Search results for "DELIVERY"

A potential solution to avoid overdose of mixed drugs in the event of Covid-19: Nanomedicine at the heart of the Covid-19 pandemic.

2021

Since 2020, the world is facing the first global pandemic of 21st century. Among all the solutions proposed to treat this new strain of coronavirus, named SARS-CoV-2, the vaccine seems a promising way but the delays are too long to be implemented quickly. In the emergency, a dual therapy has shown its effectiveness but has also provoked a set of debates around the dangerousness of a particular molecule, hydroxychloroquine. In particular, the doses to be delivered, according to the studies, were well beyond the acceptable doses to support the treatment without side effects. We propose here to use all the advantages of nanovectorization to address this question of concentration. Using quantum…

Valence Topological Charge-Transfer Indices for Dipole Moments

2003

Valence topological charge-transfer (CT) indices are applied to the calculation of dipole moments. The dipole moments calculated by algebraic and vector semisums of the CT indices are defined. The combination of the CT indices allows the estimation of the dipole moments. The model is generalized for molecules with heteroatoms. The ability of the indices for the description of the molecular charge distribution is established by comparing them with the dipole moment of the valence-isoelectronic series of benzene and styrene. Two CT indices, μ v e c (vector semisum of vertex-pair dipole moments) and μ V v e c (valence μ v e c ) are proposed. μ v e c and μ V v e c are important for the predicti…

Hydrophilicity Regulates the Stealth Properties of Polyphosphoester‐Coated Nanocarriers

2018

Increasing the plasma half-life is an important goal in the development of drug carriers, and can be effectively achieved through the attachment of polymers, in particular poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). While the increased plasma half-life has been suggested to be a result of decreased overall protein adsorption on the hydrophilic surface in combination with the adsorption of specific proteins, the molecular reasons for the success of PEG and other hydrophilic polymers are still widely unknown. We prepared polyphosphoester-coated nanocarriers with defined hydrophilicity to control the stealth properties of the polymer shell. We found that the log P value of the copolymer controls the composit…

Denaturation via Surfactants Changes Composition of Protein Corona

2018

The use of nanocarriers as drug delivery vehicles brings them into contact with blood plasma proteins. Polymeric nanocarriers require some sort of surfactant to ensure colloidal stability. Formation of the protein corona is therefore determined not only by the intrinsic properties of the nanocarrier itself but also by the accompanying surfactant. Although it is well-known that surfactants have an impact on protein structure, only few studies were conducted on the specific effect of surfactants on the composition of protein corona of nanocarriers. Therefore, we analyzed the composition of the protein corona on "stealth" nanoparticles with additional surfactant (cetyltrimethylammonium chlorid…

Molecular characterization of tunable microscale protein-based biomaterials

2019

A Towards a Sustainable Social Service Delivery System Through Public-Private Partnership: A Conceptual System Dynamics Approach

2014

Subjective symptomatology of asthma: validation of the asthma symptom checklist in an outpatient Spanish population.

1997

The objective of this study was to validate the Asthma Symptom Checklist (ASC) so that it could be reliably used to assess the subjective symptomatology of asthma attacks in our context. Subjective symptomatology of asthma was examined in a group of 100 adult Spanish outpatients (57 women, 43 men; 17-69 years of age) with asthma. All of them completed the modified version of the ASC as well as questionnaires of depression, anxiety, and self-management of asthma (self-efficacy expectancies and health care utilization). Data about duration and severity of asthma, as well as dyspnea and %FEV1, were also recorded. The highest reliability Cronbach alpha indexes were for the panic-fear and fatigu…

The inhalation manager: a new computer-based device to assess inhalation technique and drug delivery to the patient.

2003

The rational choice of an inhalation device is a cornerstone in the effective management of asthma and COPD. In this publication, we describe the development of a new system, the Inhalation Manager, which, for the first time, offers the possibility to assess the entire inhalation maneuver of patients using original devices under everyday conditions. So far the Inhalation Manager allows the measurement of inspiratory maneuvers of patients through placebo inhalation devices of the most common breath-actuated CFC-free inhalers in the market for the three main glucocorticosteroids Budesonide [Turbohaler (TH), dry powder inhaler (DPI)], Beclomethasone dipropionate [Autohaler (AH), breath-actuate…

Lung Deposition Using the Respimat® Soft Mist™ Inhaler Mono and Fixed-Dose Combination Therapies: An In Vitro/In Silico Analysis

2020

Tiotropium and olodaterol are mainstay treatments for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and yield important clinical improvements, especially when used in fixed-dose combination. Whilst previous studies have shown consistent delivery of tiotropium to the lungs with the Respimat® inhaler, no such study has been carried out for olodaterol or the components of their fixed-dose combination (TIO/OLO). Combining in vitro and in silico models, we measured the amount of drug retained in the mouth–throat area, entering the trachea and reaching the lung periphery. We applied a hybrid deposition model that considered the experimentally determined output of an Alberta throat model (in vitro …

Nanocomplexes for gene therapy of respiratory diseases: Targeting and overcoming the mucus barrier

2015

Gene therapy, i.e. the delivery and expression of therapeutic genes, holds great promise for congenital and acquired respiratory diseases. Non-viral vectors are less toxic and immunogenic than viral vectors, although they are characterized by lower efficiency. However, they have to overcome many barriers, including inflammatory and immune mediators and cells. The respiratory and airway epithelial cells, the main target of these vectors, are coated with a layer of mucus, which hampers the effective reaching of gene therapy vectors carrying either plasmid DNA or small interfering RNA. This barrier is thicker in many lung diseases, such as cystic fibrosis. This review summarizes the most impor…