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Up to date, there were no approved drugs against coronavirus (COVID-19) disease that dangerously affects global health and the economy. Repurposing the existing drugs would be a promising approach for COVID-19 management. The antidepressant drugs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) class, have antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and anticoagulant effects, which makes them auspicious drugs for COVID 19 treatment. Therefore, this study aimed to predict the possible therapeutic activity of SSRIs against COVID-19. Firstly, molecular docking studies were performed to hypothesize the possible interaction of SSRIs to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) main protease. Secondly, the candidate drug was loaded in lipid polymer hybrid (LPH) nanoparticles to enhance its activity. The studied SSRIs were Fluoxetine hydrochloride (FH), Atomoxteine, Paroxetine, Nisoxteine, Repoxteine RR, and Repoxteine SS. Interestingly, FH could effectively bind with SARS-COV-2 main protease via hydrogen bond formation with low binding energy (-6.7 kcal/mol). Moreover, the optimization of FH-LPH formulation achieved 65.1±2.7% encapsulation efficiency, 10.3±0.4% loading efficiency, 98.5±3.5 nm particle size, and -10.5±0.45 mV zeta potential. Additionally, it improved cellular internalization in a time-dependent manner with good biocompatibility on Human lung fibroblast (CCD-19Lu) cells. Therefore, the study suggested the potential activity of FH-LPH nanoparticles against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: To assess and compare the bioavailability of three different oral dosage forms of vitamin A in rats. The formulations included vitamin A self-nanoemulsified drug delivery (SNEDD) optimized formulation-filled capsule (F1), vitamin A SNEDD optimized formulation compressed tablet (F2) and vitamin A oily solution-filled capsules without any additives (control, F3). Materials and Methods: Bioavailability was assessed after a single oral dose of the three formulations using three groups of rats, each group comprising 6 rats. Blood samples were collected at baseline and over the next 8 h. Plasma was separated and extracted to obtain the drug, which was measured by HPLC. Statistical data analysis was performed using the Student t test and ANOVA with p < 0.05 as the minimal level of significance. Results: From the pharmacokinetic parameters, both F1 and F2 showed improved bioavailability compared to F3. The values of AUC ± SD were 3,080.7 ± 190.2, 2,137.1 ± 130.5 and 1,485.2 ± 80.1 ng·h/ml for F1, F2 and F3, respectively. The T_max was 1 h in case of F1 and F2 as compared to 1.5 h for F3. The C_max ± SD was 799.5 ± 48.5, 656.2 ± 64.4 and 425.8 ± 33.1 for F1, F2 and F3, respectively. The increase in AUC, C_max and T_max was significant (p < 0.05). The bioavailability calculated from the AUC for F1 and F2 relative to F3 was 207.4 and 143.8%, respectively. The bioavailability increased almost twofold and 1.4 times for F1 and F2, respectively. Conclusions: The study showed that the newly developed vitamin A SNEDD formulations increased the rate and extent of drug absorption compared to the oily drug solution. The present investigation demonstrated that vitamin A SNEDD optimized formulations, either as filled capsules or as compressed tablets, were superior to its oily solution with regard to their biopharmaceutical characteristics.

The developed double-coat microparticles could be considered as a promising celecoxib extended-release colon-targeting system.

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Fenoterol HBr is a bronchodilator known to be subject to first pass effect after oral administration. The aim of this study was to prepare and evaluate fenoterol HBr suppositories. Suppositories were prepared by a fusion method using different fatty bases, viz.

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