Curcumin, a polyphenolic compound derived from dietary spice turmeric, possesses diverse pharmacologic effects including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiproliferative and antiangiogenic activities. Phase I clinical trials have shown that curcumin is safe even at high doses (12 g/day) in humans but exhibit poor bioavailability. Major reasons contributing to the low plasma and tissue levels of curcumin appear to be due to poor absorption, rapid metabolism, and rapid systemic elimination. To improve the bioavailability of curcumin, numerous approaches have been undertaken. These approaches involve, first, the use of adjuvant like piperine that interferes with glucuronidation; second, the use of liposomal curcumin; third, curcumin nanoparticles; fourth, the use of curcumin phospholipid complex; and fifth, the use of structural analogues of curcumin (e.g., EF-24). The latter has been reported to have a rapid absorption with a peak plasma half-life. Despite the lower bioavailability, therapeutic efficacy of...

Bioavailability of curcumin: problems and promises.

Nanoparticle-based targeted drug delivery

Curcumin as “Curecumin”: From kitchen to clinic

Potential Therapeutic Effects of Curcumin, the Anti-inflammatory Agent, Against Neurodegenerative, Cardiovascular, Pulmonary, Metabolic, Autoimmune and Neoplastic Diseases

Lead poisoning has been recognized as a major public health risk, particularly in developing countries. Though various occupational and public health measures have been undertaken in order to control lead exposure, cases of lead poisoning are still reported. Exposure to lead produces various deleterious effects on the hematopoietic, renal, reproductive and central nervous system, mainly through increased oxidative stress. These alterations play a prominent role in disease manifestations. Modulation of cellular thiols for protection against reactive oxygen species (ROS) has been used as a therapeutic strategy against lead poisoning. N-acetylcysteine, α-lipoic acid, vitamin E, quercetin and a few herbal extracts show prophylaxis against the majority of lead mediated injury in both in vitro and in vivo studies. This review provides a comprehensive account of recent updates describing health effects of lead exposure, relevant biomarkers and mechanisms involved in lead toxicity. It also updates the readers about recent advances in chelation therapy and newer therapeutic strategies, like nanoencapsulation, to treat lead induced toxic manifestations.

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Toxicity of lead: A review with recent updates.

Curcumin, a yellow polyphenol extracted from the rhizome of turmeric (Curcuma longa), has potent anti-cancer properties as demonstrated in a plethora of human cancer cell line and animal carcinogenesis models. Nevertheless, widespread clinical application of this relatively efficacious agent in cancer and other diseases has been limited due to poor aqueous solubility, and consequently, minimal systemic bioavailability. Nanoparticle-based drug delivery approaches have the potential for rendering hydrophobic agents like curcumin dispersible in aqueous media, thus circumventing the pitfalls of poor solubility. We have synthesized polymeric nanoparticle encapsulated formulation of curcumin – nanocurcumin – utilizing the micellar aggregates of cross-linked and random copolymers of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAM), with N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (VP) and poly(ethyleneglycol)monoacrylate (PEG-A). Physico-chemical characterization of the polymeric nanoparticles by dynamic laser light scattering and transmission electron microscopy confirms a narrow size distribution in the 50 nm range. Nanocurcumin, unlike free curcumin, is readily dispersed in aqueous media. Nanocurcumin demonstrates comparable in vitro therapeutic efficacy to free curcumin against a panel of human pancreatic cancer cell lines, as assessed by cell viability and clonogenicity assays in soft agar. Further, nanocurcumin's mechanisms of action on pancreatic cancer cells mirror that of free curcumin, including induction of cellular apoptosis, blockade of nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) activation, and downregulation of steady state levels of multiple pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, and TNFα). Nanocurcumin provides an opportunity to expand the clinical repertoire of this efficacious agent by enabling ready aqueous dispersion. Future studies utilizing nanocurcumin are warranted in pre-clinical in vivo models of cancer and other diseases that might benefit from the effects of curcumin.

/pdf/polymeric-nanoparticle-encapsulated-curcumin-nanocurcumin-a-3gnjrkky8h.pdf

Polymeric nanoparticle-encapsulated curcumin ("nanocurcumin"): a novel strategy for human cancer therapy

Random copolymeric micelles composed of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAM) and N-vinylpyrrolidone (VP) cross-linked with N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) have been used as nanogel carriers to encapsulate N-hexylcarbamoyl-5-fluorouracil (HCFU), a prodrug of 5-FU, and have been targeted to brain tissue across blood-brain barrier (BBB) after coating with polysorbate 80. Accumulation of nanogel particles in the brain and other tissues of "strain A" mice had been monitored by radiolabeling of nanogels with (99m)Tc. Gamma Scintigraphic technique was also performed to see the distribution of (99m)Tc labeled nanogels in the brain. The retention time in blood appeared to be slightly longer for coated nanogels than that of uncoated nanogels though the accumulation of coated nanogels in the RES was more or less same as that of uncoated nanogels. The blood however had almost double accumulation of polysorbate 80 coated nanogels in the initial 5 min compared to that shown by uncoated nanogels. We speculate that coating of nanogels with polysorbate 80 alters the surface properties of nanogels, which results in relatively higher uptake in the brain tissue. The studies revealed that a large portion of (99m)Tc labeled HCFU loaded nanogels are accumulated in the RES (lung, liver and spleen). The accumulation of the labeled nanogels in the brain, however, is much less compared to RES and it has been found that while an amount of uncoated labeled nanogels was found to be 0.18% of the injected dose, it increased to 0.52% on coating with polysorbate 80. The optimal amount of polysorbate 80 added to nanogels for the maximum delivery of particles to brain was found to be 1% w/w. These results were further supported by the gamma scintigrams of New Zealand rabbits. Thus, the present nanogel system has opened a new avenue for poorly soluble drugs to be targeted to brain by coating the particles with polysorbate 80.

Delivery of hydrophobised 5-fluorouracil derivative to brain tissue through intravenous route using surface modified nanogels.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) represents an insurmountable obstacle for delivery of a large number of drugs, including antibacterials, anticancer agents and neuropeptides. One approach to overcoming this barrier has been drug delivery to the brain using appropriately modified nanoparticles. Since polysorbate80 is known to facilitate uptake by brain endothelial cells, nanoparticles coated with polysorbate80 hold great promise for the transport of agents across the BBB. Since chitosan nanoparticles have extended circulation time in the blood and decreased uptake by the reticuloendothelial system, we decided to evaluate the efficiency of polysorbate80-coated chitosan nanoparticles as brain-delivery carriers. Polysorbate80 (1% w/w)-coated, ultra-fine, crosslinked chitosan nanoparticles (10% crosslinking with glutaraldehyde) <100nm in diameter were prepared in the aqueous core of reverse micelles. After radiolabeling the nanoparticles with 99mtechnetium (Tc), we studied their in vivo brain uptake profiles in Swiss Albino strain ‘A’ mice. The γ-scintigraphic technique was also employed to study the distribution of 99mTc-labeled nanoparticles in the brain of New Zealand rabbits. Our studies revealed that the concentration of 99mTc-labeled chitosan nanoparticles in the brain was increased nearly 5-fold when coated with polysorbate80 (1% w/w) compared with uncoated 99mTc-labeled chitosan nanoparticles. The optimal composition of chitosan in polysorbate80 for the maximum delivery of nanoparticles to brain was found to be 1% w/w. Because of partial hydrophobicity rendered to the chitosan nanoparticles by coating with polysorbate80, blood kinetics data showed rapid clearance from blood of coated nanoparticles compared with uncoated nanoparticles. These results were further supported by the γ-scintigrams of New Zealand rabbits, which showed that 99mTc-labeled chitosan nanoparticles coated with polysorbate80 (1% w/w) had a greater uptake by brain tissue than uncoated chitosan nanoparticles. This study showed that chitosan nanoparticles coated with polysorbate80 have great potential as a drug delivery carrier to the brain. At a critical concentration of polysorbate80 (1% w/w) on the surface of chitosan nanoparticles, the translocation of nanoparticles from blood to brain was maximal.

Pharmacoscintigraphic evaluation of polysorbate80-coated chitosan nanoparticles for brain targeting

In the era of a digitally connected world where consumer behaviour is changing at unforeseeable speed; where innovation has no limit; where technology is evolving into newer forms every few millennia, all these factors are key reasons in crafting a dynamic business environment. This dynamic environment has created challenges for marketers to invent newer ways of drawing the attention of customers. It is this effort that has led marketers to turn towards virtual reality (VR), the newest buzzword in the marketing era, that is paving the way for marketers to develop new strategies to interact with customers and increase awareness towards their brands. Products and services devoted to the use of virtual reality (VR) have already been industrialized, and are being used by the day-to-day consumer. Industries such as health, tourism, automotive, entertainment, and sports, to name a few, have used VR in order to create a lasting presence in the mind of today's Internet-savvy consumer. The purpose of this article is to elucidate the key aspects of changing marketing strategy in light of changing technology and the increasing significance of VR in social media marketing. 

Virtual Reality in Social Media Marketing: The New Age Potential

Due to the growth of moveable and personified devices, along with extremely interactive network greatly influences the way customers interact. The landscape of customer engagement is progressing and it is turning towards the novel types of mixed reality experiences. As countless firms starting to use Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) for value-added customer experiences, particularly throughout offline and online purchase rides, there is a mounting need to increase understanding of the exceptional benefits of the application of AR & VR for creative activities in the marketing perspective. Brands have touched technoid customers and transformed their spending habits by providing a new way to explore the products and enhancing the digital shopping experience with simulated storefronts. Nonetheless, despite these encouraging developments, current research and reports recommend that there is a cost and experience involved in deploying the AR & VR, also the mangers lack visions into how AR might increase customer engagement in different industries and facilitate more enduring customer experiences. As research on this budding area is inadequate, our aim is to cultivate this novel topic in the technology stream and report the knowledge gaps. The paper aims to determine conceptual and managerial inferences, as well as also addresses the scope for future researches.

Sheetal Soni

Papers

Polymeric nanoparticle-encapsulated curcumin ("nanocurcumin"): a novel strategy for human cancer therapy

Delivery of hydrophobised 5-fluorouracil derivative to brain tissue through intravenous route using surface modified nanogels.

Pharmacoscintigraphic evaluation of polysorbate80-coated chitosan nanoparticles for brain targeting

Virtual Reality in Social Media Marketing: The New Age Potential

Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality: A way to Digital Transformation of Customer Engagement