Subject:
All Disciplines Arts & Humanities Biology & Life Sciences Business & Economics Chemistry & Materials Science Computer Science & Mathematics Engineering Environmental & Earth Sciences Medicine & Pharmacology Physical Sciences Public Health & Healthcare Social Sciences
Sort:
Most Viewed Latest Alphabetical (A-Z) Alphabetical (Z-A)
Filter:
All Topic Review Biography Peer Reviewed Entry Video Entry
Topic Review
Biological Barriers to Oral Drug Delivery Systems
The oral route is the most preferred route for systemic and local drug delivery. However, the oral drug delivery system faces the harsh physiological and physicochemical environment of the gastrointestinal tract, which limits the bioavailability and targeted design of oral drug delivery system.
  • 1.4K
  • 08 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Plectranthus neochilus Schltr
Plectranthus neochilus Schltr. (Lamiaceae) is a plant recently introduced in Cuba. Worldwide, it is an ethnomedicinal alternative for its use against microbial infections, but the Cuban population use the extracts to treat sleep disorders. To address this apparent incongruity, four collections (from different seasonal conditions in the year) of Cuban P. neochilus cultivars were analyzed in terms of their pharmacognostic characteristics. 
  • 1.3K
  • 18 Jan 2022
Topic Review
SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease
The main protease (Mpro) of the newly emerged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was subjected to hyphenated pharmacophoric-based and structural-based virtual screenings using a library of microbial natural products (>24,000 compounds). Subsequent filtering of the resulted hits according to Lipinski’s rules was applied to select only the drug-like molecules. Top-scoring hits were further filtered out depending on their ability to show constant good binding affinities towards the molecular dynamic simulation (MDS)-derived enzyme’s conformers. Final MDS experiments were performed on the ligand-protein complexes to verify their binding modes and calculate their binding free energy. Consequently, a final selection of six compounds of microbial origin was proposed to possess high potential as anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug candidates. Our study provides insight into the role of the Mpro structural flexibility during interactions with the possible inhibitors and sheds light on the structure-based design of anti-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) therapeutics targeting SARS-CoV-2
  • 1.3K
  • 26 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Zeolite/Pharmaceuticals System
Zeolites belong to aluminosilicate microporous solids, with strong and diverse catalytic activity, which makes them applicable in almost every kind of industrial process, particularly thanks to their eco-friendly profile. Another crucial characteristic of zeolites is their tremendous adsorption capability. Therefore, it is self-evident that the widespread use of zeolites is in environmental protection, based primarily on the adsorption capacity of substances potentially harmful to the environment, such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides, or other industry pollutants. On the other hand, zeolites are also recognized as drug delivery systems (DDS) carriers for numerous pharmacologically active agents. The enhanced bioactive ability of DDS zeolite as a drug carrying nanoplatform is confirmed, making this system more specific and efficient, compared to the drug itself. These two applications of zeolite, in fact, illustrate the importance of (ir)reversibility of the adsorption process. 
  • 1.3K
  • 11 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Lipid Rafts
Lipid rafts are dynamic and shifting assemblies of sphingolipids, cholesterol, glycosphingolipids, and proteins forming platforms or lipid microdomains for the organization and dynamic contact of molecules involved in several molecular and cellular processes such as ligand affinity, effector specificity, signal transduction, membrane sorting, and receptor trafficking and recycling.
  • 1.3K
  • 25 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Phytochemicals mitigate AD mitochondrial dysfunctions
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a decline in cognitive function and neuronal damage. Although the precise pathobiology of AD remains elusive, accumulating evidence suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction is one of the underlying causes of AD. Mutations in mitochondrial or nuclear DNA that encode mitochondrial components may cause mitochondrial dysfunction. In particular, the dysfunction of electron transport chain complexes, along with the interactions of mitochondrial pathological proteins are associated with mitochondrial dysfunction in AD. Mitochondrial dysfunction causes an imbalance in the production of reactive oxygen species, leading to oxidative stress (OS) and vice versa. Neuroin-flammation is another potential contributory factor that induces mitochondrial dysfunction. Phy-tochemicals or other natural compounds have the potential to scavenge oxygen free radicals and enhance cellular antioxidant defense systems, thereby protecting against OS-mediated cellular damage. Phytochemicals can also modulate other cellular processes, including autophagy and mitochondrial biogenesis.
  • 1.3K
  • 25 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Cardiomyopathies
Cardiomyopathies are defined as cardiac diseases, in which the heart muscle is affected showing functional and structural defects.
  • 1.3K
  • 04 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Intrinsic and Acquired Chemotherapy Resistance
Drug resistance is a commonly unavoidable consequence of cancer treatment that results in therapy failure and disease relapse. Intrinsic (pre-existing) or acquired resistance mechanisms can be drug-specific or be applicable to multiple drugs, resulting in multidrug resistance.
  • 1.3K
  • 23 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Magnetic Resonance Imaging on Pregnant Women
Pregnancy is a delicate state, during which timely investigation of possible physiological anomalies is essential to reduce the risk of maternal and fetal complications. Medical imaging encompasses different technologies to image the human body for the diagnosis, course of treatment management, and follow-up of diseases. Ultrasound (US) is currently the imaging system of choice for pregnant patients. However, sonographic evaluations can be non-effective or give ambiguous results. Therefore, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), due to its excellent tissue penetration, the possibility of acquisition of three-dimensional anatomical information, and its high spatial resolution, is considered a valid diagnostical alternative.
  • 1.3K
  • 19 Apr 2022
Topic Review
GABAAR-Mediated Currents
Propofol or barbiturate application at low concentrations increases desensitization and slows deactivation of GABA-induced current and propofol/barbiturate at high concentrations directly elicits after-responses upon their washout in hippocampal or sensory neurons. It is postulated that the generation of such after-responses is caused by removal of the blockade by anesthetic agents as partial antagonists. However, the increased desensitization was invariably followed by slowdown of deactivation of GABA-induced current, and the after-response may arise as a consequence of extreme slowdown of deactivation following strong desensitization. It is thus possible that propofol and barbiturate can facilitate resensitization of GABA responses. Propofol and barbiturate are useful to treat the alcohol/benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome. Considering that the slowdown of deactivation following desensitization and the after-response induced by propofol or barbiturate application, the regulatory mechanisms of desensitization/resensitization of GABAAR-mediated currents might be important for understanding the treatment of the alcohol/benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome.
  • 1.3K
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Psychomotor Agitation
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (DSM-5) defines agitation as an excessive motor activity associated with a feeling of inner tension. Motor activity is usually non-productive and repetitious and can include behaviors such as pacing, fidgeting, hand wringing, pulling one’s clothes, and an inability to sit still. Even if aggression and violence are not core agitation features, a progression in agitation severity can lead to aggressive and violent behaviors. At the first International Experts’ Meeting on Agitation, agitation was defined as "a state where patients cannot remain still or calm, characterized by internal features such as hyperresponsiveness, racing thoughts, and emotional tension; and external ones, mainly motor and verbal hyperactivity, and communication impairment".
  • 1.3K
  • 13 May 2021
Topic Review
Insulin
Insulin is used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, which is characterized by hyperglycemia. Subcutaneous injections are the standard mode of delivery for insulin therapy; however, this procedure is very often invasive, which hinders patient compliance, particularly for individuals requiring insulin doses four times a day. Furthermore, cases have been reported of sudden hypoglycemia occurrences following multidose insulin injections. Such an invasive and intensive approach motivates the quest for alternative, more user-friendly insulin administration approaches. For example, transdermal delivery has numerous advantages, such as prolonged drug release, low variability in the drug plasma level, and improved patient compliance.
  • 1.3K
  • 05 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Transferrin Receptors
 Transferrin is an iron-binding protein. It can be used as a ligand to deliver various proteins, genes, ions, and drugs to the target site via transferrin receptors for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes via transferrin receptors. 
  • 1.3K
  • 30 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Nanoemulsions
Nanoemulsions (NEs) are lipophilic systems with nanoscale globules that can be absorbed e.g. through the nasal mucosa, and are therefore being explored for nose-to-brain delivery of drugs. These can be either oil-in-water (o/w) or water-in-oil (w/o) emulsions. Especially, o/w NEs are a promising option for the encapsulation of lipophilic drugs, protecting them from enzymatic degradation, increasing their solubility in liquid media, modulating their drug release, and improving their bioavailability.
  • 1.3K
  • 04 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Astaxanthin as Potential Neurotherapeutic Agent
ASX, a member of the xanthophyll group, was found to be a promising therapeutic anti-inflammatory agent for many neurological disorders, including cerebral ischemia, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and neuropathic pain.
  • 1.3K
  • 15 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Angiotensin II Type 2 Receptor
Preclinical evidence, accumulated over the past decade, indicates that the angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT2R) stimulation exerts significant neuroprotective effects in various animal models of neuronal injury, notably in the central nervous system.   Studies of brain AT2R distribution and function are outshining the recent findings about AT2R in peripheral sensoryneurons and pain modulation. While AT2R, as an atypical G protein-coupled receptor, and its related signaling are still under investigation, pharmacological studies have shown that stimulation of AT2R leads to neuritogenesis in vitro and in vivo. This review aims to report the evidence of potential neuroprotective and neuroregenerative roles of AT2R in the peripheral nervous system (PNS).
  • 1.3K
  • 10 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Exosomal-based Drug Delivery
Exosomes are membrane-bound nanovesicles that are typically 30–150 nm in size with various bioactive molecules. They are typically generated by first endocytosing various transmembrane proteins into endosomes within the cell, which are then sorted and form intraluminal vesicles. These vesicles are then released as the endosome merges with the cell membrane and releases its contents outside of the cell. Tetraspanins (CD9, CD63, CD81) are one of the most common proteins expressed on the surface of exosomes and are often used as exosome-specific markers. These proteins have been shown to interact with different proteins such as integrins and major histocompatibility complexes (MHC). Exosomes commonly act as carriers of genetic and proteomic information, and are therefore vital in intercellular communication. In its role as a cellular messenger, exosomes have been implicated in promoting cancer; because of this, they are also being investigated as potential therapeutic targets and delivery vehicles. 
  • 1.3K
  • 06 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Biomedical Applications of Plant-Mediated Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles
Zinc oxide nanoparticles have become one of the most popular metal oxide nanoparticles and recently emerged as a promising potential candidate in the fields of optical, electrical, food packaging, and biomedical applications due to their biocompatibility, low toxicity, and low cost. They have a role in cell apoptosis, as they trigger excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and release zinc ions (Zn2+) that induce cell death. The zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized using the plant extracts appear to be simple, safer, sustainable, and more environmentally friendly compared to the physical and chemical routes. These biosynthesized nanoparticles possess strong biological activities and are in use for various biological applications in several industries. Initially, the present review discusses the synthesis and recent advances of zinc oxide nanoparticles from plant sources (such as leaves, stems, bark, roots, rhizomes, fruits, flowers, and seeds) and their biomedical applications (such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antidiabetic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, photocatalytic, wound healing, and drug delivery), followed by their mechanisms of action involved in detail. 
  • 1.3K
  • 21 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Phytosomes
Phytosomes are an innovative lipid-based delivery system that have a liposomes-related structure and can be used for the entrapment of different types of polyphenolic-based phytoconstituents to improve their absorption when administrated. The first phytosomes were developed by Indena company (Milan, Italy) in the late 1980s, which aimed to increase the bioavailability of drugs by complexing them to phospholipids. The structure of phytosomes is composed of standardized polyphenolic plant extract incorporated into phospholipids, mainly phosphatidylcholine (PC).
  • 1.3K
  • 19 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Quercetin a Natural Therapeutic Candidate
This manuscript was provided as a comprehensive review of the anti-influenza virus effect of quercetin and its derivatives with critical evaluation. We provided different classifications and focused on viral pathogenesis, animal models, human studies, in silico and docking studies and molecular pathways of quercetin and derivatives effects comprehensively which is not included in similar articles. This review is a multidisciplinary collection of cell biology, biotechnology, drug development, and virus investigation.
  • 1.3K
  • 11 Jan 2021
  • Page
  • of
  • 53
Featured Entry Collections
>>

Featured Books

>>
Encyclopedia of Social Sciences
Encyclopedia of COVID-19
Encyclopedia of Fungi
Encyclopedia of Digital Society, Industry 5.0 and Smart City
ScholarVision Creations
Feedback