Novasomes as Nano-Vesicular Carriers to Enhance Topical Delivery of Fluconazole: A New Approach to Treat Fungal Infections

The occurrence of fungal infections has increased over the past two decades. It is observed that superficial fungal infections are treated by conventional dosage forms, which are incapable of treating deep infections due to the barrier activity possessed by the stratum corneum of the skin. This is why the need for a topical preparation with advanced penetration techniques has arisen. This research aimed to encapsulate fluconazole (FLZ) in a novasome in order to improve the topical delivery. The novasomes were prepared using the ethanol injection technique and characterized for percent entrapment efficiency (EE), particle size (PS), zeta potential (ZP), drug release, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and antifungal activity. The FN7 formulation with 94.45% EE, 110 nm PS and −24 ZP proved to be the best formulation. The FN7 formulation showed a 96% release of FLZ in 8 h. FTIR showed the compatibility of FLZ with excipients and DSC studies confirmed the thermal stability of FLZ in the developed formulation. The FN7 formulation showed superior inhibition of the growth of Candida albicans compared to the FLZ suspension using a resazurin reduction assay, suggesting high efficacy in inhibiting fungal growth.     

腙基席夫碱配体铜(Ⅱ)配合物的合成、结构表征、生物活性和密度泛函理论计算

以甲醇为介质,合成了3种新的席夫碱配体HL¹(2-hydroxybenzaldehyde2-(2-oxo-1,2-diphenylethylidene)hydrazone)、HL²(4-hydroxybenzaldehyde2-(2-oxo-1,2-diphenylethylidene)hydrazone)和 L³(2-methoxybenzaldehyde2-(2-oxo- 1,2-diphenylethylidene)hydrazone)的Cu(Ⅱ)配合物1~3。通过元素分析、光谱方法、磁化率测量和密度泛函理论(DFT)计算对配合物进行了表征。通过单晶X射线衍射研究对合成的配体进行了结构表征。通过DFT计算确定了配合物的优化结构。通过紫外可见吸收光谱和荧光发射光谱研究了配合物与小牛胸腺DNA(CT-DNA)的结合能力。吸收光谱研究揭示了增色效应,并提出了与CT-DNA相互作用的可能模式。溴化乙锭(EB)竞争结合研究表明,配合物可以取代 DNA-EB 加合物中的 DNA,且配合物可能以嵌入模式与 CT-DNA结合。配合物对革兰氏阴性肺炎克雷伯菌、大肠杆菌、鲍氏志贺菌和革兰氏阳性金黄色葡萄球菌的体外抗菌活性研究表明,配合物2对肺炎克雷伯菌和鲍氏志贺菌具有明显抗菌活性,但配合物1和3没有表现出任何显著的抗菌活性。     

Enhanced bactericidal and in vivo wound healing potential of biosynthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles from psyllium mucilage

The multifunctional zinc oxide nanoparticles are synthesized using a cost-effective, efficient, eco-friendly, simple, and clean synthesis approach. Herein, we reported the antibacterial and wound healing potential of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) prepared using psyllium gel (PG) as the reducing and stabilizing agent. The PG-mediated zinc oxide nanoparticles (PG-ZnO-NPs) were characterized using UV–Vis, photoluminescence (PL), FTIR, XRD, Raman, and SEM. UV–Vis spectral studies confirmed the surface plasmonic resonance (SPR) band at 364 nm. PL results demonstrated the fluorescent or emission nature of PG-ZnO-NPs. FTIR analysis confirmed characteristic peaks at 873.82 and 619.88 cm⁻¹ due to the tetrahedral coordination of zinc and the formation of the Zn-O bond. XRD and Raman confirm the formation of PG-ZnO-NPs, whereas SEM analysis revealed PG-ZnO-NPs are rod-shaped, having hexagonal prism-like bases, and EDX exhibited the elemental composition of PG-ZnO-NPs. The as-synthesized PG-ZnO-NPs possessed prominent microbicidal potential against gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus licheniformis) and gram-negative (Escherichia coli and Salmonella shigella) bacterial strains in terms of zone of inhibition (ZOI), minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). In vivo biological investigations with mice show that the synthesized PG-ZnO-NPs possess outstanding biocompatibility and wound healing potential. PG-ZnO-NPs dressing significantly speeds up full-thickness wound repair by triggering a decrease in MMP-1 and MMP-2 and escalating the mRNA levels of collagen types (I & III) and fibronectin. Thus, our work validates that the inclusion of PG-ZnO-NPs in dressing shows excellent potential for acute wound management.