Improved Oral Delivery of Drugs Using Nanoemulsion

Administration of drugs through the oral route is considered the simplest and most convenient way to offer greater patient compliance than other routes. Most active drugs discovered in the past and those being discovered in recent times are inadequate because of their inherent limitations in physicochemical properties such as low solubility and permeability, resulting in poor bioavailability, especially after oral administration in the form of tablet or capsule. Pharmaceutical nanoemulsion is the most promising, safer, and multimodal technique for delivering poorly soluble drugs and gaining more attention due to its characteristics such as higher solubilisation capacity, smaller size, surface charge, and site-specific drug targeting. This chapter focuses on the biological fate of nanoemulsion after oral administration and a few case studies related to the oral application of nanoemulsion in delivering poorly soluble drugs. In addition, the anatomy and physiology of the GI tract, components of nanoemulsion, and methods of preparation are addressed.

The protein-nanoparticle interaction (protein corona) and its importance on the therapeutic application of nanoparticles

Nanobiotechnology has provided promising novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies which capable to create a broad spectrum of nano-based imaging agents and medicines for human administrations. Several studies have demonstrated that the surface of nanomaterials is immediately coated with suspended proteins after contact with plasma or other biological fluids to form protein corona-nanoparticle complexes. Cells react after exposure with these complexes. since, the biological fate and functions of nanomaterials are determined by physiological responses to protein -nanoparticle complexes in this article, we aimed to review some studies about the effects of the protein profiles and physicochemical characteristics of nanoparticles in the biological environment on the formation of protein corona and subsequent the biological responses upon exposure to nanoparticles. Also, some used methods for of protein corona analysis has been reviewed. It has been shown that the biological impacts of protein corona may be both constructive and/or destructive in the biomedical applications of nanomaterials. The protein corona–cell interactions can facilitate targeted delivery and cellular absorption of therapeutic nanomaterials and also, they mitigate the unfavorable cytotoxic effects of nanoparticles. On the other hand, these interactions may cause rapid clearance of nanoparticles from the body as well as the activation of undesirable inflammatory responses. Hence, the study of the formation mechanism and biological effects of protein corona plays an important role in the design of nanoparticles with specific physicochemical properties proportional with their intended biological activity.

The Impact of Multiple Functional Layers in the Structure of Magnetic Nanoparticles and Their Influence on Albumin Interaction

In nanomedicine, hybrid nanomaterials stand out for providing new insights in both the diagnosis and treatment of several diseases. Once administered, engineered nanoparticles (NPs) interact with biological molecules, and the nature of this interaction might directly interfere with the biological fate and action of the NPs. In this work, we synthesized a hybrid magnetic nanostructure, with antibacterial and antitumoral potential applications, composed of a magnetite core covered by silver NPs, and coated with a modified chitosan polymer. As magnetite NPs readily oxidize to maghemite, we investigated the structural properties of the NPs after addition of the two successive layers using Mössbauer spectroscopy. Then, the structural characteristics of the NPs were correlated to their interaction with albumin, the major blood protein, to evidence the consequences of its binding on NP properties and protein retention. Thermodynamic parameters of the NPs–albumin interaction were determined. We observed that the more stable NPs (coated with modified chitosan) present a lower affinity for albumin in comparison to pure magnetite and magnetite/silver hybrid NPs. Surface properties were key players at the NP–biological interface. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that demonstrates a correlation between the structural properties of complex hybrid NPs and their interaction with albumin.

Influence of the Abiotic Stress Conditions, Waterlogging and Drought, on the Bitter Sensometabolome as Well as Agronomical Traits of Six Genotypes of Daucus carota

Cultivated carrot is one of the most important vegetable plants in the world and favored by consumers for its typically sweet flavor. Unfortunately, the attractive sensory quality is hindered by a sporadic bitter off-taste. To evaluate the influence of the abiotic stress conditions, waterlogging and drought, on the bitter sensometabolome as well as agronomical traits of six genotypes of Daucus carota, a field trial was performed. Enabling the accurate tracing of carrots’ bitter compounds and therefore their metabolic changes, a fast and robust high-throughput UHPLC-MS/MS was developed and validated. Remarkably, the genotypes are the driving source for the biological fate of the bitter metabolites that are reflected in concentrations, dose-over-threshold factors, and fold changes. A certain influence of the irrigation level is observable but is overruled by its cultivar. Therefore, metabolic stress response in carrots seems to be genotype dependent. Hence, this study might help to plant specific carrot genotypes that are adapted to stress conditions evoked by future climatic changes.