Injectable hydrophobic drugs are typically dissolved in surfactants and non-aqueous solvents which can induce negative side-effects. Alternatives like 'top-down' fine milling of excipient-free injectable drug suspensions are not yet clinically viable and 'bottom-up' self-assembled delivery systems usually substitute one solubilizing excipient for another, bringing new issues to consider. Here, ...

We propose that one can deduce very insightful information regarding the drug and fatty acid binding capacity of microemulsions through simple turbidity experiments. Pluronic F127-based oil-in-water microemulsions of various compositions were synthesized and titrated to turbidity with concentrated amitriptyline, an antidepressant drug. We observed that, above certain Pluronic F127 concentration...

Systemic delivery of anticancer agents is accompanied by many unwanted side effects that can be mitigated by encapsulation of antineoplastic agents. However, encapsulation necessitates a technique for controlled delivery to the cancerous tissue. We have developed a novel drug delivery system that releases drug from stabilized micelles upon application of low-frequency ultrasound and that demons...

The pharmaceutical area can present some opportunities for mechanical engineers to develop a vast type of dosage forms particularly novel forms like nanoparticles. The classical education of mechanics needs some alterations to prepare appropriate education courses in this regard. In order to present some views about this issue, we collect some information around the importance of mechanical eng...

A perfluorochemical blood substitute emulsified with Pluronic F-68 has been shown to improve the filterability of deoxygenated sickle red cells. We questioned whether some of the effect was independent of oxygen loading and studied the influence of Fluosol DA (Green Cross, Osaka, Japan) and Pluronic on the rheology and adhesion of sickle red cells saturated with oxygen and carbon monoxide. A 5-...

BACKGROUND Electrospinning is an easy and effective technique to produce submicron fibers possessing a range of attractive characteristics such as interconnected porous structures similar to natural ECM and good resilience to movement. Rapid and efficient cell attachment to nanofibrous matrices is a necessary prerequisite in tissue engineering. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate poly(ε-...