, HIV treatment and prevention can become more personalized, efficient, and sustainable. Future research should focus on overcoming data limitations, enhancing model interpretability, and exploring innovative AI approaches to contribute to the global fight against the HIV epidemic.

Background: Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Docetaxel, first marketed as ‘Taxotere’, has been approved for use as a chemotherapeutic for management of gastric, breast, neck, head, non-small cell lung cancer and prostate cancer. Main body: Taxotere, is a docetaxel formulation solubilized in tween 80 and 13% ethanol solution. It is effective as a chemotherapeutic agent but has numerous toxic effects due to the ethanol and polysorbate. Aside from this, challenges with administration during mixing of the docetaxel with the diluent exist. Poor mixing results in gel formation while addition of the drug mix to an infusion may result in micelle formation. These challenges have necessitated remodeling of the currently available docetaxel formulation, but none has made it to clinical setting as an alternative. Efforts have also been made to develop oral docetaxel formulation to ease administration of the drug. Attempts have also been made to develop other dosage forms, notably transdermal formulations and implants to target cancer cells while avoiding systemic side effects. Formulation methods such as nanoformulation, drug coupling with other active moieties, 3D fabrication as well as electrospinning have been employed. Conclusions: Development of novel formulations of docetaxel for different chemotherapeutic needs appears promising with some formulations currently in clinical trials. Exploring other drug formulation techniques such as the use of 2D LDH may produce novel anticancer formulations in the future.

Tenofovir (TNF) is an antiretroviral drug that has being used as a topical microbicide to prevent human immunodeficiency virus transmission (HIV). Cyanovirin-N (CV-N) is a lectin protein that can bind to the HIV envelope glycoprotein and inhibit viral entry. The combination of TNF and CV-N may have synergistic effects and enhance the efficacy of microbicide. The aim of this study was to develop and optimize composite hydrogel formulations containing 1%TNF and 0.0005% CV-N using Box Behnken Design. A three-factor, three-level Box-Behnken design was employed to investigate the effects of the concentrations of PEG₂₀₀₀, sodium carboxyl methylcellulose (NaCMC), and calcium chloride on the release of Tenofovir, flux, and mucoadhesion. The mucoadhesion was evaluated by measuring the percent mucin adsorption while flux and release kinetics were evaluated using the Franz cell diffusion method. The optimal hydrogel formulation was found to contain 4% NaCMC, 2% PEG2000 and 1% CaCl₂. The hydrogel had a pH of 4.5 ​± ​0.017, a viscosity of 275600 ​± ​0.65 ​cP, flux 9806 μg/cm²/h for TNF with a drug release of 119, 205.6 μg/cm². The TNF gel exhibited a pseudoplastic rheological behavior with 96.3% muco-adhesion. The study successfully developed an optimized TNF/CV-N mucoadhesive hydrogel, highlighting its potential as an on-demand multipurpose prevention technology (MPT) for HIV. The formulation was optimized to ensure good drug release, flux and mucoadhesion. The optimized hydrogel offers a convenient, effective method for preventing sexually transmitted infections (STIs), addressing critical challenges in drug delivery and user adherence while advancing public health strategies for STIs.

Background: Electrospun fiber drug delivery systems, integrated into multipurpose prevention technologies, offer a promising solution for women facing health risks from HIV/STIs and unmet contraceptive needs by providing on‐demand protection in a single dosage form. This study investigates the potential of a multilayer electrospun fiber construct for pH‐responsive and sustained release of the HIV microbicide tenofovir (TFV) and the CatSper channel blocker nifedipine (NFP) respectively. Method: Electrospun fibers were fabricated in a stacked architecture by blend electrospinning using polycaprolactone (PCL) as the backing layer for delivering NFP and cellulose acetate phthalate (CAP) as the top layer for delivering TFV. An analysis of surface morphology, mechanical and chemical properties, mucoadhesion, drug release profiles, encapsulation efficiency, and safety assessments was performed. Results: An encapsulation efficiency of 52.13% was achieved for TFV, with a drug loading of 7.00%, while for NFP, the encapsulation efficiency was 63.86%, with a drug loading of 0.56%. The top layer exhibited a pH‐responsive release profile and Fickian diffusion in both SVF and SVF/SF environments, while the backing layer showed Fickian diffusion in SVF and a release profile closer to zero‐order in SVF/SF. Conclusion: This study highlights the potential of multilayered CAP/PCL electrospun fibers for intravaginal delivery of TFV and NFP, aimed at the pre‐exposure prophylaxis of HIV‐1 and prevention of unplanned pregnancy.

Objectives: Underreporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is a global problem due to its potential to result in morbidity, mortality, and increased healthcare costs that can be avoided. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of ADR reporting among healthcare workers (HCW) in primary and secondary healthcare facilities (SHCs) in Lagos State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A comparative descriptive survey was carried out among 300 HCWs from selected primary and SHCs in Lagos State, Nigeria, to assess their knowledge, attitudes, and practices affecting ADR reporting in Lagos State, Nigeria. Data were summarized using descriptive statistics, whereas the Chi-square test was used to evaluate categorical variables at p < 0.05. Results: Good knowledge of ADR reporting was found in 90.7% of health workers in primary facilities versus 75.3% in secondary facilities. An understanding of the most crucial purpose of pharmacovigilance was present in 62% of health workers in primary facilities and 69.3% in secondary facilities. A positive attitude toward ADR reporting occurred in 91.3% of health workers in primary facilities and 98.7% in secondary facilities. Profession, level of education, ethnicity, and marital status were found to be associated with knowledge, attitude, and practice of ADR reporting. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that respondents in primary and SHCs in Lagos, Nigeria, had good knowledge and attitude toward ADR reporting. However, the practice has been poor despite the level of awareness among HCWs who participated in the study. Sociodemographic factors also influence knowledge and practice. These findings highlight the need for targeted training and continuous sensitization programs to strengthen pharmacovigilance practices across all healthcare levels.