Aim: Examine bile acids effects in Type 2 diabetes. Background: In recent studies, the bile acid ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) has shown potent anti-inflammatory effects in obese patients while in type 2 diabetics (T2D) levels of the pro-inflammatory bile acid lithocholic acid were increased, and levels of the anti-inflammatory bile acid chenodeoxycholic acid were decreased, in plasma. Objective: Hence, this study aimed to examine applications of novel UDCA nanoparticles in diabetes. Methods: Diabetic balb/c adult mice were divided into three equal groups and gavaged daily with either empty microcapsules, free UDCA, or microencapsulated UDCA over two weeks. Their blood, tissues, urine, and faeces were collected for blood glucose, inflammation, and bile acid analyses. UDCA resulted in modulatory effects on bile acids profile without antidiabetic effects suggesting that bile acid modulation was not directly linked to diabetes treatment. Results: UDCA resulted in modulatory effects on bile acids profile without antidiabetic effects suggesting that bile acid modulation was not directly linked to diabetes treatment. Conclusion: Bile acids modulated the bile profile without affecting blood glucose levels.

No abstract

Microfluidics, one of the most attractive and fastest developed areas of modern science and technology, has found a number of applications in medicine, biology and chemistry. To address advanced designing challenges of the microfluidic devices, the research is mainly focused on development of efficient, low-cost and rapid fabrication technology with the wide range of applications. For the first time, this paper presents fabrication of microfluidic chips using hybrid fabrication technology—a grouping of the PVC (polyvinyl chloride) foils and the LTCC (Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramics) Ceram Tape using a combination of a cost-effective xurography technique and a laser micromachining process. Optical and dielectric properties were determined for the fabricated microfluidic chips. A mechanical characterization of the Ceram Tape, as a middle layer in its non-baked condition, has been performed and Young’s modulus and hardness were determined. The obtained results confirm a good potential of the proposed technology for rapid fabrication of low-cost microfluidic chips with high reliability and reproducibility. The conducted microfluidic tests demonstrated that presented microfluidic chips can resist 3000 times higher flow rates than the chips manufactured using standard xurography technique.

Bile acids have recently been studied for potential applications as formulation excipients and enhancers for drug release; however, some bile acids are not suitable for this application. Unconjugated lithocholic acid (ULCA) has recently shown drug formulation-stabilizing and anti-inflammatory effects. Lipophilic drugs have poor gut absorption after an oral dose, which necessitates the administration of high doses and causes subsequent side effects. Probucol (PB) is a highly lipophilic drug with poor oral absorption that resulted in restrictions on its clinical prescribing. Hence, this study aimed to design new delivery systems for PB using ULCA-based matrices and to test drug formulation, release, temperature, and biological effects. ULCA-based matrices were formulated for PB oral delivery by applying the jet-flow microencapsulation technique using sodium alginate as a polymer. ULCA addition to new PB matrices improved the microcapsule’s stability, drug release in vitro (formulation study), and showed a promising effect in ex vivo study (p < 0.05), suggesting that ULCA can optimize the oral delivery of PB and support its potential application in diabetes treatment.

No abstract