Athlete's foot is a fungal infection of the foot which causes dry, itchy, flaky condition of the skin caused by Trichophyton species. In this study, the potential of ultra-small nanostructured lipid carrier (usNLC)-based topical gel of miconazole nitrate for the treatment of athlete's foot was evaluated. Nanostructure lipid carriers (NLCs) prepared by melt emulsification and sonication technique were characterized for particle size, drug entrapment, zeta potential and drug release. The optimized usNLC revealed particle size 53.79 nm, entrapment efficiency 86.77%, zeta potential -12.9 mV and polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.27. The drug release studies of usNLC showed initial fast release followed by sustained release with 91.99% drug released in 24 h. Optimized usNLCs were incorporated into carbopol-934 gel and evaluated for pH (6.8), viscosity (36,400 mPa s) and texture analysis. Antifungal activity against Trichophyton mentagrophytes exhibited wider zone of inhibition, 6.6 ± 1.5 mm for optimized usNLC3 gel viz-à-viz marketed gel formulation (3.7 ± 1.2 mm). Hen's egg test-chorioallantoic membrane (HET-CAM) irritation test confirmed optimized usNLC gel to be non-irritant to chorioallantoic membrane. Improved dermal delivery of miconazole by usNLC gel could be achieved for treatment of athlete's foot.

Background: Parkinsonism has a toxic cascade of neurodegeneration, with akinesia as a major manifestation. Some antioxidants have shown promise against the disease. Astaxanthin is a powerful antioxidant, demonstrates free radical scavenging, and is also a potential neuroprotective agent Objective: To formulate astaxanthin laden nanostructured lipid carriers based thermoreversible gel for better neuronal uptake and better neuronal efficacy. Methods: The method for fabricating astaxanthin-nanostructured lipid carriers (ATX-NLC) was melt-emulsification, and these were optimized using factorial design and further evaluated for diverse parameters. Neurotoxicity was induced in rats by haloperidol. The treated and non-treated rats were then witnessed for their behaviour. TBARs and GSH levels were also determined. Pharmacokinetics was studied via HPLC. Results: The average particle size (by DLS), entrapment efficiency and zeta potential of optimized ATX-NLC were 225.6 ± 3.04 nm, 65.91 ± 1.22 % and -52.64 mV respectively. Astaxanthin release (after 24 h in simulated nasal fluid) from optimized ATX-NLC was 92.5 ± 5.42 %. Its thermo-reversible nasal gel (ATX-NLC in-situ gel) was prepared using poloxamer-127. The obtained gel showed in-vivo betterment in the behaviour of animals when studied using rotarod and akinesia test. Pharmacokinetic studies showed better availability of astaxanthin in the brain on the rats treated with ATX-NLC in-situ gel as compared to those treated with ATX-in-situ gel. Conclusion: Astaxanthin loaded lipidic nanoparticulate gel can be a hopeful adjuvant therapy for Parkinsonism and holds scope for future studies.

The pandemic of coronavirus infection 2019 (COVID-19) due to the serious respiratory condition created by the coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) presents a challenge to recognize effective strategies for management and treatment. In general, COVID-19 is an acute disease that can also be fatal, with an ongoing 10.2% case morbidity rate. Extreme illness may bring about death because of enormous alveolar damage and hemorrhage along with progressive respiratory failure. The rapidly expanding information with respect to SARS-CoV-2 research suggests a substantial number of potential drug targets. The most encouraging treatment to date is suggested to be with the help of remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, and many such repurposed drugs. Remdesivir has a strong in vitro activity for SARS-CoV-2, yet it is not the drug of choice as affirmed by the US Food and Drug Administration and presently is being tried in progressing randomized preliminaries. The COVID-19 pandemic has been the worst worldwide general health emergency of this age and, possibly, since the pandemic influenza outbreak of 1918. The speed and volume of clinical preliminaries propelled to examine potential treatments for COVID-19 feature both the need and capacity to create abundant evidence even in the center of a pandemic. No treatments have been demonstrated as accurate and dependable to date. This review presents a concise precise of the targets and broad treatment strategies for the benefit of researchers. Keywords COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2. Protein targets. Antisense therapy. Repurposed drugs Abbreviations COVID-19 Coronavirus infectious disease 2019 SARS-CoV-2 Severe acute respiratory disorder coronavirus 2 US United States HIV Human immunodeficiency virus 2019-nCoV 2019-coronavirus * Shubhini A.

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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major cause of concern as it has substantial morbidity associated with it. Previous reports have ascertained the antiproliferative activity of imatinib mesylate (IMS) against diverse types of carcinomas, but limited bioavailability has also been reported. The present study envisaged optimized IMS-loaded lactoferrin (LF)-modified PEGylated liquid crystalline nanoparticles (IMS-LF-LCNPs) for effective therapy of IMS to HCC via asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) targeting. Results displayed that IMS-LF-LCNPs presented an optimum particle size of 120.40 ± 2.75 nm, a zeta potential of +12.5 ± 0.23 mV, and 73.94 ± 2.69% release. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were used to confirm the surface architecture of IMS-LF-LCNPs. The results of cytotoxicity and 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole revealed that IMS-LF-LCNPs had the highest growth inhibition and significant apoptotic effects. Pharmacokinetics and biodistribution studies showed that IMS-LF-LCNPs have superior pharmacokinetic performance and targeted delivery compared to IMS-LCNPs and plain IMS, which was attributed to the targeting action of LF that targets the ASGPR in hepatic cells. Next, our in vivo experiment established that the HCC environment existed due to suppression of BAX, cyt c, BAD, e-NOS, and caspase (3 and 9) genes, which thus owed upstream expression of Bcl-xl, iNOS, and Bcl-2 genes. The excellent therapeutic potential of IMS-LF-LCNPs began the significant stimulation of caspase-mediated apoptotic signals accountable for its anti-HCC prospect. 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (serum) metabolomics revealed that IMS-LF-LCNPs are capable of regulating the disturbed levels of metabolites linked to HCC triggered through N-nitrosodiethylamine. Therefore, IMS-LF-LCNPs are a potentially effective formulation against HCC.

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