Hydrogels for biomedical applications.

Phenolic compounds are natural bioactive molecules found mainly in plant tissues that have shown interesting bioactivities, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antiproliferative activities, among others, which has led to great interest in their use by several industries. However, despite the large number of scientific studies on this topic, some issues still need to be studied and solved, such as the understanding of the main actions of these compounds in organisms. Besides their large potential applicability in industry, phenolic compounds still face some issues making it necessary to develop strategies to improve bioavailability, sustainable technologies of extraction and refinement, and stability procedures to increase the range of applicability. This review focuses on the most recent advances in the applications of phenolic compounds in different technological and medicinal areas. In addition, techniques to improve their sustainable resourcing, stability and bioavailability will be presented and discussed.

Phenolic compounds: current industrial applications, limitations and future challenges

An over review on recently developed techniques, mechanisms and intermediate involved in the advanced azo dye degradation for industrial applications

Approximately 40% of new chemical entities (NCEs), including anticancer drugs, have been reported as poorly water-soluble compounds. Anticancer drugs are classified into biologic drugs (monoclonal antibodies) and small molecule drugs (nonbiologic anticancer drugs) based on effectiveness and safety profile. Biologic drugs are administered by intravenous (IV) injection due to their large molecular weight, while small molecule drugs are preferentially administered by gastrointestinal route. Even though IV injection is the fastest route of administration and ensures complete bioavailability, this route of administration causes patient inconvenience to visit a hospital for anticancer treatments. In addition, IV administration can cause several side effects such as severe hypersensitivity, myelosuppression, neutropenia, and neurotoxicity. Oral administration is the preferred route for drug delivery due to several advantages such as low cost, pain avoidance, and safety. The main problem of NCEs is a limited aqueous solubility, resulting in poor absorption and low bioavailability. Therefore, improving oral bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs is a great challenge in the development of pharmaceutical dosage forms. Several methods such as solid dispersion, complexation, lipid-based systems, micronization, nanonization, and co-crystals were developed to improve the solubility of hydrophobic drugs. Recently, solid dispersion is one of the most widely used and successful techniques in formulation development. This review mainly discusses classification, methods for preparation of solid dispersions, and use of solid dispersion for improving solubility of poorly soluble anticancer drugs.

https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/11/3/132/pdf

Overview of the Manufacturing Methods of Solid Dispersion Technology for Improving the Solubility of Poorly Water-Soluble Drugs and Application to Anticancer Drugs

The use of polysaccharide-based materials presents an eco-friendly technological solution, by reducing dependence on fossil resources while reducing a product’s carbon footprint, when compared to conventional plastic packaging materials. This review discusses the potential of polysaccharides as a raw material to produce multifunctional materials for food packaging applications. The covered areas include the recent innovations and properties of the polysaccharide-based materials. Emphasis is given to hemicelluloses, marine polysaccharides, and bacterial exopolysaccharides and their potential application in the latest trends of food packaging materials, including edible coatings, intelligent films, and thermo-insulated aerogel packaging.

Prospect of Polysaccharide-Based Materials as Advanced Food Packaging.

A review of microencapsulation methods for food antioxidants: Principles, advantages, drawbacks and applications.

Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) is a hydrophilic polymer widely employed as a carrier in the pharmaceutical, biomedical, and nutraceutical fields. Up to now, several PVP-based systems have been developed to deliver different active principles, of both natural and synthetic origin. Various formulations and morphologies have been proposed using PVP, including microparticles and nanoparticles, fibers, hydrogels, tablets, and films. Its versatility and peculiar properties make PVP one of the most suitable and promising polymers for the development of new pharmaceutical forms. This review highlights the role of PVP in drug delivery, focusing on the different morphologies proposed for different polymer/active compound formulations. It also provides detailed information on active principles and used technologies, optimized process parameters, advantages, disadvantages, and final applications.

The Use of Poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) in the Delivery of Drugs: A Review

The supercritical antisolvent (SAS) technique has been widely employed in the biomedical field, including drug delivery, to obtain drug particles or polymer-based systems of nanometric or micrometric size. The primary purpose of producing SAS particles is to improve the treatment of different pathologies and to better the patient’s compliance. In this context, many active compounds have been micronized to enhance their dissolution rate and bioavailability. Aiming for more effective treatments with reduced side effects caused by drug overdose, the SAS polymer/active principle coprecipitation has mainly been proposed to offer an adequate drug release for specific therapy. The demand for new formulations with reduced side effects on the patient’s health is still growing; in this context, the SAS technique is a promising tool to solve existing issues in the biomedical field. This updated review on the use of the SAS process for clinical applications provides useful information about the achievements, the most effective polymeric carriers, and parameters, as well as future perspectives.

Supercritical Antisolvent Process for Pharmaceutical Applications: A Review

In this work, the supercritical antisolvent (SAS) process is proposed to coprecipitate zein with diclofenac sodium (a model drug). In the first part of this paper, the proper conditions, in terms of pressure, temperature and concentration, for the attainment of zein microparticles, were detected. At 90 bar, 40 °C and 50 mg/mL, microparticles with a mean diameter of 4.19 μm were obtained. The coprecipitation with diclofenac sodium at different polymer/drug ratio and concentration in the liquid solution was successfully performed and, with the support of the drug release analyses, the coprecipitation mechanisms (both in the case of microparticles and nanoparticles formation) were postulated.

Zein/diclofenac sodium coprecipitation at micrometric and nanometric range by supercritical antisolvent processing

In this work, the synthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO) photocatalyst from thermal decomposition of zinc acetate (ZnAc) nanoparticles obtained by supercritical antisolvent (SAS) precipitation was investigated. The optimization of calcination conditions of the SAS ZnAc was carried out, studying the effect of temperature (in the range 300–600 °C) on the production of ZnO nanoparticles. In particular, it was demonstrated that the organic residues in ZnO and its particle size, thus the specific surface area, strongly affect the photocatalytic performances. SAS micronization of ZnAc produces regular nanoparticles with a mean diameter of about 54.5 ± 11.5 nm, whereas unprocessed ZnAc is characterized by very large crystals. The experimental results evidenced that ZnAc prepared by SAS process calcined at 500 °C showed a regular nanometric structure (mean diameter: 65.0 ± 14.5 nm) and was revealed to be the best choice for the photocatalytic removal of crystal violet dye (CV). In fact, the photocatalytic activity performances of ZnO nanoparticles prepared by this route were higher with respect to that of ZnO from unprocessed ZnAc calcined at 500 °C (which is characterized by irregular tetrapods with mean size 181.1 ± 65.5 nm). The optimized photocatalyst was able to assure the complete CV decolorization in 60 min of UV irradiation time and a mineralization degree higher than 90% after 120 min of treatment time.

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/9/4/346/pdf

Paola Franco

Papers

A review of microencapsulation methods for food antioxidants: Principles, advantages, drawbacks and applications.

The Use of Poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) in the Delivery of Drugs: A Review

Supercritical Antisolvent Process for Pharmaceutical Applications: A Review

Zein/diclofenac sodium coprecipitation at micrometric and nanometric range by supercritical antisolvent processing

Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Obtained by Supercritical Antisolvent Precipitation for the Photocatalytic Degradation of Crystal Violet Dye