Explore the vast range of titles available.

Conclusions from previously reported articles have revealed that many commonly used pharmaceutical excipients, known to be pharmacologically inert, show effects on drug transporters and/or metabolic enzymes. Thus, the pharmacokinetics (absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination) of active pharmaceutical ingredients are possibly altered because of their transport and metabolism modulation from the incorporated excipients. The aim of this review is to present studies on the interaction of various commonly-used excipients on pre-systemic metabolism by CYP450 enzymes. Excipients such as surfactants, polymers, fatty acids and solvents are discussed. Based on all the reported outcomes, the most potent inhibitors were found to be surfactants and the least effective were organic solvents. However, there are many factors that can influence the inhibition of CYP450, for instance type of excipient, concentration of excipient, type of CYP450 isoenzyme, incubation condition, etc. Such evidence will be very useful in dosage form design, so that the right formulation can be designed to maximize drug bioavailability, especially for poorly bioavailable drugs.

Ceramic materials are increasingly used in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) as they offer many advantages such as high-temperature resistance, high wear resistance, low density, and favourable mechanical and chemical properties at elevated temperature. However, with the emerging of additive manufacturing, the use of ceramics for functional and structural MEMS raises new opportunities and challenges. This paper provides an extensive review of the manufacturing processes used for ceramic-based MEMS, including additive and conventional manufacturing technologies. The review covers the micro-fabrication techniques of ceramics with the focus on their operating principles, main features, and processed materials. Challenges that need to be addressed in applying additive technologies in MEMS include ceramic printing on wafers, post-processing at the micro-level, resolution, and quality control. The paper also sheds light on the new possibilities of ceramic additive micro-fabrication and their potential applications, which indicates a promising future.

Origami structures have attracted attention in biomedical applications due to their ability to develop surgical tools that can be expanded from a minimal volume to a larger and functional device. On the other hand, four-dimensional (4D) printing is an emerging technology, which involves 3D printing of smart materials that can respond to external stimuli such as heat. This short communication introduces the proof of concept of merging origami and 4D printing technologies to develop minimally invasive delivery of functional biomedical scaffolds with high shape recovery. The shape-memory effect (SME) of the PLA filament and the origami designs were also assessed in terms of deformability and recovery rate. The results showed that herringbone tessellation origami structure combined with internal natural cancellous bone core satisfies the design requirement of foldable scaffolds. The substantial and consistent SME of the 4D printed herringbone tessellation origami, which exhibited 96% recovery compared to 61% for PLA filament, was the most significant discovery of this paper. The experiments demonstrated how the use of 4D printing in situ with origami structures could achieve reliable and repeatable results, therefore conclusively proving how 4D printing of origami structures can be applied to biomedical scaffolds.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a recent technology, which gives the possibility to manufacture personalised dosage forms and it has a broad range of applications. One of the most developed, it is the manufacture of oral solid dosage and the four 3DP techniques which have been more used for their manufacture are FDM, inkjet 3DP, SLA and SLS. This systematic review is carried out to statistically analyze the current 3DP techniques employed in manufacturing oral solid formulations and assess the recent trends of this new technology. The work has been organised into four steps, (1) screening of the articles, definition of the inclusion and exclusion criteria and classification of the articles in the two main groups (included/excluded); (2) quantification and characterisation of the included articles; (3) evaluation of the validity of data and data extraction process; (4) data analysis, discussion, and conclusion to define which technique offers the best properties to be applied in the manufacture of oral solid formulations. It has been observed that with SLS 3DP technique, all the characterisation tests required by the BP (drug content, drug dissolution profile, hardness, friability, disintegration time and uniformity of weight) have been performed in the majority of articles, except for the friability test. However, it is not possible to define which of the four 3DP techniques is the most suitable for the manufacture of oral solid formulations, because the selection is affected by different parameters, such as the type of formulation, the physical-mechanical properties to achieve. Moreover, each technique has its specific advantages and disadvantages, such as for FDM the biggest challenge is the degradation of the drug, due to high printing temperature process or for SLA is the toxicity of the carcinogenic risk of the photopolymerising material.

Background Skin aging and hyperpigmentation disorders, primarily driven by oxidative stress, pose major dermatological challenges. Ascorbic acid plays a crucial role in collagen synthesis and modulation of melanogenesis; however, its clinical utility is restricted due to chemical instability and poor transdermal permeability. Objective This study aimed to develop and characterize dissolving microneedles (MNs) composed of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and glycerol for enhanced dermal delivery of stabilized ascorbic acid derivatives—ascorbyl palmitate (AP) and ascorbyl glucoside (AG). Methods MNs (11 × 11 array, 600 μm height) were fabricated via solvent casting using varying concentrations of PVA. The optimized formulation (12% PVA) was evaluated for mechanical strength, drug loading, insertion depth, and physicochemical stability using tensile testing, microscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, and thermal analysis. Antioxidant activity and in vitro drug release profiles were also assessed. Results and Discussion The optimized MNs exhibited robust mechanical properties (tensile strength: 10.17 ± 1.44 MPa) and uniform drug loading (AP: 50 ± 2.14 µg/patch; AG: 70 ± 1.24 µg/patch). Penetration studies confirmed successful skin insertion to approximately 508 μm depth with maintained structural integrity. FTIR and thermal analyses revealed amorphous solid dispersion without chemical interactions. Both AP-MNs and AG-MNs retained antioxidant activity post-encapsulation (IC₅₀: 25.4 ± 2.9 µg/mL and 62.1 ± 3.7 µg/mL, respectively) and demonstrated sustained release over 24 h (98 ± 2.41% for AP-MNs; 95 ± 1.32% for AG-MNs). Conclusion PVA-glycerol dissolving microneedles effectively delivered ascorbic acid derivatives transdermally, maintaining stability and antioxidant function. These MN systems present a promising, minimally invasive platform for anti-aging and hyperpigmentation therapies warranting biological validation to confirm therapeutic efficacy.

Oral modified-release multiparticulate dosage forms, which are also referred to as oral multiple-unit particulate systems, are becoming increasingly popular for oral drug delivery applications. The compaction of polymer-coated multiparticulates into tablets to produce a sustained-release dosage form is preferred over hard gelatin capsules. Moreover, multiparticulate tablets are a promising solution to chronic conditions, patients’ adherence, and swallowing difficulties if incorporated into orodispersible matrices. Nonetheless, the compaction of multiparticulates often damages the functional polymer coat, which results in a rapid release of the drug substance and the subsequent loss of sustained-release properties. This review brings to the forefront key formulation variables that are likely to influence the compaction of coated multiparticulates into sustained-release tablets. It focusses on the tabletting of coated drug-loaded pellets, microparticles, and nanoparticles with a designated section on each. Furthermore, it explores the various approaches that are used to evaluate the compaction behaviour of particulate systems.

In spite of significant improvements in micro-replication techniques, methods to fabricate well-defined net shape microstructures are still in a developing stage. Soft lithography has the capability to manufacture complex micro- and nanostructures. Although it is considered a robust technique, a major limitation is related to the distortion encountered in the fabricated structures during the drying process. In the present work, a manufacturing technology has been developed that emerges the benefits of soft lithography and micro-electrical discharge machining (μ-EDM) to produce stainless steel precise micro-components for micro-implantable devices. The micro-parts produced by soft lithography were subsequently surface processed via μ-EDM in order to improve the surface quality. In addition to this, it was found that μ-EDM drastically improved the surface roughness of stainless steel micro-components from Ra = 3.4 μm to Ra = 0.43 μm.

A novel bi-ligand nickel-based metal–organic framework (Ni-BTC-PYDC MOF) was synthesized using benzene tricarboxylic acid (BTC) and pyridine-2,3-dicarboxylic acid (PYDC) as ligands. This MOF showed improved surface area, structural stability, and electron transfer compared to mono-ligand Ni-MOFs. Characterization by SEM, EDX, EDS mapping, XRD, and FT-IR confirmed its enhanced morphology and nickel content. The catalyst rapidly reduced methyl orange (MO) dye in water, achieving rapid and significant decolorization within 90 s using sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) under mild conditions. It maintained high activity over ten reuse cycles with minimal loss, performing best at pH 5 due to efficient hydride generation and proton-assisted electron transfer. These findings demonstrate that the bi-ligand Ni-MOF is a promising, stable, and reusable catalyst for removing toxic azo dyes from wastewater.

The latest advancements in bone scaffold technology have introduced novel biomaterials that have the ability to generate oxygen when implanted, improving cell viability and tissue maturation. In this paper, we present a new oxygen-generating polylactic acid (PLA)/calcium peroxide (CPO) composite filament that can be used in 3D printing scaffolds. The composite material was prepared using a wet solution mixing method, followed by drying and hot melting extrusion. The concentration of calcium peroxide in the composite varied from 0% to 9%. The prepared filaments were characterized in terms of the presence of calcium peroxide, the generated oxygen release, porosity, and antibacterial activities. Data obtained from scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction showed that the calcium peroxide remained stable in the composite. The maximum calcium and oxygen release was observed in filaments with a 6% calcium peroxide content. In addition, bacterial inhibition was achieved in samples with a calcium peroxide content of 6% or higher. These results indicate that an optimized PLA filament with a 6% calcium peroxide content holds great promise for improving bone generation through bone cell oxygenation and resistance to bacterial infections.

The addition of oxygen-releasing biomaterials into 3D-printed scaffolds presents a novel approach to enhancing bone scaffolds, yet no in vitro studies have demonstrated the effect of oxygen-generating filaments on scaffold biological and mechanical properties. This study introduces a polylactic acid (PLA)/calcium peroxide (CPO) composite filament, designed for oxygen release, which is a key factor for early-stage bone regeneration. The PLA/CPO composite filament was fabricated via wet-mixing, solvent evaporation, and hot-melt extrusion, followed by fused deposition modeling (FDM) with optimized parameters to achieve high structural fidelity (25% porosity, 0.60mm pore size). In vitro characterization, including mechanical, morphological, and biological assessments, demonstrated that, post-cell culturing, mechanical strength improved, which indicates improved scaffold resilience. The scaffold exhibited gradual oxygen release over a 3-day period, and gene expression analysis confirmed notable upregulation of osteogenic markers RUNX2, SPP1, and SP7 in vitamin D-supplemented conditions. The mechanical strength improved from approximately 2.8 MPa in the control group to 5.0 MPa in scaffolds cultured with osteogenic media. This study provides the first in vitro evidence that oxygen-releasing 3D-printed filaments can improve both mechanical properties and biological response in scaffolds, demonstrating the functional integration of sustained oxygen delivery, enhanced mechanical properties, and increased osteogenic activity in a single 3D-printed scaffold.