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Thymol, an effective agent for microbial diseases, has a low aqueous solubility and a strong bitter/irritating taste. These physicochemical characteristics need to be improved to develop pharmaceutical preparations. This study evaluates whether β-cyclodextrin and a copolymer based on dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) interact with thymol in order to control powderization, solubilization, and taste-masking properties. The thymol-β-cyclodextrin complex was prepared by co-precipitation and sealed-heating methods. The DMAEMA copolymer was mixed with the complex using a new approach, instead of spray coating, to decrease thymol volatility. In vivo studies were performed. Sealed-heating is a suitable method for including thymol in β-cyclodextrin with a good loading efficiency; thymol volatility control is achieved by mixing the complex with the DMAEMA copolymer. β-Cyclodextrin accelerates the in vivo thymol absorption rate compared with the free drug; the thymol half-life is still long. Therefore, a low number of administrations per day are required. Although bioavailability is unchanged with respect to free thymol, high doses could be administered of a selected formulation without compromising the compliance. Furthermore, thymol that is not absorbed is held along the intestine, where it can useful in the treatment and/or prevention of intestinal bacterial diseases., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

New solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN), composed of Compritol ATO888 (C) and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP), were developed in order to study a new colon-specific formulation for diclofenac sodium (D) delivery. The prepared batches differ from each other by the molecular ratio between HP and D and by the composition of the matrix. Nanoparticles composed of an exclusively lipid matrix and nanoparticles with an oligomeric and lipid matrix were compared in order to establish the effect of both components on the drug delivery tests performed. The SLN preparation method was based on the oil/water hot homogenization process. Emulsions produced were cooled at room temperature and lyophilized in order to obtain dried nanoparticles; possible damage to nanoparticle shape and size was avoided by the addition of cryoprotectants to the aqueous dispersion of nanoparticles before exsiccation. An in vitro toxicity study was performed using CaCo2 cells to establish the safety of the prepared SLN. Data obtained showed that production method studied guarantees emulsions composed of nanosized drops which can be dried by lyophilization into SLN with a size range of 300-600 nm. In vitro and ex vivo tests demonstrated that dried SLN can be considered as colon delivery systems; however, the matrix composition as well as the presence of cryoprotectant on their surface influences the release and permeation rate of D. The in vitro toxicity studies indicated that the SLN are well tolerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Nanoparticles were designed for the oral administration and transmucosal colon delivery of drugs. Methods Preparation parameters were studied in order to develop solid pH-dependent drug-release nanoparticles, constituted by hydroxypropyl- β-cyclodextrin and/or Eudragit® L100 loaded with diclofenac sodium. Nanoemulsions were prepared by the emulsion-evaporation method using various homogenizers. Different preparative conditions were tested. The emulsions obtained were analysed in terms of size and then dried to obtain solid nanoparticles which were characterized in vitro (particle size, morphology, dissolution, solid state characterization). The effect of nanoparticles on drug permeation through synthetic membranes, colonic pig mucosa and Caco2 cell line were performed. Toxicity studies were carried out to assess the safety of the raw materials used and the nanosystems produced. Key findings Appropriate parameters to obtain nanoemulsions stable enough to be desiccated were determined: Panda NS100L was the most suitable homogenizer for the preparation; particle size ranged between 100 and 600 nm depending on the production method. Solid nanoparticles were obtained by an exsiccation process, which does not modify the mean size. pH-dependent drug-release nanoparticles were obtained. The nanoencapsulation process decreased the crystallinity of the drug. Materials and nanoparticles were highly biocompatible. Transmucosal delivery of drug is dependent on the polymer and the test employed: cyclodextrin improved drug permeation across colonic pig mucosa. Conclusions Formulations containing hydroxypropyl- β-cyclodextrin represent new colon-targeted nanoparticles for transmucosal delivery of drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to examine the in vitro capacity of cyclodextrins to interfere on the β-amyloid fibril formation; then, mucoadhesive microspheres containing cyclodextrins were prepared and characterised as nasal delivery system for brain targeting. Eight batches of microspheres containing chitosan or alginate loaded with β-cyclodextrin or hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin in two different cyclodextrin to polymer ratios were produced by spray drying. The results show that none of the tested CDs has direct cellular toxicity and they protect the cell viability from β-peptide. The microspheres prepared are characterised by small particle sizes, ability to absorb water and to delay the in vitro dissolution rate of the CDs; good ex vivo mucoadhesive properties of the formulations are assessed. The microsphere properties are influenced by the kind of polymer, of cyclodextrin and by cyclodextrin to polymer ratio used. In particular, the alginate formulation containing the higher cyclodextrin content shows the best performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclodextrins (CDs) are oligosaccharides widely used in the pharmaceutical field. In this review, a detailed examination of the literature of the last two decades has been made to understand the role of CDs in nasal drug delivery systems. In nasal formulations, CDs are used as pharmaceutical excipients, as solubilizers and absorption promoters, and as active ingredients due to their several biological activities (antiviral, antiparasitic, anti-atherosclerotic, and neuroprotective). The use of CDs in nasal formulations allowed obtaining versatile drug delivery systems intended for local and systemic effects, as well as for nose-to-brain transport of drugs. In vitro and in vivo models currently employed are suitable to analyze the effects of CDs in nasal formulations. Therefore, CDs are versatile pharmaceutical materials, and due to the continual synthesis of new CDs derivatives, the research on the new nasal applications is an interesting field evolving in the coming years, to which Italian research will still contribute. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclodextrin polymers have high applicability in pharmaceutical formulations due to better biocompatibility, solubility enhancement, loading capacity and controlled drug release than their parent, cyclodextrins. The cytotoxicity and cell uptake of new cationic beta-cyclodextrin monomers and polymers were evaluated as suitable materials for nasal formulations and their protective effects on cells exposed to hydrogen peroxide were studied. PC12 and CACO-2 cells were selected as the neuronal- and epithelial-type cells, respectively, to mimic the structure of respiratory and olfactory epithelia of the nasal cavity. All cationic beta-cyclodextrin polymers tested showed dose- and time-dependent toxicity; nevertheless, at 5 µM concentration and 60 min of exposure, the quaternary-ammonium-beta-cyclodextrin soluble polymer could be recognized as nontoxic. Based on these results, a fluorescently labelled quaternary-ammonium-beta-cyclodextrin monomer and polymer were selected for uptake studies in CACO-2 cells. The monomeric and polymeric beta-cyclodextrins were internalized in the cytoplasm of CACO-2 cells; the cationic monomer showed higher permeability than the hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin, employed as comparison. Therefore, these cationic beta-cyclodextrins showed potential as excipients able to improve the nasal absorption of drugs. Furthermore, amino-beta-cyclodextrin and beta-cyclodextrin soluble polymers were able to reduce oxidative damage in PC12 and CACO-2 cells and thus could be studied as bioactive carriers or potential drugs for cell protection against oxidative stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose the formulation and characterization of solid microparticles as nasal drug delivery systems able to increase the nose-to-brain transport of deferoxamine mesylate (DFO), a neuroprotector unable to cross the blood brain barrier and inducing negative peripheral impacts. Spherical chitosan chloride and methyl-β-cyclodextrin microparticles loaded with DFO (DCH and MCD, respectively) were obtained by spray drying. Their volume-surface diameters ranged from 1.77 ± 0.06 μm (DCH) to 3.47 ± 0.05 μm (MCD); the aerodynamic diameters were about 1.1 μm and their drug content was about 30%. In comparison with DCH, MCD enhanced the in vitro DFO permeation across lipophilic membranes, similarly as shown by ex vivo permeation studies across porcine nasal mucosa. Moreover, MCD were able to promote the DFO permeation across monolayers of PC 12 cells (neuron-like), but like DCH, it did not modify the DFO permeation pattern across Caco-2 monolayers (epithelial-like). Nasal administration to rats of 200 μg DFO encapsulated in the microparticles resulted in its uptake into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with peak values ranging from 3.83 ± 0.68 μg/mL (DCH) to 14.37 ± 1.69 μg/mL (MCD) 30 min after insufflation of microparticles. No drug CSF uptake was detected after nasal administration of a DFO water solution. The DFO systemic absolute bioavailabilities obtained by DCH and MCD nasal administration were 6% and 15%, respectively. Chitosan chloride and methyl-β-cyclodextrins appear therefore suitable to formulate solid microparticles able to promote the nose to brain uptake of DFO and to limit its systemic exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]