Read this AAPS PharmSciTech theme for full details.
By Claudio Salomon, Francisco M. Goycoolea, and Bruno Moerschbacher
The 2015 12th International Conference of the European Chitin Society jointly with the 13th International Conference on Chitin and Chitosan (EUCHIS/ICCC) was held from August 30 to September 2, 2015, in Münster, Germany.
AAPS PharmSciTech sponsored a poster prize at this meeting, and it was awarded to Ayben Işılay Doğan, Gülçin Akça, and Sevda Şenel from Hacettepe University (Turkey) for their work on Chitosan based formulations of atorvastatin for periodontal delivery.
The AAPS PharmSciTech theme Recent Trends in the Development of Chitosan-Based Drug Delivery Systems includes a topical collection of 14 papers including both articles from EUCHIS/ICCC 2015 plus other freely contributed manuscripts that passed the rigorous peer-review process.
The first article in the theme describes the development of miconazole nitrate buccal films. The in vitro antifungal activity showed significant activity of the model drug loaded into those films.
Next, Priotti et al reported the preparation of albendazole microcrystals using the bottom-up technology based on chitosan and cellulose derivatives. The in vitro studies demonstrated the suitability of this approach for further in vivo studies.
Then, Khattab et al explored the delivery of ranitine HCl from mucoadhesive polymeric microspheres using chitosan and two cellulose derivatives as wall materials. In vivo protective and healing effects of the optimized formula against gastric ulcers were investigated, also.
Next, Martínez-Campos et al showed how the interaction among cells and chitosan-based films can be modulated by physicochemical characteristics of the biomaterial surface, altering tumoral cell adhesion and proliferation processes.
Kassem et al reported the preparation of nanosuspensions of lacidipine using a Box–Behnken design. A significantly improved drug dissolution rate was found, suggesting that this novel alternative could be a valuable tool to improve lacidipine´s absorption.
Another application of chitosan in the nanotechnology field has been described by Zhao et al. Timolol maleate nano-formulations were prepared and optimized via a four-level and three-factor Box–Behnken. In vivo results indicated the suitability of the methodology for the treatment of ocular diseases.
On the other hand, polymeric mucoadhesion is an interesting and valuable property in the design of drug delivery systems. In this regard, Alkhader et al investigated the properties of a mucoadhesive chitosan-pectinate nano-formulation for colonic delivery of curcumin. A detailed physicochemical characterization was carried out, and it was found that 80 percent release of curcumin was achieved in pectinase-enriched medium.
Aslan et al described the formulation of interleukin-2 loaded chitosan-based nanogels for the healing of wound incision in rats. Artificial neural network models were developed using selected input parameters where particle size was an output parameter for interleukin-2 free nanogels. In vivo study showed that this approach was effective for improving wound healing in rats.
Regulation of gene expression is generally described as gene silencing, and it is related with the cell ability to prevent the expression of a certain gene. Salva et al investigated the in vitro gene expression of chitosan-based small interfering RNA nanoplexes to inhibit cell proliferation in proliferative glomerulonephritis disease. After transfection, it was found that chitosan-based gene delivery system is a promising tool to treat renal disease.
Another work based on the mucoadhesion of chitosan was reported by Naz et al. Through the formulation of thiopolymeric devices, both permeation and film mucoadhesion were highly increased while a controlled fluconazole release was obtained compared to the unmodified formulation.
Next, Mostafa et al formulated chitosan-nanobioactive glass scaffolds loaded with ciprofloxacin for bone tissue engineering. The authors confirmed that the optimized polymeric matrix showed a significant biocompatibility by inducing cell growth and differentiation.
Becerra et al reported the preparation of chitosan-based films to deliver ovalbumin, as model protein. The results confirmed that hydrophilic/hydrophobic polymeric interactions exhibit a significant influence over the matrix swelling behavior and further release of the model protein. The formulation of sustained-release dosage forms involves the formation of crosslinked polymeric networks, which may avoid a high and not desirable burst release.
Next, Rodriguez et al study the effect of the process and formulation parameters during the preparation of acetylsalicylic acid-chitosan microparticles to produce particles with narrow size distribution. The optimum formulation conditions to prepare uniform spherical microparticles were determined and represented by a region in a triangular phase diagram.
Then, Xing et al reported the successful encapsulation of specific egg yolk immunoglobulin (IgY) to avoid the binding of Clostridium difficile toxins to the colon. The authors confirmed that the chitosan-Ca pectinate microbead formulations exhibited promising colon-targeting properties.
Finally, Komenek et al designed gold-based nanoparticles stabilized by quaternized chitosan-gallic acid-folic acid for the treatment of lung cancer. They found that such nanocarriers could enhance the cellular uptake and reduce the accumulation of nanoparticles in the pulmonary tract.
Read full articles in the AAPS PharmSciTech theme Recent Trends in the Development of Chitosan-Based Drug Delivery Systems, guest edited by Claudio Salomon, Francisco M. Goycoolea, and Bruno Moerschbacher.