OBJECTIVE To investigate the expression and regulation of defensins in the peritoneal cavity of peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. DESIGN The presence of defensins in the peritoneal cavity was assessed using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In vivo defensin expression was analyzed in human peritoneal membrane biopsies and in peritoneal cavity leukocytes isolated from ...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the induction of nitric oxide synthase type II (iNOS) in human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMC) using cytokines and bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). DESIGN Confluent monolayers of HPMC were exposed to cytokines [tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1beta), interferon gamma (IFNgamma)] or LPS, individually or in various double and triple...

A novel drug delivery system (DDS) with sustained release properties was developed to allow ocular protein delivery. The DDS developed is aimed at overcoming stability issues during preparation such as denaturation of proteins caused by shear forces applied or due to elevated temperatures and air entrapment potentially causing oxidation of the molecule. The rod-shaped HPMC inserts were loaded w...

Polysaccharides are suitable for application as hydrophilic matrices because of their ability to hydrate and swell upon contact with fluids, forming a gel layer which controls drug release. When extracted from plants, polysaccharides often contain significant quantities of starch that impacts upon their functional properties. This study aimed to evaluate differences in swelling, erosion and dru...

The effect of dietary feeding of hydroxyethyl methylcellulose (HEMC) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) on the glucose metabolism and antioxidative status in mice under high fat diet conditions was investigated. The mice were randomly divided and given experimental diets for six weeks: normal control (NC group), high fat (HF group), and high fat supplemented with either HEMC (HF+HEMC grou...

The interaction of water with polymers is important because it directly or indirectly affects various properties such as rheological and transport properties. In this study, the hydration/dissolution of a hydrophilic polymer was investigated by calorimetric techniques. Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose E5 (Methocel, HPMC E5) was used as the model polymer. A water-insoluble, hydrophobic polymer, eth...

Background The aim of this study was to prepare and evaluate the impact of polymers on fabricating stable dexibuprofen (Dexi) nanocrystals with enhanced therapeutic potential, using a low energy, anti-solvent precipitation method coupled with molecular modelling approach. Methods Dexi nanocrystals were prepared using antisolvent precipitation with syringe pump. Crystallinity of the processed ...

A histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), induces apoptosis in neoplastic cells, but its effect on gap junctional intercellular communication in relation to apoptosis was unclear. Therefore, we carried out a comparative study of the effects of two HDAC inhibitors, SAHA and trichostatin-A, on gap junctional intercellular communication in nonmalignant human p...

This Part II paper describes the disintegration and dissolution aspects of the qualification of a new hypromellose capsule (HPMC Shell 2). This new capsule does not contain any gelling agent, and is manufactured by a thermal gelation process. Rupture time of the carrageenan-containing capsule (HPMC Shell 1) and HPMC Shell 2, as measured by an improved real-time detection method, showed only sli...

In the present investigation an attempt has been made to design efficacious and prolonged release mucoadhesive tablet of salbutamol sulphate using various polymers to avoid the first pass metabolism to reduce dossing frequency and to improve patient compliance. Mucoadhesive buccal tablet of salbutamol sulphate were fabricated with objective of avoiding first pass metabolism and to improve its b...