Low-frequency ultrasound application is known to increase the skin's permeability to large molecules such as vaccines, and to enable transcutaneous immunisation. Sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) -a skin irritant -is often included in the coupling medium at 1% w/v, as this has been found to enhance skin permeability. In this paper we show, for the first time, the feasibility of low-frequency ultrasound-assisted transcutaneous immunisation in the absence of SDS. Antibody titres were strongly influenced by experimental conditions. SDS presence in the coupling medium increased antibody titres, though a lower concentration of 0.5% w/v generated much higher titres than the commonly used 1%w/v, despite causing less skin damage. A lower ultrasound duty cycle of 10% generated higher antibody titres than a duty cycle of 20%, also despite causing lower skin damage. Such lack of correlation between skin damage and immune responses indicates that enhancement of skin permeability to topically-applied antigen (as indicated by changes in skin integrity) was not the main mechanism of low-frequency ultrasound-assisted skin immunisation.

The usage of natural products in pharmaceuticals has steadily seen improvements over the last decade, and this study focuses on the utilization of palm oil in formulating liposomal doxorubicin (Dox). The liposomal form of Dox generally minimizes toxicity and enhances target delivery actions. Taking into account the antiproliferative and antioxidant properties of palm oil, the aim of this study is to design and characterize a new liposomal Dox by replacing phosphatidylcholine with 5% and 10% palm oil content. Liposomes were formed using the freeze_thaw method, and Dox was loaded through pH gradient technique and characterized through in vitro and ex vivo terms. Based on TEM images, large lamellar vesicles (LUV) were formed, with sizes of 438 and 453 nm, having polydispersity index of 0.21 ± 0.8 and 0.22 ± 1.3 and zeta potentials of about −31 and −32 mV, respectively. In both formulations, the entrapment efficiency was about 99%, and whole Dox was released through 96 hours in PBS (pH = 7.4) at 37°C. Comparing cytotoxicity and cellular uptake of LUV with CaelyxR on MCF7 and MDA-MBA 231 breast cancer cell lines indicated suitable uptake and lower IC50 of the prepared liposomes.

No abstract

revious studies have shown that Punicagranatum (P. granatum) extract exhibited antimicrobial activity against a wide range of pathogenic microorganisms. Thus, the aim of study was to formulate and determine the effectiveness of antimicrobial properties of gel containing P. granatummethanol extract against selected common skin pathogens including Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcusepidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosaand Candidaalbicans.