In this study, boric acid (BA) is employed as a crosslinking agent to improve the characteristics of two commonly used polymeric films, ethyl cellulose (EC) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), for topical drug delivery applications. The developed films are characterized by FTIR spectroscopy and SEM analysis. The results show that the surfaces of the prepared films are even and transparent, except for the BA-modified EC sample. The initial cumulative release for erythromycin (EM) is found to be 0.30 and 0.36 mg/mL for EC and PVA films, which drops to 0.25 and 0.20 mg/mL after BA crosslinking, respectively, after 1 h at 25 °C. Further, the developed formulations are stable for 75 days. Also, the antibacterial activity of the developed formulations is investigated against
S. aureus
(ATCC® 25923™ and ATCC® 29213™). The obtained data confirm that the application of BA as the crosslinking agent extends the release of EM from EC and PVA polymeric films. The findings of this study suggest that BA-crosslinked EC and PVA films are promising carriers for controlled topical drug delivery applications.
Background: Over the last decades, the exposure to titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO 2 NPs) has increased due to the wide application in industry, food adduct, medicine, cosmetic products, etc. Literature review showed that the TiO 2 NPs exert toxic effects on several organs. Methods: We searched PubMed, MEDLINE and the other databases with the following keywords, "titanium dioxide nanoparticle", "TiO 2 NPs", "myocardial infarction", "endothelial", "blood pressure", "heart" and "cardiovascular", and reviewed the literature by focusing on the toxic effects of TiO 2 NPs on the cardiovascular system, and possible underlying mechanism. Results: The toxic effects of TiO 2 NPs on the cardiovascular system are controversial but some possible mechanisms were proposed. TiO 2 NPs and nanoparticle-derived titanium induce cardiac injury, endothelial dysfunction and increase blood pressure and heart rate. These effects are mediated via systemic or local oxidative stress and inflammation.
Conclusion:The TiO 2 NPs toxicity is dependent on cell type and particle characteristic, and the controversial results may be due to these variables. However, a growing body of evidence confirmed the possible TiO 2 NPs toxicity on the cardiovascular system.
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