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Foam-based delivery systems contain one or more active ingredients and dispersed solid or liquid components that transform into gaseous form when the valve is actuated. Foams are an attractive and effective delivery approach for medical, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical uses. The foams-based delivery systems are gaining attention due to ease of application as they allow direct application onto the affected area of skin without using any applicator or finger, hence increasing the compliance and satisfaction of the patients. In order to develop foam-based delivery systems with desired qualities, it is vital to understand which type of material and process parameters impact the quality features of foams and which methodologies may be utilized to investigate foams. For this purpose, Quality-by-Design (QbD) approach is used. It aids in achieving quality-based development during the development process by employing the QbD concept. The critical material attributes (CMAs) and critical process parameters (CPPs) were discovered through the first risk assessment to ensure the requisite critical quality attributes (CQAs). During the initial risk assessment, the high-risk CQAs were identified, which affect the foam characteristics. In this review, the authors discussed the various CMAs, CPPs, CQAs, and risk factors associated in order to develop an ideal foam-based formulation with desired characteristics., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Background: Over the past ten years, tremendous progress has been made in microbubble-based research for a variety of biological applications. Microbubbles emerged as a compelling and dynamic tool in modern drug delivery systems. They are employed to deliver drugs or genes to targeted regions of interest, and then ultrasound is used to burst the microbubbles, causing site-specific delivery of the bioactive materials., Objective: The objective of this article is to review the microbubble compositions and physiochemical characteristics in relation to the development of innovative biomedical applications, with a focus on molecular imaging and targeted drug/gene delivery., Methods: The microbubbles are prepared by using various methods, which include cross-linking polymerization, emulsion solvent evaporation, atomization, and reconstitution. In cross-linking polymerization, a fine foam of the polymer is formed, which serves as a bubble coating agent and colloidal stabilizer, resulting from the vigorous stirring of a polymeric solution. In the case of emulsion solvent evaporation, there are two solutions utilized in the production of microbubbles. In atomization and reconstitution, porous spheres are created by atomising a surfactant solution into a hot gas. They are encapsulated in primary modifier gas. After the addition of the second gas or gas osmotic agent, the package is placed into a vial and sealed after reconstituting with sterile saline solution., Results: Microbubble-based drug delivery is an innovative approach in the field of drug delivery that utilizes microbubbles, which are tiny gas-filled bubbles, act as carriers for therapeutic agents. These microbubbles can be loaded with drugs, imaging agents, or genes and then guided to specific target sites., Conclusion: The potential utility of microbubbles in biomedical applications is continually growing as novel formulations and methods. The versatility of microbubbles allows for customization, tailoring the delivery system to various medical applications, including cancer therapy, cardiovascular treatments, and gene therapy., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Foam is a dispersal of gas in solid foam or liquid foam. Solid foams are generally formed through quick curing of liquid foams. Because of their positive characteristics, simplicity of application, and improved patient acceptability/compliance, foams are an appealing and promising delivery strategy for medical, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical, applications. Recent breakthroughs in topical foams for cosmetic and dermal applications are described here, as well as categorization based on foam formulation and recent assessment techniques of critical physical properties of the topical foam. Despite the expanding amount of knowledge on topical foams for cutaneous applications, the majority of research has focused on the stability and structure of foam in contact with solid nonporous surfaces. It is still difficult to figure out how such foams destabilize when they come into touch with porous surfaces like skin or skin-like membranes. The foam-covered wide surface area and easily applied to the affected area. This type of delivery system also eliminates the chance of secondary infection that is associated with ointment and creams, which need to be applied to the affected area with help of fingers or an applicator., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists.)

Biodegradable polymers have played an important role in the delivery of drugs in a controlled and targeted manner. Polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) is one of the extensively researched synthetic biodegradable polymers due to its favorable properties. It is also known as a 'Smart Polymer' due to its stimuli sensitive behavior. A wide range of PLGA-based drug delivery systems have been reported for the treatment or diagnosis of various diseases and disorders. The present review provides an overview of the chemistry, physicochemical properties, biodegradation behavior, evaluation parameters and applications of PLGA in drug delivery. Different drug-polymer combinations developed into drug delivery or carrier systems are enumerated and discussed.

Purpose: Tamoxifen (TAM) is a non-steroidal estrogen receptor modulator known for its anticancer activity. Apart from marked breast cancer activity, this drug has also shown potential in treating other types of cancers including skin cancers. TAM is reported to be associated with serious side effects primarily due to its systemic distribution. The localized delivery of this drug in this regard would be highly beneficial with respect to safety as well as efficacy., Methods: In the current studies, an endeavor has been made to investigate the efficacy of topically applied liposome-encapsulated TAM on skin cancer model. The drug was encapsulated in phospholipid-based vesicular systems viz. conventional liposomes and elastic liposomes. Incidence of papillomas and histopathological examination were employed to determine the efficacy of the tested formulations., Results: The results demonstrated carrier-dependent strong inhibition of skin carcinogenesis with encapsulated drug vis-à-vis drug in the solution form. The encouraging findings from the current work construe immense potential of the TAM-loaded liposomal systems in the management of skin cancer.

Vitiligo is a psychologically devastating condition. Topical therapy is employed as first-line treatment in localized vitiligo. Currently, several topical agents are available in many forms viz. methoxsalen (solution and cream), trioxsalen (solution), corticosteroids (gel, cream, ointment and solution) and calcineurin inhibitors (ointment and cream). Although topical therapy has an important position in vitiligo treatment, side-effects or poor efficacy affect their utility and patient compliance. Novel drug delivery strategies can play a pivotal role in improving the topical delivery of various drugs by enhancing their epidermal localization with a concomitant reduction in their side-effects and improving their effectiveness. The current review emphasizes the potential of various phospholipid based carriers viz. liposomes, transferosomes, ethosomes, lipid emulsions, solid lipid nanoparticles and organogels in optimizing and enhancing the topical delivery of anti-vitiligo agents, whilst reducing the side effects of drugs commonly used in its topical treatment.

Franz diffusion cell was primarily used to evaluate the permeability and stability of formulations such as topical (gels and creams) and transdermal (lipid nanoparticle formulations). Diffusion cell is a straightforward assay that can reliably measure the in-vitro and ex-vivo drug release from topical preparations such as creams, ointments, liposomes formulations, and gels. It offered crucial critical perspectives on skin, drug, and formulation relationships. In addition, it is also employed for toxicity testing and quality control. Currently, many medications are available in the market, administered through transdermal routes. To treat various skin conditions, medical professionals use a wide range of methods aimed at increasing the skin's permeability and drug absorption. The biggest challenge with transdermal drug delivery system is determining the amount of medication penetrating the skin. Today, there is a lot of research into creating new dermal dosage forms for pharmaceuticals. In this review, the authors discuss various evaluation methods to determine the amount of drug penetrating the skin. With their strengths and weaknesses, these models and assessment methods provide a valuable framework for investigating the dermato-pharmacokinetics of different transdermal formulations. The assessment techniques aid in assessing molecules that cause skin irritation by shedding light on the molecular mechanisms by which they penetrate the skin. These assessment tools and models provide a novel strategy for creating topical medicinal formulations for various skin infection disorders. The present review explores Franz diffusion cell application, its implication in pharmaceutical research, and the regulation related to pharmacopeia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work involved development of phospholipid‐based permeation enhancing nanovesicles (PENVs) for topical delivery of ketoprofen. Screening of phospholipids and process parameters was performed. Central composite design was used for optimization of factors, that is, amount (%, w/w) of phospholipid and ethanol at three levels. The optimized nanovesicles (NVs) were loaded with different terpenes and then incorporated into a gel base. Optimized NVs exhibited 69% entrapment efficiency, 51% transmittance, 328 nm mean vesicle size, and polydispersity index of 0.25. In vitro release kinetics evaluation indicated best fitting as per Korsemeyer–Peppa's model and drug release via Fickian‐diffusion mechanism. The optimized NVs loaded with mint terpene showed minimal degree of deformability and maximal elasticity as compared with the conventional NVs and liposomes. Rheology and texture analysis indicated pseudoplastic flow and smooth texture of the vesicle gel formulation. Ex vivo permeation studies across Wistar rat skin indicated low penetration (0.43‐fold decrease) and high skin retention (4.26‐fold increase) of ketoprofen from the optimized PENVs gel vis‐à‐vis the conventional gel. Skin irritancy study indicated lower scores for PENVs gel construing its biocompatible nature. Stability studies confirmed cold storage is best suitable for vesicle gel, and optimized PENVs were found to be suitable for topical delivery of ketoprofen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present investigation is focused on improving oral bioavailability of poorly soluble and lipophilic drugs, curcumin (CRM) and duloxetine (DXH), through the solid self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (S-SNEDDS) and identifying their potential against attenuation of NP in chronic constriction injury (CCI)–induced rats through the solid self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (S-SNEDDS). The optimized batch of S-SNEDDS reported was containing CRM and DXH (30 mg each), castor oil (20% w/w), tween-80 (40% w/w), transcutol-P (40% w/w), and syloid 244 FP (1 g). The high dose of each of naïve CRM (NCH), naïve DXH (NDH), physical mixture of DXH and CRM (C-NCM-DXH), S-SNEDDS-CRM (SCH), S-SNEDDS-DXH (SDH), and S-SNEDDS-CRM-DXH (C-SCH-SDH) was subjected for MTT assay. The developed formulations were subjected to pharmacokinetic studies and results showed about 8 to 11.06 and 2-fold improvement in oral bioavailability of CRM and DXH through S-SNEDDS. Furthermore, CCI-induced male Wistar rats were treated with SSNEDDS containing CRM and DXH, S-SNEDDS containing individual drug, individual naïve forms, and their combination from the day of surgery for 14 days and evaluated for behavioral at pre-determined time intervals. On the terminal day, animals were sacrificed to assess tissue myeloperoxidase, superoxide anion, protein, tumor necrosis factor-α, total calcium levels, and histopathological changes. Pronounced effect was observed in rats treated with S-SNEDDS containing both drugs with respect to rats receiving any of other treatments owing to enhanced oral bioavailability through S-SNEDDS. Therefore, it can be concluded that S-SNEDDS of both drugs and their coadministration can accelerate the prevention of NP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capsaicin, extracted from the fruits of Capsicum, is a powerful local stimulant with strong rubifacient action, devoid of vesication. Topical use of capsaicin is quite common in the treatment of various pain-associated musculo-skeletal disorders, itching and neuropathy. Despite its high pharmacodynamic potential, the patient compliance to the drug is reported to be poor owing to multiple skin problems like irritation, burning sensation, and erythma. The present study targets the encasement of drug in the interiors of flexible membrane vesicles (FMVs), as these are reported to have better penetration in the deeper layers of skin, thus leading to enhanced localization of drug and consequently, decreased skin irritation. Multilamellar drug-loaded FMVs, prepared by thin-film hydration were evaluated for their efficacy in vitro and in vivo. When compared with conventional liposomes, the formulated FMVs showed higher skin retention during ex vivo permeation studies employing LACA mice skin, higher analgesic potential using radiant tail-flick method in mice, and better flexibility in regaining their size. Being less of an irritant, these vesicular carriers were also found to be more comfortable on human skin. Thus, the capsaicin-loaded FMVs offer high potential as topical drug delivery technologies with improved patient acceptance and effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Docetaxel has always attracted the researchers owing to its promises and challenges. Despite marked efficacy, concerns like poor aqueous solubility, lower bioavailability, poor tissue penetration and dose related side-effects offer further scope of research on docetaxel. The present study aims to explore the potential of C 60 -fullerenes in the delivery of docetaxel to cancerous cells. C 60 -fullerenes were carboxylated, acylated and conjugated with the drug. The chemical processes were monitored by UV, FT-IR and NMR spectroscopy. The conjugate was further characterized for drug loading, micromeritics, drug release, morphology and evaluated for in-vitro cytotoxicity, haemolysis and in-vivo pharmacokinetic profile. The developed nanoconstruct was able to enhance the bioavailability of docetaxel by 4.2 times and decrease the drug clearance by 50%. The developed system was able to control the drug release and was found to be compatible with erythrocytes. The cytotoxic potential on studied MCF-7 and MDA-MB231 cell lines was also enhanced by many folds, indicating marked promise in efficacy enhancement and dose reduction. The present findings are encouraging and offer a technique to enhance the delivery and efficacy potential of anticancer agents, especially belonging to BCS class IV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]