0000000000466351

AUTHOR

Massimo Fresta

Evaluation of polyalkylcyanoacrylate nanoparticles as a potential drug carrier: preparation, morphological characterization and loading capacity.

Some physicochemical behaviours were investigated of polyethyl- (PECA) and polyisobutylcyanoacrylate (PICA), which, in recent years, have been proposed as nanoparticle colloidal systems for drug carrying. We observed the influence of preparation conditions, such as pH value and surfactant concentration, on parameters such as particle size and polymer molecular weight. Lower operating pH values (0-2) resulted in smaller nanoparticles than those prepared at pH 5.5. The polymer molecular weight was also a function of pH: low molecular weight at low pH and vice-versa. The surfactant concentration positively influenced main particle size and polymer molecular weight. These trends were independen…

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Ocular tolerability and in vivo bioavailability of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-coated polyethyl-2-cyanoacrylate nanosphere-encapsulated acyclovir.

Acyclovir-loaded polyethyl-2-cyanoacrylate (PECA) nanospheres were prepared by an emulsion polymerization process in the micellar phase and characterized. The influence of the presence of nonionic surfactant as well as other substances [i.e., 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-beta-CyD) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)], on formulation parameters and loading capacity was investigated. In particular, the presence of PEG resulted in an increase of mean size and size distribution. To obtain PEG-coated PECA nanospheres with a mean size of200 nm, Pluronic F68 at concentrations1.5% (w/v) should be used during preparation. The presence of PEG also resulted in a change in zeta potential, from -25…

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Polyaspartamide-Doxorubicin Conjugate as Potential Prodrug for Anticancer Therapy

Purpose To synthesize a new polymeric prodrug based on ?,?- poly(N-2-hydroxyethyl)(2-aminoethylcarbamate)-d,l-aspartamide copolymer bearing amine groups in the side chain (PHEA-EDA), covalently linked to the anticancer drug doxorubicin and to test its potential application in anticancer therapy. Methods The drug was previously derivatized with a biocompatible and hydrophilic linker, leading to a doxorubicin derivative highly reactive with amino groups of PHEA-EDA. The PHEAEDA- DOXO prodrug was characterized in terms of chemical stability. The pharmacokinetics, biodistribution and cytotoxicity of the product was investigated in vitro and in vivo on human breast cancer MCF-7 and T47D cell lin…

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Preparation and physico-chemical study of inclusion complexes between idebenone and modified beta-cyclodextrins

The inclusion properties of modifiedβ-cyclodextrins (trimethyl-β-cyclodextrin, dimethyl-β-cyclodextrin and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin) towards idebenone were compared with naturalβ-cyclodextrin. The inclusion complexes were prepared by different methods (coprecipitation, kneading, and freeze-drying) and characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffractometry, UV, CD and NMR spectroscopy. The results obtained by CD and NMR spectroscopy indicate a different orientation of idebenone in dimethyl-β-cyclodextrin with respect to other cyclodextrins. Stability constants of the complexes were determined in water at various temperatures and consequently thermodynamic parameters wer…

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Cationic Supramolecular Vesicular Aggregates for Pulmonary Tissue Selective Delivery in Anticancer Therapy

The biopharmaceutical properties of supramolecular vesicular aggregates (SVAs) were characterized with regard to their physicochemical features and compared with cationic liposomes (CLs). Neutral and cationic SVAs were synthesized using two different copolymers of poly(aspartyl hydrazide) by thin-layer evaporation and extrusion techniques. Both copolymers were self-assembled in pre-formulated liposomes and formed neutral and cationic SVAs. Gemcitabine hydrochloride (GEM) was used as an anticancer drug and loaded by a pH gradient remote loading procedure, which significantly increased drug loading inside the SVAs. The resulting average size of the SVAs was 100 nm. The anticancer activity of …

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Polyaspartylhydrazide Copolymer-Based Supramolecular Vesicular Aggregates as Delivery Devices for Anticancer Drugs

In this paper we report on three different hydrophilic copolymers based on alpha,beta-polyaspartylhydrazide (PAHy) bearing butyric groups in the side chain (C 4) (PAHy-C 4) or a combination of butyric groups and positive charged residues ((carboxypropyl)trimethylammonium chloride, CPTACl) (PAHy-C 4-CPTA) that were synthesized and used for the preparation of new supramolecular vesicular aggregates (SVAs) containing gemcitabine as an antitumor drug. Gemcitabine-loaded SVAs containing synthesized PAHy derivatives were characterized from the physicochemical and technological point of view and the in vitro toxicity and anticancer activity on two different human cancer cell lines, i.e., CaCo-2 (h…

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Folate-targeted supramolecular vesicular aggregates based on polyaspartyl-hydrazide copolymers for the selective delivery of antitumoral drugs.

Supramolecular vesicular aggregates (SVAs) have the advantage of combining the safe and biocompatible properties of colloidal vesicular carriers based on phospholipids with those of polymeric materials, i.e. polyaspartyl-hydrazide (PAHy) copolymers. To provide SVAs with a certain tumour selectivity, folate moieties were chemically conjugated to PAHy copolymers. Physicochemical properties (mean sizes, polydispersity index and zeta potential) of folate-targeted SVAs (FT-SVAs) loaded with gemcitabine were evaluated. The antiproliferative and anticancer activity of gemcitabine-loaded FT-SVAs was evaluated against two cancer cell lines, i.e. MCF-7 cells which over-express the folate receptor and…

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Pefloxacine mesilate- and ofloxacin-loaded polyethylcyanoacrylate nanoparticles: characterization of the colloidal drug carrier formulation.

The entrapment of fluoroquinolones, perfloxacine mesilate (PFX) and ofloxacin (OFX), in polyalkylcyanoacrylate (PECA) nanoparticles could offer some advantages for their biological application; for examples, increasing their bioavailability, controlling the drug time-release in blood, and reducing the formation of bacterial resistance. To load these two drugs in PECA polymeric bulk, the incorporation or adsorption method was performed. These two methods were capable of influencing nanoparticle size, molecular weight, release profile, and drug–polymer association. The incorporation method, particularly for the OFX system, achieved PECA nanoparticle suspensions with a mean size value three ti…

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5-Fluorouracil: various kinds of loaded liposomes: encapsulation efficiency, storage stability and fusogenic properties

Abstract This paper describes the optimization of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) loaded liposome formulations. Four different preparation procedures were carried out, obtaining two types of multilamellar vesicles (MLVs), stable plurilamellar vesicles (SPLVs) and large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs). In this study various phospholipids were used to prepare liposomes. The lipid mixtures containing diplamitoylphosphatidylserine seemed the best for biological 5-FU delivery by presenting better encapsulation efficiency parameters, serum and storage stability, and fusogenic properties, which are an important factor prerequisite for in vivo liposome-cell interaction. The presence of cholesterol in the liposom…

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Folate-targeted supramolecular vesicular aggregates as a new frontier for effective anticancer treatment in in vivo model.

Abstract Supramolecular vesicular aggregates (SVAs), made up by self-assembling liposomes and polyasparthydrazide co-polymers conjugated to folic acid molecules were extensively investigated in this manuscript as potential active targeting formulation for anticancer drug delivery. Folate-targeted systems (FT-SVAs) were used to treat breast cancer and to further proof the potential in vivo administration of these systems for the therapeutic treatment for several aggressive solid tumors. The physicochemical and technological parameters of FT-SVAs are suitable for their potential in vivo administration. The chemotherapeutic activity of GEM-loaded FT-SVAs was increased during in vivo experiment…

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