The ideal way to deliver drugs in asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is by inhalation. A standard dose of salbutamol for inhalation is 100 micrograms compared with 2 or 4 mg in tablet form. Hence, if drugs can be delivered directly to the lung they will act faster and at a lower dose (20to 40-fold in the case of salbutamol) which will reduce the incidence of side-effects. Ho...

Ropinirole hydrochloride is indicated in Parkinson’s disease and Restless leg syndrome. In advanced Parkinson’s disease the usual dose of Ropinirole hydrochloride is 0.25 to 5 mg three to four times a day. Hence, an attempt was made to develop a once-a-day controlled release Osmotic drug delivery system. This may offer significant patient benefits by providing enhanced efficacy and reduced side...

Biocompatible mesoporous silica nanoparticles, containing the fluorescence dye fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), provide a promising system to deliver hydrophobic anticancer drugs to cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of uptake of fluorescent mesoporous silica nanoparticles (FMSN) by cancer cells. Incubation with FMSN at different temperatures showed that the uptake was...

Solar power represents a vast resource which could, in principle, meet the world's needs for clean power generation. Recent growth in the use of photovoltaic (PV) technology has demonstrated the potential of solar power to deliver on a large scale. Whilst the dominant PV technology is based on crystalline silicon, a wide variety of alternative PV materials and device concepts have been explored...

As the genomics and proteomics revolutions progress and the molecular biology of various cardiovascular pathologies is better understood, an increasing number of potential molecular therapies are being proposed. The ultimate success of any of these therapies depends upon many factors, including the biological activity of the therapeutic agents and the ability to deliver them to the proper cellu...

Nanoparticles and bacteria can be used, independently, to deliver genes and proteins into mammalian cells for monitoring or altering gene expression and protein production. Here, we show the simultaneous use of nanoparticles and bacteria to deliver DNA-based model drug molecules in vivo and in vitro. In our approach, cargo (in this case, a fluorescent or a bioluminescent gene) is loaded onto th...

The colon targeted drug delivery has a number of important implications in the field of pharmacotherapy. Oral colon targeted drug delivery systems have recently gained importance for delivering a variety of therapeutic agents for both local and systemic administration. Targeting of drugs to the colon via oral administration protect the drug from degradation or release in the stomach and small i...

Ignited by the efficacy and commercial success of cardiac devices, neurologists, neurosurgeons, and biomedical engineers are collaborating to develop implantable brain devices to arrest, contain, and preempt seizures before they cause clinical symptoms. New devices in development deliver electrical stimulation or pharmacologic agents locally to the epileptic focus or deep nuclei to modulate sei...