The current study aimed to develop carbomer based hydrogel dressings, incorporating ethanolic extracts of Rosmarinus officinalis aerial parts, Achillea millefolium and Calendula officinalis flowers. The pharmaceutical properties of the obtained hydrogels, as well as their texture and antimicrobial activity, were further evaluated. Five wound dressing formulations based on carbopol were prepared. The addition of the ethanolic extracts to the formulation slightly lowered the pH of the hydrogels, as expected. The Rosmarinus officinalis aerial parts extract loaded hydrogel proved to be the firmest one. In terms of consistency and viscosity, the behavior of the five hydrogels was relatively similar. Based on the texture analysis, the texture of the hydrogels has been affected to some extent by the addition of the ethanolic extracts, decreasing their consistency, firmness, and adhesiveness. The hydrogel loaded with Rosmarinus officinalis aerial parts extract and the one incorporating the blend of extracts (mixture of the three above-mentioned extracts) proved to have a good antimicrobial activity. The studied hydrogel formulations could serve as a basis for the development of novel wound dressing materials, although more extended in vivo studies would be needed in order to support current results.

The main purpose of the present paper is to emphasize the non-invasive effect of some new prepared nanomaterials on skin diseases (psoriasis) together with the procedures to obtain them. These new materials are based on gold nanoparticles and natural compounds extracted from native plants of the Adoxaceae family (European cranberrybush – Viburnum opulus L. and European black elderberry – Sambucus nigra L.) and possess a known anti-inflammatory activity mainly due to their high content of anthocyanins and other polyphenols. The nanomaterials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Studies in vivo and in vitro were made in order to determine the toxicity of the products. Based on the obtained nanomaterials, specific dermatological creams were prepared. Their effect on psoriatic lesions, in comparison with the hydrocortisone creams, was studied.

Quality by Design (QbD) is a systematic, risk-based approach to pharmaceutical product and manufacturing development, which uses quality-improving scientific methods upstream in the research, development, and design phases, in order to assure that quality and safety are designed into product at as early stage as possible. This work focuses on the state-of-the-art applications of the QbD principles in the development of liposomes. The QbD approach has recently been proposed as a useful tool to obtain higher-quality liposomal products, as their development is a challenging task, involving intricate formulation and manufacturing processes. Thus, the current strategies to define the relationship between the critical material attributes or process parameters and product critical quality attributes and to establish the design space are overviewed. Additionally, the current characterization methodologies are described, as part of the control strategy required within the QbD paradigm.

Three individual hydroalcoholic extracts derived from Hamamelis virginiana leaves, Krameria lappacea root, Salix alba bark, and the resulting herbal mixture (HM) were assessed for the phytochemical profile as well as for antibacterial and cytotoxic potential. The chemical composition of the individual extracts and of their mixture was analyzed by chromatographical (LC-MS) and spectrophotometrical methods. The antimicrobial properties were evaluated by using the agar-well diffusion and the broth microdilution assays, whereas the potential cytotoxicity was investigated on human keratinocyte cell line by MTT method and apoptosis test. The HM composition revealed important amounts of valuable polyphenolic compounds provided from the individual extracts, having synergistic biological effects. All tested extracts displayed in vitro antimicrobial properties, with a significantly higher efficacy noticed for the HM when tested against Staphylococcus aureus. Moreover, none of the tested extracts was responsible for in vitro cytotoxicity against the human keratinocytes in the selected concentration range. Furthermore, the HM was included in an oil-in-water cream for the nonpharmacological treatment of seborrheic dermatitis, developed and optimized by using a QbD approach. A D-optimal experimental plan with four factors that varied on two levels was used to investigate the effect of the quantitative variation of the formulation factors (emulsifier, co-emulsifier, thickening agent, oily phase ratio) on the characteristics of the cream in terms of firmness, consistency, adhesiveness, stringiness, spreadability, and viscosity. Based on the experimental results, an optimal formulation containing 2.5% emulsifier and 20% oily phase was prepared and analyzed. The obtained results showed appropriate quality characteristics of this novel cream, which may be used in the future to manage the associated symptoms of seborrheic dermatitis.

The liposomes present great potential for applications in targeted delivery of chemotherapeutics in the treatment of cancer. The use of liposomal drug carriers as vehicles for targeting of chemotherapeutic agents to tumor tissues is based on their advantages over other dosage forms, represented by their low systemic toxicity, their bioavailability, and their possibility to enhance the solubility of different chemotherapeutic agents, due to the ability to encapsulate both hydrophilic and lipophilic drugs. They enhance the therapeutic index of anticancer drugs by increasing the drug concentration in tumor cells through tumor targeting. The available approaches used for tumor targeting using liposomes are passive targeting, active targeting, and triggered drug release. The most advanced targeting strategies proposed for cancer treatment are the development of multifunctional liposomes, having combined targeting mechanism. In this chapter, the tumor-targeting mechanisms are described in detail as well as the possibilities to design the targeted liposomal nanocarrier in order to reach the desired target in the body and minimizing the off-target effects. Moreover, the current status of preclinical and clinical evaluation is highlighted.