Preparation and optimization of aloe ferox gel loaded with Finasteride-Oregano oil nanocubosomes for treatment of alopecia

Alopecia areata is a skin disorder characterized by scarless, localized hair loss that is usually managed by topical treatments that might further worsen the condition. Therefore, the current study aimed to develop nano-cubosomes loaded with finasteride (FI) and oregano oil (Or) to improve drug solubility and permeation through skin and then incorporate it into an aloe ferox gel base. An l-optimal coordinate exchange design was adopted to optimize nano-cubosomes. Phytantriol and Alkyl Acrylate were employed as the lipid material, and surfactant respectively for cubosomes manufacture. The produced formulations were assessed for their particle size, entrapment efficiency (EE%), FI steady-state flux (Jss) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against Pro-pionibacterium acnes. Optimal FI-Or-NCu had a particle size of 135 nm, EE% equals 70%, Jss of 1.85 μg/cm2.h, and MIC of 0.44 μg/ml. The optimum formulation loaded gel gained the highest drug release percent and ex vivo skin permeation compared to FI aqueous suspension, and pure FI loaded gel. Aloe ferox and oregano oil in the optimized gel formulation had a synergistic activity on the FI permeation across the skin and against the growth of p. acne bacteria which could favor their use in treating alopecia. Thus, this investigation affirms the ability of FI-Or-NCu loaded aloe ferox gel could be an effective strategy that would enhance FI release and permeation through skin and maximize its favorable effects in treating alopecia.     

Effect of Si,Be, Al,N and S dual doping on arsenene: first-principles insights

First-principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) have been performed to investigate the effect of Si/Be, Si/Al, Si/N and Si/S co-doping on the geometries, electronic structure, magnetism and particularly the adsorption of CO in arsenene. The results show that the incorporation of foreign atoms slightly distorts the host lattice. All doped structures are found to be thermodynamically stable. The replacement of host As atoms with foreign atoms results in some interesting changes in the electronic and magnetic properties of arsenene. The doped arsenene systems exhibit a semiconducting character with band gaps smaller than the original value of 1.59 eV due to the emergence of defect states within the actual band gap. Besides, arsenene remains nonmagnetic (NM) upon Si/Be or Si/S dual doping, whereas both Si/Al and Si/N dopings induce magnetism with a total magnetic moment of 1 μ_B. Finally, the adsorption of CO molecules over pristine arsenene (p-As) and dual doped arsenene systems is investigated in terms of adsorption energy, adsorption height, charge transfer, charge density difference (CDD), work function, electronic band structures and density of states. It is observed that CO molecule has physisorption over p-As, SiAl–As, SiN–As and SiS–As systems, whereas chemisorption is reported for the SiBe–As system. Our study suggests that chemically modifying arsenene with suitable dopants might extend its applications in spintronic and gas sensing applications.

Spin density plots for SiAl–As and SiN–As systems.     

Monodisperse magnetic lecithin-PFP submicron bubbles as dual imaging contrast agents for ultrasound (US) and MRI

Multimodal imaging is a recent idea of combining two or more imaging methods synergistically to overcome the weakness of individual imaging modalities and utilizing complementary benefits. Ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are widely used imaging techniques in healthcare and to fully utilize the potential of fusion imaging, dual-modal contrast agents are necessary to improve disease diagnosis by enhancing contrast resolution and reducing health risks associated with the dual dosage of contrast agents. In this study, magnetic microbubbles were synthesized by incorporating oleic acid stabilized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (OA-SPIONs) into lecithin microbubbles, encapsulating the perfluoropentane (PFP) core. The magnetic microbubbles were characterized by FTIR, SEM, MFM, zeta potential, in vitro MRI, and ultrasound. Upon in vitro MRI, magnetic microbubbles showed a negative contrast effect by producing darker T2 weighted images. Magnetic microbubbles showed concentration-dependent response with a decrease in signal intensity with an increase in the concentration of OA-IONP in microbubbles. However, a decrease in acoustic enhancement was also observed with an increase in OA-IONP concentration, therefore concentration was optimized to achieve the best effect on both modalities. The magnetic lecithin microbubble with 10 mg SPIONs provided the best contrast on both US and MR imaging. The hemocompatibility testing resulted in hemolysis less than 7% with plasma recalcification time and thrombin time of 240 s and 6 s corresponding to excellent hemocompatibility. Thus the magnetic microbubbles with a phase convertible PFP core encapsulated by a lecithin shell loaded with OA-SPIONs can serve as a potential bimodal contrast agent for both US and MRI imaging.

The magnetic microbubbles with phase convertible PFP core encapsulated by lecithin shell loaded with OA-SPIONs can serve as a potential bimodal contrast agent for both ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).