The pharmaceutical industry is attempting to discover thin films as a new drug delivery system. Thin films have been described as an alternative approach to conventional dosage forms. They are a versatile platform that provides fast, local, or systemic effects. Additionally, these systems can be easily applied by themselves, especially for dysphagia patients, geriatric, pediatric, or bedridden patients, as well as patients who cannot easily access water. These drug delivery systems can be administered in various ways such as orally, buccally, sublingually, ocularly, and transdermally. This review examines oral thin films in all aspects from today's point of view and gives an idea about the growing market share in the world due to the increase in research fields and technological developments. At the same time, it provides an overview of the critical parameters associated with formulation design that affect of thin films, including the design of thin films, anatomical and physiological limitations, the selection of appropriate manufacturing processes, characterization techniques, and the physicochemical properties of polymers and drugs. It also provides insight into the latest thin-film products developed by various pharmaceutical companies.

Recently, nanoemulsion-based gels have become very popular for dermal drug delivery, overcoming the disadvantages of conventional semi-solid drug forms. The aim of this study is to prepare and characterize nanoemulsion-based hydrogels and organogels containing combined propolis and dexpanthenol, and to compare their stability, antimicrobial, and cytotoxicity properties. Within the scope of characterization studies, organoleptic properties, drug content, morphology, pH, gel-sol conversion temperature, spreadability, viscosity, FT-IR, and release properties were evaluated in hydrogels and organogels. The characterization studies carried out were subjected to short-term stability evaluation at room temperature and refrigerator for 3 months. While no phase separation was observed in any of the formulations kept in the refrigerator, phase separation was observed in four formulations kept at room temperature. The release study successfully obtained an extended release for propolis and dexpanthenol. In the antimicrobial susceptibility study, Hydrogel 1 showed activity against S. aureus, while Organogel 1 showed activity against both S. aureus and S. epidermidis. In the cytotoxicity study against HDFa cells, both Hydrogel 1 and Organogel 1 were found to be nontoxic at low doses. These hydrogels and organogels, which contain propolis and dexpanthenol in combination for the first time, are promising systems that can be used in wound and burn models in the future.

Background: Recent studies have shown that nanoemulsions prepared with essential oils have significant antimicrobial potential against multidrug-resistant pathogens due to increased chemical stability. Nanoemulsion also promotes controlled and sustained release, which increases their bioavailability and efficacy against multidrug-resistant bacteria. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial, antifungal, antioxidant, and cytotoxicity properties of cinnamon essential oil and peppermint essential oil as nanoemulsions compared to pure forms. For this purpose, analyses of the selected stable nanoemulsions were carried out. Method: The droplet sizes and zeta potentials of peppermint essential oil nanoemulsions and cinnamon essential oil nanoemulsions were found to be 154.6±1.42 nm and -17.1±0.68 mV and 200.3±4.71 nm and -20.0±0.81 mV, respectively. Although the amount of essential oil used in nanoemulsions was 25% w/w, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities were found to be more effective compared to pure essential oils. Results: In cytotoxicity studies on the 3T3 cell line, both essential oil nanoemulsions showed higher cell viability than pure essential oils. At the same time, cinnamon essential oil nanoemulsions exhibited a higher antioxidant property than peppermint essential oil nanoemulsions and showed superiority in the antimicrobial susceptibility test conducted against four bacteria and two fungi. Cell viability tests determined that cinnamon essential oil nanoemulsions showed considerably higher cell viability compared to pure cinnamon essential oil. Conclusion: These findings indicated that the prepared nanoemulsions in the current study might positively influence the dosing regimen and clinical outcomes of antibiotic therapy.

The oral availability of many drugs is problematic due to the pH of the stomach, enzymes, and first-pass effects through the liver. However, especially geriatric, pediatric, bedridden, or mentally handicapped patients and those with dysphagia have difficulty swallowing or chewing solid dosage forms. Oral Thin Films (OTFs) are one of the new drug delivery systems that can solve these problems. Pregabalin (PG) and Methylcobalamin (MC), which are frequently preferred for pain originating in the central nervous system, were brought together for the first time using OTF technology in this study. In this study, a quantification method for PG and MC was developed and validated simultaneously. Optimum formulations were selected with organoleptic and morphological controls, moisture absorption capacity, swelling capacity, percent elongation, foldability, pH, weight variability, thickness, disintegration time, and transparency tests on OTFs prepared by the solvent pouring method. Content uniformity, dissolution rate, determination of release kinetics, SEM, XRD, FT-IR, DSC, long-term stability, and cytotoxicity studies on the tongue epithelial cell line (SCC-9) were performed on selected OTFs. As a result, OTFs containing PG-MC, which are non-toxic, highly flexible, transparent, compatible with intraoral pH, with fast disintegration time (<30 s), and acceptable in taste and appearance, have been developed successfully.

This study was designed to investigate the effects of emulsion formulations of oleuropein isolated from ethanol extract of olive leaf in streptozotocin-diabetic rats. The rats were treated with the administration of the emulsion containing oleuropein at a low (150 mg/kg b.wt.) and high (225 mg/kg b.wt.) dose for 30 days. At the end of the study, blood samples were drawn from the heart of the rats to determine blood glucose, alanine transaminase, and aspartate transaminase levels. In addition, their liver tissues were dissected to determine the levels of glutathione and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, and superoxide dismutase activity. According to the results for both dose treatments, a statistically significant increase in superoxide dismutase activities and glutathione levels of the treated diabetic rats was observed when compared with those of the diabetic control rats. On the other hand, a statistically significant decrease in the levels of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase of the treated diabetic rats was determined. It should be highlighted that the administrations at the high dose were more effective compared to that of the low dose. Furthermore, a substantial decrease in the blood glucose levels of the diabetic rats exposed to the high dose was observed.

In vitro and in vivo evaluation of alginate and alginatechitosan beads containing metformin hydrochloride