Drug delivery is the method or process of administering a pharmaceutical compound to achieve a therapeutic effect in humans or animals. For the treatment of human diseases, nasal and pulmonary routes of drug delivery are gaining increasing importance. These routes provide promising alternatives to parenteral drug delivery particularly for peptide and protein therapeutics. For this purpose, several drug delivery systems have been formulated and are being investigated for nasal and pulmonary delivery. These include liposomes, proliposomes, microspheres, gels, prodrugs, cyclodextrins, among others. Nanoparticles composed of biodegradable polymers show assurance in fulfilling the stringent requirements placed on these delivery systems, such as ability to be transferred into an aerosol, stability against forces generated during aerosolization, biocompatibility, targeting of specific sites or cell populations in the lung, release of the drug in a predetermined manner, and degradation within an acceptable period of time.

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Drug delivery systems: An updated review.

Homocysteine (Hcy), a cardiovascular and neurovascular disease risk factor, is converted to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) through the transsulfuration pathway. H2S has attracted considerable attention in ...

https://www.physiology.org/doi/pdf/10.1152/ajpheart.00598.2010

Vascular complications of cystathionine β-synthase deficiency: future directions for homocysteine-to-hydrogen sulfide research.

The main objective of drug delivery systems is to deliver a drug effectively, specifically to the site of action and to achieve greater efficacy and minimise the toxic effects compared to conventional drugs. Amongst various carrier systems, liposomes have generated a great interest because of their versatility. Liposomes are vesicular concentric bilayered structures, which are biocompatible, biodegradable and nonimmumnogenic. They can control the delivery of drugs by targeting the drug to the site of action or by site avoidance drug delivery or by prolonged circulation of drugs. Amphotericin B (Amp B) remains the drug of choice in most systemic mycoses and also as a second line treatment for Kala azar. However, its toxic effects often limit its use. Although the liposome delivery system has been tried for several drugs, only a few have been used in patients due to the slow development of necessary large-scale pharmaceutical procedures. This paper reviews the development of the technique for liposomal Amphotericin B (L-Amp-LRC-1, Fungisome) drug delivery system in our laboratory in collaboration with the department of Biochemistry, Delhi University in India and proving the safety and efficacy of this preparation in clinical practice. It also attempts to compare the efficacy and benefits of our product for Indian patients with those of similar products and it includes facts from the publications that flowed from our work. As compared to conventional Amp B, Fungisome is infused over a much shorter period requiring a smaller volume and no premedication. It was found to be safe in patients who had developed serious unacceptable toxicity with conventional Amp B. In renal transplant patients, Fungisome did not produce any nephrotoxicity. Fungisome is effective in fungal infections resistant to fluconazole, conventional Amp B and in virgin and resistant cases of visceral leishmaniasis. The cost of any drug is of great significance, especially in India. We have therefore devoted a section of our review to the relative costs of our product and those of other commercially available products. This patient-worthy formulation is safe, efficacious and cheaper than the commercially available formulation of liposomal amphotericin B. The product has been patented and technology transferred to a pharmaceutical company for marketing. Results of postmarketing study also document safety and efficacy as observed in premarketing studies. A brief review of this work is provided here.

/pdf/liposomal-drug-delivery-system-from-laboratory-to-clinic-51k5ncv7sc.pdf

Liposomal drug delivery system from laboratory to clinic

Introduction: Lipid-based formulations have emerged as potential dosage forms to harvest effectively the therapeutic benefits of existing lipophilic molecules and new chemical entities. Compared with existing excipients, lipids by virtue of their unique physicochemical properties and resemblance to in vivo components demonstrate the extra advantage of improving the bioavailability of lipophilic and highly metabolizable drugs. Moreover, if used as the major excipient, lipids can reduce the required dose and even the toxicity of drugs with poor aqueous solubility. Areas covered: This review deals with the importance of multiparticulate systems in drug delivery, the therapeutic and manufacturing advantages of lipids as excipients, and the technological advances made so far in utilizing lipids for multiparticulate dosage forms, with emphasis on their application and success on an industrial scale. Lipids are being widely formulated into different multiparticulate dosage forms using innovative modifications of...

Lipid-based oral multiparticulate formulations - advantages, technological advances and industrial applications.

Background: Leishmania amastigotes live inside resident macrophages in different anatomic sites. Their hidden location is responsible for impairing the accession of therapeutic drugs. Drug delivery systems (DDSs) should allow the adverse effects caused by problematic routes of administration to be avoided as well as enhancing the antileishmanial activity and reducing the toxicity of the medication. However, after 30 years of research in the field, and since leishmaniasis is mostly a disease affecting the poorest populations, currently AmBisome® is the only DDS used against the visceral form, and most experimental development only relates to parenteral administration. Objective: We critically review the main DDSs designed against the different clinical forms of leishmaniasis. Methods: A literature search was performed on PubMed and through Google. Conclusions: On reviewing the experimental and clinical therapeutic performance of former and current DDSs and considering the main obstacles to be overcome, we ...

/pdf/drug-delivery-systems-against-leishmaniasis-still-an-open-3p7m4qp2pp.pdf

Drug delivery systems against leishmaniasis? Still an open question.

Visceral leishmaniasis continues to be a major health problem in Bihar and West Bengal states of India. In Bihar almost 44 million people in 28 districts and in West Bengal 5.5 million people in ei...

Successful treatment of antimony-resistant visceral leishmaniasis with liposomal amphotericin B (L-AmpB-LRC) in a child.

We report three sibs with mild autosomal recessive variety of osteopetrosis. The prominent clinical features were short stature, malocclusion of teeth, hepatosplenomegaly and a typical facial appearance. The only atypical features were microcephaly, a normal upper segment to lower segment ratio and a normal arm span.

Three sibs with mild variety of osteopetrosis.

Chronic pancreatitis in homocystinuria.

From the Department of Pediatrics, K.E.M. Hospital and Seth G.S. Medical College, Voxel, Bombay 400 012, Maharashtra. Reprint requests: Dr. Keya R. Lahiri, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, K.E.M. Hospital and Seth G.S. Medical College, Parel, Bombay 400 012, Maharashtra. Received for publication: March 12, 1994; Accepted: October 12,1994 contact with tuberculosis, weight loss, lymphadenopathy, similar swelling any where else or skin rash. There was a his tory of sexual abuse but the patient did not tell the time of insult or the person involved. The mother had not registered in any ante-natal clinic and did not have history of abortions or still births. She had no evidence of any sexually trans mitted disease at the time of pre sentation. The child was of good birthweight without any significant illness in the past.

K. F. J. Boby

Papers

Successful treatment of antimony-resistant visceral leishmaniasis with liposomal amphotericin B (L-AmpB-LRC) in a child.

Three sibs with mild variety of osteopetrosis.

Chronic pancreatitis in homocystinuria.

Late onset congenital syphilis.