Cancer is a group of disorders characterized by uncontrolled cell growth that affects around 11 million people each year globally. Nanocarrier-based systems are extensively used in cancer imaging, diagnostics as well as therapeutics; owing to their promising features and potential to augment therapeutic efficacy. The focal point of research remains to develop new-fangled smart nanocarriers that can selectively respond to cancer-specific conditions and deliver medications to target cells efficiently. Nanocarriers deliver loaded therapeutic cargos to the tumour site either in a passive or active mode, with the least drug elimination from the drug delivery systems. This review chiefly focuses on current advances allied to smart nanocarriers such as dendrimers, liposomes, mesoporous silica nanoparticles, quantum dots, micelles, superparamagnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles, gold nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes, to list a few. Exhaustive discussion on crucial topics like drug targeting, surface decorated smart-nanocarriers and stimuli-responsive cancer nanotherapeutics responding to temperature, enzyme, pH and redox stimuli have been covered.

Neurodegenerative disorders encompass a wide range of pathological conditions caused by progressive damage to the neuronal cells and nervous-system connections, which primarily target neuronal dysfunction and result in problems with mobility, cognition, coordination, sensation, and strength. Molecular insights have revealed that stress-related biochemical alterations such as abnormal protein aggregation, extensive generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, mitochondrial dysfunction, and neuroinflammation may lead to damage to neuronal cells. Currently, no neurodegenerative disease is curable, and the available standard therapies can only provide symptomatic treatment and delay the progression of the disease. Interestingly, plant-derived bioactive compounds have drawn considerable attention due to their well-established medicinal properties, including anti-apoptotic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antimicrobial properties, as well as neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, and other health benefits. Plant-derived bioactive compounds have received far more attention in recent decades than synthetic bioactive compounds in the treatment of many diseases, including neurodegeneration. By selecting suitable plant-derived bioactive compounds and/or plant formulations, we can fine tune the standard therapies because the therapeutic efficacy of the drugs is greatly enhanced by combinations. A plethora of in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated plant-derived bioactive compounds’ immense potential, as proven by their capacity to influence the expression and activity of numerous proteins implicated in oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, apoptosis, and aggregation. Thus, this review mostly focuses on the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-aggregation, anti-cholinesterase, and anti-apoptotic properties of several plant formulations and plant-derived bioactive compounds and their molecular mechanisms against neurodegenerative disorders.

Current discoveries as well as research findings on various types of carbon nanostructures have inspired research into their utilization in a number of fields. These carbon nanostructures offer uses in pharmacy, medicine and different therapies. One such unique carbon nanostructure includes carbon nanotubes (CNTs), which are one-dimensional allotropes of carbon nanostructure that can have a length-to-diameter ratio greater than 1,000,000. After their discovery, CNTs have drawn extensive research attention due to their excellent material properties. Their physical, chemical and electronic properties are excellent and their composites provide great possibilities for enormous nanometer applications. The current study provides a systematic review based on prior literature review and data gathered from various sources. The various research studies from many research labs and organizations were systematically retrieved, collected, compiled and written. The entire collection and compilation of this review concluded the use of CNT approaches and their efficacy and safety for the treatment of various diseases such as brain tumors or cancer via nanotechnology-based drug delivery, phototherapy, gene therapy, antiviral therapy, antifungal therapy, antibacterial therapy and other biomedical applications. The current review covers diverse applications of CNTs in designing a range of targeted drug delivery systems and application for various therapies. It concludes with a discussion on how CNTs based medicines can expand in the future.

Despite therapeutic advances candidiasis remains a common fungal infection most frequently caused by C. albicans and may occur as vulvovaginal candidiasis or thrush, a mucocutaneous candidiasis. Candidiasis frequently occurs in newborns, in immune-deficient people like AIDS patients, and in people being treated with broad spectrum antibiotics. It is mainly due to C. albicans while other species such as C. tropicalis, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis and C. krusei are increasingly isolated. OTC antifungal dosage forms such as creams and gels can be used for effective treatment of local candidiasis. Whereas, for preventing spread of the disease to deeper vital organs, candidiasis antifungal chemotherapy is preferred. Use of probiotics and development of novel vaccines is an advanced approach for the prevention of candidiasis. Present review summarizes the diagnosis, current status and challenges in the treatment and prevention of candidiasis with prime focus on host defense against candidiasis, advancements in diagnosis, probiotics role and recent progress in the development of vaccines against candidiasis.

The goal of current research was to develop a new form of effective drug, curcumin-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (Cur-SLNs) and test its efficacy in the treatment of lung cancer. Different batches of SLNs were prepared by the emulsification–ultrasonication method. For the optimization of formulation, each batch was evaluated for particle size, polydispersity index (PI), zeta potential (ZP), entrapment efficiency (EE) and drug loading (DL). The formulation components and process parameters largely affected the quality of SLNs. The SLNs obtained with particle size, 114.9 ± 1.36 nm; PI, 0.112 ± 0.005; ZP, −32.3 ± 0.30 mV; EE, 69.74 ± 2.03%, and DL, 0.81 ± 0.04% was designated as an optimized formulation. The formulation was freeze-dried to remove excess water to improve the physical stability. Freeze-dried Cur-SLNs showed 99.32% of drug release and demonstrated a burst effect trailed by sustained release up to 120 h periods. The erythrocyte toxicity study of Cur-SLNs and its components demonstrated moderate hemolytic potential towards red blood cells (RBCs). The cytotoxic potential of the formulation and plain curcumin was estimated using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay against A549 cell line. After 48 h of incubation, Cur-SLNs demonstrated more cytotoxicity (IC₅₀ = 26.12 ± 1.24 µM) than plain curcumin (IC₅₀ = 35.12 ± 2.33 µM). Moreover, the cellular uptake of curcumin was found to be significantly higher from Cur-SLNs (682.08 ± 6.33 ng/µg) compared to plain curcumin (162.4 ± 4.2 ng/µg). Additionally, the optimized formulation was found to be stable over the period of 90 days of storage. Hence, curcumin-loaded SLNs can be prepared using the proposed cost effective method, and can be utilized as an effective drug delivery system for the treatment of lung cancer, provided in vivo studies warrant a similar outcome.