Lakadong turmeric (LKD) from Meghalaya, India, boasts high curcumin levels, but lacks scientific study. Moreover, Curcumin's poor solubility hinders its clinical use in inflammation and wound healing. This study isolated curcumin from LKD, forming a PLGA nanosuspension-based nanogel and explored for its potential anti-inflammatory and cutaneous wound healing activity in Wistar rats. The LKD rhizome was successively extracted by soxhlet using chloroform, hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol and their total phenolic content and antioxidant property was determined. Chloroform extract was loaded in column chromatography and curcumin was isolated, purified and characterized by FTIR, NMR, DSC, MS and HPTLC and its purity was analyzed by HPLC. The isolated curcumin was loaded into PLGA nanosuspensions by nanoprecipitation method followed by conversion to carbopol based Nanogel. The nanogels were characterized physicochemically and the drug permeation was observed. The optimized nanogel was evaluated for its anti-inflammatory and cutaneous wound healing activity by carrageenan-induced paw edema and excision wound model in albino Wistar rats divided in five groups and treated with plain carbopol gel, marketed turmeric cream and Cur NS nanogel (0.6% w/w equivalent curcumin each). Results depicted that the chloroform extract showed the presence of a considerable amount of phenolics with 50-60% yield of curcumin. HPLC analysis depicted that the LKD curcumin had higher purity when compared to standard curcumin. Homogenous curcumin nanosuspensions were obtained with size 150 ± 50 nm and PDI 0.2 ± 0.1. The Cur-NS-nanogel showed satisfactory physical property, drug loading and stability. Ex vivo permeation studies in rats showed controlled permeation with steady state flux of 21.28 ± 0.23 µg/cm²/hr in 24 h. Topical intervention with Cur-NS-nanogel (0.6%) significantly (p < 0.05) decreased the paw volume by 43.97% in the 3rd hour and 72.19% on the 4th hour. Furthermore, the cutaneous wound healing property of Cur-NS-nanogel when compared to negative control rats showed a substantial (p < 0.05) reduction in the percentage wound contraction from 5 to 20^th days. LKD showed high curcumin content with significant antioxidant effects. LKD curcumin loaded into stable nanogel depicted safe and controlled skin permeability with promising cutaneous wound healing and anti-inflammatory activity in experimental rats.

Background: Carbon dots (CDs) derived from Citrus aurantifolia represent a promising platform for advanced cancer therapy and diagnostics (theranostics). These CDs are synthesized through a sustainable and cost-effective hydrothermal method, utilizing fruit juice as a green carbon source. Despite the potential, research on the synthesis of citrus-based CDs, especially regarding their red fluorescence emission, which is crucial for enhanced tissue penetration and biomedical efficacy, remains limited. Results: In this study, CDs were successfully synthesized from C. aurantifolia fruit, yielding nanoparticles below 5 nm in size (PDI 0.231 ± 0.04). Characterization revealed favorable optical properties, including excitation-dependent fluorescent behavior with prominent red emission under higher excitation wavelengths, a quantum yield of 8.17%, and stable photoluminescence. Chemical composition analysis using XPS, FTIR, and XRD confirmed the purity and structure of the CDs. To explore their biomedical application, CDs were co-loaded with curcumin into liposomes. The formulations had a mean size of 177.2 ± 3.6 nm (PDI 0.270 ± 0.012), demonstrated efficient drug entrapment (60.32 ± 2.24%), and exhibited rapid release kinetics, with 90.21 ± 2.16% of the drug release within 8 h. In vitro studies using A549 lung cancer cells demonstrated superior cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of Cur-CD-loaded liposomes compared to curcumin alone (Cur-Suspension), achieving IC50 values of 0.093 ± 0.011 µg/ml and 0.016 ± 0.006 µg/ml, respectively. Conclusion: This research underscores C. aurantifolia as a viable natural source for green CD synthesis. The obtained CDs with red fluorescence emission, optimized through reaction conditions and excitation wavelengths, hold promise for enhanced biological applications, particularly in the realm of lung cancer therapy. The findings advocate for further exploration and refinement of citrus-based CDs as versatile theranostic agents, capitalizing on their sustainable origins and potent biomedical properties. The combination of citrus-derived CDs with curcumin loaded into liposomal formulations represents a potent theranostic strategy for lung cancer treatment, leveraging the unique properties of CDs and their potential for targeted and effective therapy. Graphical

Docetaxel (DTX) and betulinic acid (BA) co-encapsulated poly-lactic co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) were developed for enhanced lung cancer activity in vitro. Poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) was used as an encapsulating polymer along with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a stabilizing base to formulate NPs with the double-emulsion solvent evaporation method to study the size and potential, along with the surface morphology and in vitro release, of NPs. Cell culture studies like in vitro cellular uptake, apoptosis, and cell cycle arrest were performed in an in vitro cytotoxicity study to access the NP’s effect in the A549 human lung cancer cell line. The emulsification solvent evaporation technique produced smooth spherical nanoparticles of small sizes with a relatively narrow size distribution (147.2 ± 12.29 nm). On the A549 cell line, the formulation showed higher cytotoxicity (6.43 ± 0.11, 4.21 ± 0.32, and 1.17 ± 0.23 µmol for 24, 48, and 72 h, respectively) compared to the free drug due to an increase in vitro cellular uptake. Apoptosis and cell cycle analysis also confirmed the effectiveness of the prepared NPs. In vitro studies have proven the tumor-targeting potential of DTX-BA-NPs in A549 cell lines and could be future medication for lung cancer treatment.

Despite various efforts, a successful selective delivery system for chemotherapeutic agents for lung cancer is still lacking. Dry powder inhaler (DPI) systems based on proliposomes (PLMs) could be a potential system for the efficient delivery of paclitaxel to lungs. PLM-based DPI prepared with a freeze-drying method can therefore be an alternative. Paclitaxel-loaded PLM-based DPI (PTX-PLM-DPI) powders were prepared using the method of thin film deposition on a carrier followed by freeze drying. These were prepared using soya phosphatidylcholine (SPC) and cholesterol as the lipids and mannitol as the carrier. The reconstituted liposomes were evaluated in terms of size, morphology, drug entrapment, release and cytotoxicity. The DPI powders were evaluated for their flow property, surface topography, dose uniformity and in vitro lung deposition. Stable and free-flowing PTX-PLM-DPI powder was obtained that could be reconstituted into homogenous liposomal vesicles < 200 nm as confirmed by TEM and SEM studies. The liposomes showed drug entrapment of 92.64 ± 1.4% and diffusion-controlled release of up to 28% in 24 h. These liposomes showed better dose-dependent cytotoxicity in A549 cells in comparison to paclitaxel suspension with IC₅₀ values of 46 ± 0.87 ng/mL and 154.9 ± 3.64 ng/mL, respectively. In vitro lung deposition studies of the PTX-PLM-DPI showed sufficient deposition with the fine particle fraction (FPF) of 50.86 ± 2.8% of particles with an aerodynamic diameter less than 5 µ. Hence, it canbe concluded that PLM-based DPI prepared by freeze drying can be a promising, stable, safe and free-flowing system for the enhanced lung delivery of paclitaxel.

The concept of mucoadhesion is one that has the potential efficiency to improve the highly variable residence times experienced by drugs and dosage forms at various sites in the gastrointestinal tract, and consequently, to reduce variability and improve efficacy. Intimate contact of the drug with the mucosa should enhance absorption. Artocarpus heterophyllus (Jack fruit) is one of the most evergreen trees in tropical areas and widely grown in Asia including India. The latex contains 71.8% resins consisting of 63.3% yellow fluavilles and 8.5% white albanes. The dried latex yields Artostenone, convertible to Artosterone, a compound with androgenic action. The work accomplished so far reveals that jackfruit latex possesses the desirable properties required for a polymer to be used as mucoadhesive agent/binder. The flow properties of the latex as well as that of granules depicted by its compressibility index, Hausner's ratio, Kawatika factors, angle of repose etc. are found to be within the desired range. Moreover FTIR spectroscopy, Differential Scanning Calorimetric study has shown that there was no chemical interactions between the drug and latex neither there is prominent endothermic decrease of melting point of the drug due to presence of latex in the powder mixture. Investigation in terms of in-vitro dissolution study, comparative mucoadhesion study, compatibility study with the selected formulation, stability study etc reveals that Jackfruit latex has potential to act as natural binder in mucoadhesive solid dosage form (tablet) and can also be suitably used for formulating tablets.