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Naloxone is an opioid receptor antagonist that can eradicate all pre-indications of the toxicity and inverse the opioid overdose. However, oral administration of naloxone offers limitations such as its extensive first-pass metabolism that results in poor therapeutic effects. In order to resolve this issue, we developed intranasal solid-lipid nanoparticles in which naloxone was incorporated for the higher brain disposition of naloxone with superior therapeutic effects for the reversal of toxicity of opioid overdose. The preparation of naloxone loaded solid-lipid nanoparticles was done by employing the solvent evaporation method. Later, the designed formulation was optimized by Quality by Design approach, specifically, Box-Behnken method. The composition of optimized formulation was Glyceryl monostearate as a solid lipid (40 mg), Pluronic127 (0.5%) and Tween 80 (0.1%) as a surfactant and co-surfactant, respectively. Furthermore, the characterization of optimized formulation was achieved in terms of particle size, PDI, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, and drug loading which were 190.2 nm, 0.082, −16 mV, 95 ± 0.532% and 19.08 ± 0.106%, respectively. Afterwards, in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo experiments were performed in which higher drug release and superior drug uptake by nasal membrane were observed for naloxone-loaded solid-lipid nanoparticles, later it was confirmed by confocal microscopy of ex vivo nasal membrane tissue. The findings of gamma scintigraphy investigation exhibited better deposition of naloxone-loaded solid-lipid nanoparticles as compared to naloxone solution. Also, the better deposition of naloxone by gamma scintigraphy was further validated by the investigation through the biodistribution study. Additionally, the key findings of the pharmacokinetic study revealed Cmax, Tmax, AUC0-t, AUC0-∞, T1/2 and Ke was found to be 163.95 ± 2.64 ng/ml, 240 ± 2.1 min, 17.75 ± 1.08 ng.hr/ml, 18.82 ± 2.51 ng.hr/ml, 70.71 ± 0.115 min, 0.098 ± 0.01 h−1 respectively. Lastly, investigations such as weight variation and histopathological proved the plausible potential of naloxone-loaded solid-lipid nanoparticles in terms of safety as no toxicity was noticed even after the administration of the three-folds dose of the normal dose. Therefore, considering all these findings, it could be easy to say that these developed naloxone-loaded solid-lipid nanoparticles could be administrated via intranasal route and can act as successful novel nanoformulation for the effective treatment of opioid overdose.

Osteoporosis is a major cause of morbidity, mortality, and economic burden worldwide. Despite being an effective in combating the bone-deteriorating disorders, bisphosphonates have several shortcomings including poor and variable bioavailability, low permeability, high toxicity, etc. In this study, we developed and optimized protransfersome formulation for the drug risedronate sodium (RIS-Na) with the goal of enhancing its bioavailability and hence patient compliance. Phase separation coacervation technique was utilized for development of optimized formulation. Optimization was achieved by using three-factor, three-level Box-Behnken design combined with Response Surface Methodology (RSM). This enabled us to decipher the effect of 3 independent variables (Phospholipid, Tween-80 and Sodium Deoxycholate) on three dependent parameters (entrapment efficiency, vesicle size and transdermal flux). Optimized formulation was further evaluated for pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters. Smooth, spherical protransfersomes with a size of 260 ± 18 nm, having entrapment efficiency and flux of 80.4 ± 4.90% and 8.41 ± 0.148 μg/cm2/h, respectively were prepared. Ex vivo studies revealed a shorter lag time of 1.21 ± 0.18 h and higher flux associated with transdermal formulation. CLSM analysis further revealed better drug penetration (220 μm) through the skin in case of protransfersomes as compared to drug solution (72 μm). Additionally, biomechanical, biochemical, and histo-pathological studies further validated the results. Thus, it was concluded that protransfersome formulation has a great potential in providing better therapeutic efficacy of risedronate than its conventional counterpart.

Hydroxyapatite based biodegradable mPEG-PLGA nanoparticles of risedronate (mPEG-PLGA-RIS-HA) were prepared by water miscible dialysis method for synergistic treatment of osteoporosis. The bone targeting potential of prepared nanoparticles was evaluated by performing the cell viability study and protein estimation in pre-osteoblast cell line (MC3T3E1). Biochemical and in-vivo pharmacokinetic studies on osteoporotic rat model treated with different formulations were performed. Under the biochemical study ALP, TRAP, HxP and Calcium levels were determined. Osteoporotic model treated with prepared nanoparticles indicated significant effect on bone. Pharmacokinetic studies revealed 6-fold and 4-fold increase in the relative bioavailability after intravenous and oral administration of nanoparticles respectively as compared to marketed formulation confirming better effective drug transport. Biochemical investigations also showed a significant change in biomarker level which ultimately lead to bone formation/resorption. A stability analysis has also been carried out according to ICH guidelines (Q1AR2) and shelf life was found to be 1year and 4 months for the prepared formulation. Thus the results of present studies indicated that mPEG-PLGA-RIS-HA NPs has a great potential for sustained delivery of RIS for the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis and to minimize the adverse effects of RIS typically induced by its oral administration.

Overexpression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) efflux transporter in glioma cells thwarts the build-up of therapeutic concentration of drugs usually resulting into poor therapeutic outcome. To surmount aforesaid challenge, Imatinib (IMM) loaded Poly-lactide-co-glycolic acid nanoparticles (IMM-PLGA-NPs) were developed and optimized by Box Behnken Design as a new treatment stratagem in malignant glioma. Optimized NPs were functionalized with Pluronic(®) P84, P-gp inhibitor (IMM-PLGA-P84-NPs) which showed size, PDI, zeta potential, drug loading, 182.63±13.56nm, 0.196±0.021, -15.2±1.49mV, 40.63±2.04μg/mg, respectively. Intracellular uptake study conducted on A172, U251MG and C6 glioma cells demonstrated significantly high uptake of IMM through NPs when compared with IMM solution (IMM-S), p

Epirubicin (EPI) is a P-gp substrate antracycline analogue which elicits poor oral bioavailability. In the present work, EPI loaded poly-lactide-co-glycolic acid nanoparticles (PLGA-NPs) were prepared by double emulsion approach and superficially decorated with polyethylene glycol (EPI-PNPs) and mannosamine (EPI-MNPs). Average hydrodynamic particle size of EPI-PNPs and EPI-MNPs was found 248.63 ± 12.36 and 254.23 ± 15.16 nm, respectively. Cytotoxicity studies were performed against human breast adenocarcinoma cell lines (MCF-7) confirmed the superiority of EPI-PNPs and EPI-MNPs over free epirubicin solution (EPI-S). Further, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and flow cytometric analysis (FACS) demonstrated enhanced drug uptake through EPI-PNPs and EPI-MNPs and elucidated dominance of caveolae mediated endocytosis for NPs uptake. Cellular transport conducted on human colon adenocarcinoma cell line (Caco-2) showed 2.45 and 3.17 folds higher permeability of EPI through EPI-PNPs and EPI-MNPs when compared with EPI-S (p

The present work describes the preparation of sterically stabilize polymeric nanoparticles of mitoxantrone dihydrochloride (MTO) along with an efflux transporter (Pgp/BCRP) inhibitor that enhance the circulation time of nanoparticles and simultaneously surmount the problem of multidrug resistance (MDR). Mitoxantrone dihydrochloride being hydrophilic in nature had very low entrapment efficiency (%E.E.), thus in order to further enhance the lipophilicity and the %E.E., it was complexed with sodium deoxycholate (SDC) and this MTO-SDC-complex was used to formulate nanoparticles with/without Pgp/BCRP inhibitor by nanoprecipitation technique and was characterized for various in vitro and in vivo attributes. In vitro cell line studies were conducted on MCF7, A2780(p) and A2780(adr) cells. Furthermore, the targeting potential of hyaluronic acid (HA) coated nanoparticles for CD44 receptors was investigated using the MCF7 cell line. A reduction in the IC50 value observed with the inhibitor loaded nanoparticles in different cell lines indicated the BCRP/Pgp inhibiting ability of the formulated nanoparticles. The reduced macrophage uptake and the increased residence time in blood demonstrated the long circulating behaviour of the nanoparticles. The enhanced cellular uptake of HA coated nanoparticles in MCF7 cells revealed their targeting potential. The HA coated nanoparticles along with efflux transporter inhibitor exhibits a great potential for targeted chemotherapy in CD44 overexpressing MDR breast cancer.

The dual drug loaded poly( dl -lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA 1 ) nanoparticles (TOP–TAM NPs 2 ) concurrently delivering topotecan hydrochloride (TOP 3 ) and tamoxifen citrate (TAM 4 ) were developed to achieve synergism for the treatment of breast cancer by enhancing the permeation of TOP through the gut and the cells present in the breast. TAM acted as P-glycoprotein (P-gp 5 ) inhibitor, reduced the side effects of individual drugs by reducing the dose. The NPs were prepared by double emulsion (w/o/w) method. The optimized TOP–TAM NPs were found to have smooth and spherical morphology by using SEM 6 and TEM 7 technique. Similarly size of nanoparticles was found to be 151.2 ± 1.6 nm with 0.147 ± 0.03 polydispersity index (PDI 8 ). The percentage entrapment efficiency of 95.17 ± 3.57 and 57.77 ± 2.2 was found for TAM and TOP respectively. The lyophillized nanoparticles under DSC 9 showed amorphous nature of both TOP and TAM. In an invitro release study the release of drugs from TOP–TAM NPs was found to follow the Higuchi pattern. The ex vivo gut permeation study revealed that the TAM enhanced the permeation of TOP and increased its bioavailability by 1.9 folds. The permeation and activity of combination of drugs were further confirmed by carrying out cell line studies on MCF-7 cells.

The present study investigates the screening of the formulation components as well as evaluates the quality issues of the nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) for the anticancer agent, CPT-11. The stepwise screening of the components for the preparation of NLCs requires the selection of liquid lipid or oil, based on the relative solubility of CPT-11 in different oils. Maximum solubility of the CPT-11 was found in capmul MCM-C8 (81±0.5 mg/ml). Hence, it was selected as the liquid lipid for the development of NLCs. Solid lipids gelucire 39/1, glyceryl mono stearate (GSM) and compritol ATO 888 were observed to have good affinity for the drug on systematic screening of different solid lipids. However, gelucire 39/1 and GSM were found to have lower physical compatibility (miscibility) with capmul MCM C-8. Hence, compritol ATO 888 was selected as the solid lipid phase for the preparation of NLCs. Ratio of liquid lipid (oil) to solid lipid was optimized with the intention of maximizing the oil concentration (as oil was found to have higher solubility of drug) as well as producing a lipid mix with sufficient melting point to maintain solid state. The liquid-solid lipid mixture in the ratio up to 30:70 was observed to have sufficient melting point (52.48±1.2 °C). Pluronic F-68 was selected as the main surfactant for the preparation of NLCs because of its good emulsification efficacy for the solid lipid liquid mix. The optimized formulation was also evaluated for the different quality issues. PXRD data revealed that the characteristic peaks of the compritol were present in the NLC samples and there was no appreciable polymorphic change when the formulation was stored for 6 months. Electron microscopic and DLS studies proved the absence of different colloidal species. Thermal analysis by DSC revealed that the lipid particles maintained sufficiently good melting point even after nanosizing. Absence of gelation on multiple syringing and resilience for the stress provided by autoclaving further established the quality of the developed NLCs.

Ropinirole, a recent introduction in the clinical treatment of Parkinson's disease, suffers with the problems of low oral bioavailability and frequent dosing. An effective transdermal nano-emulsion drug delivery system can however resolve these issues effectively with greater therapeutic benefits and clinical significance. Therefore, the present work focuses precisely on pharmacokinetic, biochemical and mechanistic assessment of transdermal nanoemulsion gel in rats induced with Parkinson lesioned brain by 6-OHDA. DSC and FT-IR studies showed that NEG affects the normal lipid packing of stratum corneum to enhance the drug permeation. Study of pharmacokinetic parameters (AUC, C(max), and T(max)) revealed a greater and more extended release of ropinirole from nanoemulsion gel compared to that from a conventional gel (RPG) and oral marketed tablet (Ropitor). The AUC(0→∞) for RPCNG and RPTNG was found to be 928.07 ± 206.5 and 1055.99 ± 251.7 ngh/mL, respectively in comparison to 137.25 ± 31.3 and 467.15 ± 106.1 ngh/mL for RPG and oral tablet, respectively. The relative bioavailability of ropinirole has been enhanced more than two fold by RPTNG. Furthermore, antiparkinson activity was evaluated in terms of estimating the level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, glutathione antioxidant enzymes and catalase in lesioned brain of rats. Formulations were also found to be non-toxic and non-irritant by histological investigations.