There are several reviews that separately cover different aspects of fish gelatin including its preparation, characteristics, modifications, and applications. Its packaging application in food industry is extensively covered but other applications are not covered or covered alongside with those of collagen. This review is comprehensive, specific to fish gelatin/hydrolysate and cites recent research. It covers cosmetic applications, intrinsic activities, and biomedical applications in wound dressing and wound healing, gene therapy, tissue engineering, implants, and bone substitutes. It also covers its pharmaceutical applications including manufacturing of capsules, coating of microparticles/oils, coating of tablets, stabilization of emulsions and drug delivery (microspheres, nanospheres, scaffolds, microneedles, and hydrogels). The main outcomes are that fish gelatin is immunologically safe, protects from the possibility of transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy and foot and mouth diseases, has an economic and environmental benefits, and may be suitable for those that practice religious-based food restrictions, i.e., people of Muslim, Jewish and Hindu faiths. It has unique rheological properties, making it more suitable for certain applications than mammalian gelatins. It can be easily modified to enhance its mechanical properties. However, extensive research is still needed to characterize gelatin hydrolysates, elucidate the Structure Activity Relationship (SAR), and formulate them into dosage forms. Additionally, expansion into cosmetic applications and drug delivery is needed.

No abstract

No abstract

Asenapine maleate is an antipsychotic drug that is indicated in the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. It has low aqueous solubility and high permeability (Class II drug) and undergoes an extensive first pass effect. These problems result in low oral bioavailability (<2%). To enhance its solubility/dissolution rate and hence bioavailability, co-crystals using different co-formers in different ratios were prepared and evaluated. To study the in vitro dissolution of the drug from these co-crystals into phosphate buffer (pH 6.8), an RP-HPLC method was developed and validated according to the ICH Q2R1 guidelines. The method was linear in the range 0.1-14 µg/ml (R >0.9998) and accurate and precise. An ANOVA test indicated that calibration curves run on different days did not differ significantly. It was sensitive (lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) =25.03 ng/ml), specific (the co-formers did not interfere with the determination of the drug), and robust to small changes in the mobile phase (pH, composition, and flow rate). The in vitro release of asenapine maleate from the co-crystals and the physical mixture was much enhanced when compared to the in vitro dissolution of the unprocessed drug. In conclusion, the developed and validated RP-HPLC method met the acceptance criteria and was applied successfully in evaluating the in vitro release of the drug.

Lovastatin (LOV), an antihyperlipidimic agent, is characterized by low solubility/poor dissolution and, thus, low bioavailability (<5%). A beneficial effect on its bioavailability could result from improving its dissolution. One of the most common methods used to enhance dissolution is the preparation of solid dispersions. Solid dispersions of LOV and silica with different surface areas were prepared. The effects of the type of silica, ratio of drug/silica, incubation period with silica, and the effect of surface area were all studied. Characterization of the prepared formulae for possible interaction between drug and polymer was carried out using differential scanning calorimetery, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, surface area determination, and scanning electron microscopy. The dissolution profiles of all prepared formulae were constructed and evaluated. It was found that the formula made of LOV and Sylysia 350 FCP in a ratio of 1:5 after an incubation period of 48 h resulted in the best release, and it was stable after 3 months storage at 75% RH and 40°C.