It is a tough task in clinic to remove and refuel the dressing. Therefore, we have explored a bioinspired dressing which can be swiftly detached from wound beds and rapidly strengthened during the dressing change procedures.

Inclusion of an effective solution crystallization inhibitor as a minor component in ternary dispersions resulted in prolonged supersaturation following dissolution. This study shows the feasibility of formulation strategies for ASDs where a major polymer component is used to achieve one key property e.g. release, while a minor polymer component is added to prevent crystallization.

No abstract

Amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) have been extensively exploited as a strategy for improving the dissolution performance of poorly water-soluble drugs. However, factors underpinning the observed dissolution profiles are not clearly understood, and the choice of polymeric carriers is largely empirical. In the current study, the dissolution performance of a high drug loading ASD containing the poorly water-soluble, anti-inflammatory agent, celecoxib, was optimized by using binary polymers combinations. Polyacrylic acid (PAA), a highly water-soluble polymer, was used to substantially increase the dissolution rate of the drug, while hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) or HPMC acetate succinate (HPMCAS) were added to stabilize the solid amorphous matrix against crystallization upon hydration, as well as to maintain supersaturation. Quantitative measurements of the impact of the polymers on the solution nucleation and growth rates of celecoxib revealed that, while the cellulose derivatives are effective nucleation inhibitors, it is more difficult to completely prevent crystal growth in solutions containing seed crystals, in particular at high supersaturations. Therefore, it is critical to prevent the formation of crystals in the dissolving matrix during dissolution. By using certain ratios of HPMC and PAA, both rapid release as well as crystallization inhibition could be achieved, even at high drug loadings. Utilizing combinations of polymers may therefore be useful to tailor release profiles while providing optimized crystallization inhibition.

Rationale: Although a few injectable hydrogels have shown a reliable biosafety and a moderate promise in treating myocardial infarction (MI), the updated hydrogel systems with an on-demand biodegradation and multi-biofunctions to deliver therapeutic drug would achieve more prominent efficacy in the future applications. In this report, a conductive and injectable hydrogel crosslinked by matrix metalloproteinase-sensitive peptides (MMP-SP) was rationally constructed to stabilize hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) to recover heart functions after MI. Methods: Firstly, tetraaniline (TA) was incorporated into partially oxidized alginate (ALG-CHO) to endow the hydrogels with conductivity. The 1,4-dihydrophenonthrolin-4-one-3-carboxylic acid (DPCA) nanodrug was manufactured with high drug loading capacity and decorated with polymerized dopamine (PDA) to achieve a stable release of the drug. Both ALG-CHO and DPCA@PDA can be cross-linked by thiolated hyaluronic acid (HA-SH) and thiolated MMP-SP to construct a MMP-degradable and conductive hydrogel. After administration in the infarcted heart of rats, echocardiographic assessments, histological evaluation, and RT-PCR were used to evaluate therapeutic effects of hydrogels. Results: The cell viability and the results of subcutaneous implantation verify a good cytocompatibility and biocompatibility of the resulting hydrogels. The hydrogel shows remarkable strength in decreasing the expression of inflammatory factors, maintaining a high level of HIF-1α to promote the vascularization, and promoting the expression of junctional protein connexin 43. Meanwhile, the multifunctional hydrogels greatly reduce the infarcted area (by 33.8%) and improve cardiac functions dramatically with ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS) being increased by 31.3% and 19.0%, respectively. Conclusion: The as-prepared hydrogels in this report achieve a favorable therapeutic effect, offering a promising therapeutic strategy for treating heart injury.