(2015) Self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) of the poorly water-soluble grapefruit flavonoid Naringenin: design, characterization, invitro and invivo evaluation, Drug Delivery, 22:4, 552-561, DOI: 10.3109/10717544.2013 Abstract Naringenin (NRG), predominant flavanone in grapefruits, possesses anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, hepato-protective and anti-lipid peroxidation effects. Slow dissolution after oral ingestion due to its poor solubility in water, as well as low bioavailability following oral administration, restricts its therapeutic application. The study is an attempt to improve the solubility and bioavailability of NRG by employing self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery technique. Preliminary screening was carried out to select oil, surfactant and co-surfactant, based on solubilization and emulsification efficiency of the components. Pseudo ternary phase diagrams were constructed to identify the area of nanoemulsification. The developed selfnanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS) were evaluated in term of goluble size, globule size distribution, zeta potential, and surface morphology of nanoemulsions so obtained. The TEM analysis proves that nanoemulsion shows a droplet size less than 50 nm. Freeze thaw cycling and centrifugation studies were carried out to confirm the stability of the developed SNEDDS. In vitro drug release from SNEDDS was significantly higher (p50.005) than pure drug. Furthermore, area under the drug concentration time-curve (AUC 0-24 ) of NRG from SNEDDS formulation revealed a significant increase (p50.005) in NRG absorption compared to NRG alone. The increase in drug release and bioavailability as compared to drug suspension from SNEDDS formulation may be attributed to the nanosized droplets and enhanced solubility of NRG in the SNEDDS.

There is lot of confusion in the literatures regarding the method of production of nanoemulsion. According to some authors, only the methods using high energy like high-pressure microfluidizer or high-frequency ultra-sonic devices can produce actual nanoemulsions. In contrast to this concept, one research group reported for the first time the preparation of nanoemulsion by a low-energy method. Later on many authors reported about the low-energy emulsification method. The purpose of this work is to formulate, evaluate and compare nanoemulsions prepared using high-energy as well as low-energy method. Nanoemulsions formulated were based on the phase inversion composition technique (low energy method) and were selected from the ternary phase diagram based on the criterion of their being a minimum concentration of S(mix) used in the formulation. For high-pressure homogenization method (high energy method) Design-Expert software was used, and the desirability function was probed to acquire an optimized formulation. No significant difference (p > 0.05) was observed in the globule size of formulations made by each method, but the value of poly-dispersibility index between the two methods was found to be extremely significant (p < 0.001). A very significant difference (p < 0.001) was observed in the drug release from formulations made by each method. More than 60% of the drug was released from all the formulations in the initial 2 h of the dissolution study.

Low-energy emulsification techniques can also produce stable nanoemulsions. It is guaranteed that oral nanoemulsions can act as a potential tool for the delivery of poorly water-soluble therapeutic moieties in a very efficient manner.

The ability of SNEDDS to present the drug in single unit dosage form either as soft or hard gelatin capsule with enhanced solubility maintaining the uniformity of dose is unique. With the ease of large-scale production, high drug-loading capacity, improvement in release behavior of poorly water-soluble drugs and improvement of oral bioavailability, SNEDDS have emerged as preferable system for the formulation of drug compounds with bioavailability problems due to poor aqueous solubility.

Based on these results, it was concluded that solid dispersion technique markedly enhances the in vitro drug release and in vivo behavior of the grapefruit flavonoid NRG.

No abstract

The recent turmoil and volatile situation in many countries and the increased risk of terrorist activities have raised alarm bells for the field of defense against toxic chemical/materials. These situations poses threats to society as terrorists can take advantage of such situations to strike and cause public mayhem. A number of chemicals have the potential of being used as chemical warfare (CW) agents. CW agents could immediately kill or incapacitate the affected individuals even when they are present in very low concentration. CW agents should be removed quickly to minimize their deleterious health effect. There is no single decontamination system that can be used against all types of chemical warfare (CW) agents. The review briefs about different decontamination processes and approaches for chemical decontamination and also discusses about various decontamination products available globally.

Purpose:To formulate and optimize a herbal gel of Aloe vera extract containing Carbopol 934 as gelling agent and to investigate the effects of topical application of Carbopol 934 gel containing Aloe vera extract on the healing of skin wounds surgically induced in Wistar rats.Materials and Methods:Different concentrations of viscosity enhancer Carbopol 934 were tried and finally gel that showed good spreadability and consistency was selected for wound healing property of herbal gel of Aloe vera. Excision wound model was used for the study.Results:The optimized gel was evaluated for different physicochemical properties and wound healing property. Differences in wound healing were observed between the various treatments when compared to the control group. Tissue hyperplasia was lower in the control group compared to the other treated groups. In animals group treated with gel, 80.14% healing was observed up to 14th day. While in untreated group I (control) animals showed 52.68% healing of wounds on 14th day. On the other hand, control group animals also showed inflammation and pus formation up to 5th day of study, while treated animals did not showed any observable inflammation and pus formation. Conclusion: Results shows prepared gel has promising effect on the wound healing process.