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Remdesivir is among the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2) drugs with great potential. However, its poor aqueous solubility restricts its therapeutic action. Therefore, the aim was to develop the nasal delivery of Remdesivir with solubilizing polymers, poloxamer 407, and β-cyclodextrin, which resulted in significant solubility enhancement. In addition, this nanosuspension was developed for the first time for pulmonary delivery to enhance the in vivo performance of remdesivir. Remdesivir solubility and biocompatibility were greatly improved by polymeric encapsulation at the nanoscale. The nanosuspension was prepared by the modified precipitation-ultra sonication process and showed a good particle size 500 nm ± 20 nm, with polydispersity (0.226 ± 0.02) and zeta potential (-16.0 ± 2 mV). The nasal formulation was also assessed for in vitro dissolution and diffusion, in addition to toxicity investigations (Hemolysis, MTT assay). The conversion of remdesivir crystals to an amorphous form was verified by characterization studies (XRD and DSC). The morphology of the nano particles was determined by SEM method and found to be spherical and of uniform shape. FTIR study was performed to determine the drug compatibility with the polymers and was satisfactory. Histopathology study on goat nasal mucosa showed no adverse effects of the formulation on nasal tissues. Analysis using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction revealed noticeably reduced levels of IL-4 mRNA expression (pro-inflammatory cytokines). In comparison to intravenous delivery, nasal delivery of remdesivir nanosuspension is patient-complaint and easy to use. The outcomes of this study demonstrate the potential for delivering remdesivir nanosuspension via the nasal route. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machine-to-machine (M2M) communication is becoming an increasingly essential part of mobile traffic and thus also a major focus of the latest 4G and upcoming 5G mobile networks. M2M communication offers various ubiquitous services and is one of the main enablers of the Internet-of-things (IoTs) vision. Nevertheless, the concept of mobile M2M communication has emerged due to the wide range, coverage provisioning, high reliability as well as decreasing costs of future mobile networks. Resultantly, M2M traffic poses drastic challenges to mobile networks, particularly due to the expected large number of devices sending small-sized data. Moreover, mobile M2M traffic is anticipated to degrade the performance of traditional cellular traffic due to inefficient utilization of the scarce radio spectrum. This paper presents a novel data aggregation and multiplexing scheme for mobile M2M traffic and thus focuses on the latest 3GPP (3 Generation Partnership Project) tong-term-evolution-advanced (LTE-A) networks. 3GPP standardized layer 3 inband Relay Nodes (RNs) are used to aggregate uplink M2M traffic by sharing the Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) among several devices. The proposed scheme is validated through extensive system level simulations in an LTE-A based implementation for the Riverbed Modeler simulator. Our simulation results show that besides coverage extensions, RNs serve approximately 40 % more M2M devices with the proposed data multiplexing scheme compared to the conventional without multiplexing approach. Moreover, in this paper an analytical model is developed to compute the multiplexing transition probabilities. In the end, the simulation and analytical results of multiplexing transition probabilities are compared in order to analyze the multiplexing scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machine-to-machine (M2M) communication is becoming an increasingly important part of mobile traffic and thus also a topic of major interest for mobile communication research and telecommunication standardization bodies. M2M communication offers various ubiquitous services and is one of the main enablers of the vision inspired by the Internet of Things (IoT). The concept of mobile M2M communication has emerged due to the wide range, coverage provisioning, high reliability, and decreasing costs of future mobile networks. Nevertheless, M2M communications pose significant challenges to mobile networks, e.g., due to the expected large number of devices with simultaneous access for sending small-sized data, and a diverse application range. This paper provides a detailed survey of M2M communications in the context of mobile networks, and thus focuses on the latest Long-Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) networks. Moreover, the end-to-end network architectures and reference models for M2M communication are presented. Furthermore, a comprehensive survey is given to M2M service requirements, major current standardization efforts, and upcoming M2M-related challenges. In addition, an overview of upcoming M2M services expected in 5G networks is presented. In the end, various mobile M2M applications are discussed followed by open research questions and directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was aimed to synthesize and characterize effective sustained release polymeric microspheres of sulfasalazine and dexamethasone by using okra gum and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC). The solvent extraction technique was used to synthesize sulfasalazine and dexamethasone loaded okra gum/HPMC microspheres. Pods of Hibiscus esculentus was used to extract okra gum. FTIR, DSC and SEM studies were performed. Kinetic modeling were applied on dissolution release data to evaluate release pattern of drugs from prepared formulations. No interaction was observed between drug and polymers by FTIR study. Molecular dispersion of sulfasalazine and dexamethasone was observed by DSC studies. SEM analysis showed acceptable morphology of microsphere. Dissolution studies showed that drug release was retarded up to 8 h when Okra gum and HPMC were used in combination but contrarily, HPMC and Okra gum showed early release of drug when both were used alone. Okra gum/HPMC microspheres of sulfasalazine and dexamethasone were prepared triumphantly by solvent evaporation method. Recovery, entrapment effectiveness hydration and drug loading of microspheres, influenced by the concentrations of Okra gum/HPMC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymeric blends are attractive drug delivery systems in the current era to provide controlled, pH-sensitive or targeted release of different drugs, and these blends can increase patient compliance by reducing dosing frequency. The aim of this research study was to prepare controlled release pH-sensitive okra gum/gelatin-based polymeric blend (OKMA-GEL) through aqueous polymerization method. The cytarabine (CYTB) was loaded in OKMA-GEL, to treat various cancerous diseases. Different ingredients (polymers (okra gum and gelatin), monomer (methacrylic acid—MAA), initiator (ammonium peroxodisulfate—APS) and cross-linker (methylene bisacrylamide—MBA)) were utilized to synthesize OKMA-GEL. Various techniques including FTIR, SEM, TGA, DSC and PXRD were applied on blend samples in concern of characterization. FTIR study depicted different functional groups and confirmed the successful development of polymeric blend. SEM indicated the presence of porous surface which is responsible for water imbibition into blend. TGA and DSC indicated enhanced thermal stability. PXRD of polymeric blend exhibited minor crystallinity and extensive amorphous nature. Swelling dynamics and drug release behaviors were observed at 1.2 pH and 7.4 pH. In this regard, better swelling and drug release were achieved at high pH (7.4) which endorsed a pH-responsive polymeric blend. Toxicity studies of drug unloaded polymeric blends were executed on rabbits which showed no toxic effect in findings. Conclusively, nontoxic OKMA-GEL was successfully synthesized that can be utilized for controlled release of CYTB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]