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Background: Nanosuspensions, liquid dispersions with nanometer size distribution, are becoming trendy in pharmaceutical practice to formulate poorly water-soluble drugs and to enhance their bioavailability. Generally, nanosuspensions are produced in two main approaches; top-down or bottom-up. The former is based on size-reduction of large particles via milling or high pressure homogenization. The latter is focused on the mechanisms of nucleation and particle growth., Methods: In this review, the critical factors influencing the kinetics or dynamics of nucleation and growth are discussed. Subsequently, the mechanisms of nanosuspension instability as well as strategies for stabilization are elaborated. Furthermore, the effects of stabilizers on key parameters of instability as well as the process of choosing an appropriate stabilizer is discussed., Results: Steric and electrostatic stabilizations or combination of them is essential for nanosuspensions formulation to prevent coagulation. Accordingly, some characteristics of stabilizers play critical role on stability and optimization of nanosuspensions; i.e., HLB and concentration. Nevertheless, after reviewing various articles, it is ascertained that each formulation requires individual selection of surfactants according to the parameters of the particle surface and the medium., Conclusions: Based on the results, application of excipients such as stabilizers requires proper optimization of type and concentration. This implies that each formulation requires its own optimization process. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

Background: The main concern in formulation of antibodies is the intrinsic instability of these labile compounds. To evaluate the physicochemical stability of antibody in dry powder formulations, physical stability of IgG1 and a monoclonal antibody (trastuzumab) during the spray drying process was studied in a parallel study and the efficacy of some sugar based excipients in protection of antibodies was studied., Results: The SDS-PAGE analysis showed no fragmentation of antibodies after spray drying in all formulations. The secondary structure of antibodies contained 40.13 to 70.19% of β structure in dry state. Also, CD spectroscopy showed the similar secondary structure for trastuzumab after reconstitution in water. ELISA analysis and cell culture studies were conducted in order to evaluate bioactivity of monoclonal antibody. Formulations containing combination of excipients provided maximum tendency of trastuzumab to attach to the ELISA antigen (86.46% ± 2.3) and maximum bioactivity when incubated with SKBr3 cell line (the cell viability was decreased to 65.99% ± 4.6). Incubation of formulations with L929 cell line proved the biocompatibility of the excipients and non-toxic composition of formulations., Conclusion: The IgG1 and trastuzumab demonstrated similar behavior in spray drying process. The combination of excipients containing trahalose, hydroxypropyl beta cyclodextrin and beta cyclodextrin with proper ratio improved the physical and chemical stability of both IgG1 and monoclonal antibody.

Background and the Purpose of the Study: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug-activated gene-1 (NAG-1) is involved in inflammation, apoptosis/survival and tumorigenesis as well as resistance to chemotherapy. NAG-1 protein is synthesized as pro-peptide, cleaved and secreted as mature protein. Regulation of NAG-1 is not completely discovered and increased level of NAG-1 has been reported in many cancers. The expression of NAG-1 in cancer cells could affect the progression of tumor growth. In addition the secretion of full length and mature forms of NAG-1 can influence cell proliferation in other cells. In this study the role of full length and mature forms of NAG-1 on viability of HT-1080 and MCF-7 cells were evaluated, and the cytotoxicity of celecoxib, indomethacin, tamoxifen and doxorubicin in HT1080 cells stably expressing NAG-1 were also tested., Methods: Full length and mature NAG-1 was cloned from cDNA library of HCT116 cells and stably transfected in HT1080 cells. Cells were treated with different concentrations of indomethacin, celecoxib, tamoxifen and doxorubicin and viability was assessed by MTT assay. The effect of conditioned medium of NAG-1 expressing cells on proliferation of MCF-7 and HT1080 cells were also tested., Results: The growth curves of HT1080 cells expressing full length and mature NAG-1 were not different. The viability of HT1080 cells expressing NAG-1 in the presence of indomethacin, doxorubicin and tamoxifen compared to untransfected cells was higher. The proliferation of HT1080 and MCF-7 cells were inhibited by conditioned medium of NAG-1 expressing cells in 24 and 48 hrs., Major Conclusion: NAG-1 expression enhances drug resistance to tamoxifen, indomethacin and doxorubicin in HT1080. In addition, condition medium of NAG-1 expression cells inhibits proliferation in MCF-7 and HT1080 cells. Thus, NAG-1 expression can induce drug resistance in NAG-1 expressing cells and inhibition of viability in non expressing cells. Thus, NAG-1 is suggested as a marker for effective cancer chemotherapy and tumor progression.