Microneedle technology revolutionizes ocular drug delivery by addressing challenges in treating ocular diseases. This review explores its potential impact, recent advancements, and clinical uses. This minimally invasive technique offers precise control of drug delivery to the eye, with various microneedle types showing the potential to penetrate barriers in the cornea and sclera, ensuring effective drug delivery. Recent advancements have improved safety and efficacy, offering sustained and controlled drug delivery for conditions like age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma. While promising, challenges such as regulatory barriers and long-term biocompatibility persist. Overcoming these through interdisciplinary research is crucial. Ultimately, microneedle drug delivery presents a revolutionary method with the potential to significantly enhance ocular disease treatment, marking a new era in eye care.
Nanoemulsions consist of a combination of several components such as oil, water, emulsifiers, surfactants and cosurfactants. Various techniques for producing nanoemulsions include high-energy and l...
Plant-derived compounds, specifically antioxidants, have played an important role in scavenging the free radicals present under diseased conditions. The persistent generation of free radicals in the body leads to inflammation and can result in even more severe diseases such as cancer. Notably, the antioxidant potential of various plant-derived compounds prevents and deregulates the formation of radicals by initiating their decomposition. There is a vast literature demonstrating antioxidant compounds’ anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and anti-cancer potential. This review describes the molecular mechanism of various flavonoids, such as quercetin, kaempferol, naringenin, epicatechin, and epicatechin gallate, against different cancers. Additionally, the pharmaceutical application of these flavonoids against different cancers using nanotechnologies such as polymeric, lipid-based nanoparticles (solid–lipid and liquid–lipid), liposomes, and metallic nanocarriers is addressed. Finally, combination therapies in which these flavonoids are employed along with other anti-cancer agents are described, indicating the effective therapies for the management of various malignancies.
Proteins are vital for the regulation of several cellular functions, including the synthesis of structural components. The change in environmental conditions will impact conformational stability and result in aggregation. Protein aggregation involves different states of proteins, like nonnative, unfolded, and native states, which make them complex processes. The proper understanding of protein aggregation pathways involving the role of thermodynamically unfavoured lag phase, soluble protofibrils triggered polymerization through an exponential phase, and depleted free monomers owing to the saturation phase resulted in the leveling off of the polymerization process. The aggregated therapeutic proteins can induce deleterious immune responses in patients, and control of the aggregation is essential for better therapeutic protein stability and targeting with the help of stable protein structures and function. Protein–protein interactions (PPIs) are important for protein stability, aggregation rate, and solubility, while advanced computational and biophysical methods have been developed to characterize therapeutic protein aggregation better. Hence, an effective strategy for controlling, monitoring, and reproducing protein aggregation propensities of the polypeptide chains is required. An in-depth understanding of protein aggregation mechanisms, characterization, and combat strategies will counter the issues of protein aggregation. It will also reduce the cost of the product, time constraints, stable & effective product availability, and potential immunogenicity. Graphical Abstract
18 May 2023 in Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology