Publications

Aljabali, AAA, Dua, K, Pal, K & Tambuwala, MM 2021, 'Introduction to Sensor Nanotechnology and Flexible Electronics' in Sensors for Stretchable Electronics in Nanotechnology, CRC Press, pp. 1-13.
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Aljabali, AAA, Obeid, MA, Tambuwala, MM, Dua, K & Pal, K 2021, 'Viral nanoparticles where we are heading' in Multidisciplinary Science and Advanced Technologies, pp. 85-91.
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Nanotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that sits at the interface of chemistry, biology, materials science, and medicine. The utilization of materials derived from natural sources has allowed the harnessing of highly organized macromolecules for various applications in nanomedicine. Viral nanoparticles are both biocompatible and biodegradable and can be engineered chemically and genetically to impart new functionalities. Viral particles, for example, plant viruses with well-characterized properties. They are deemed as a natural, very robust, nanoscale assemblies. The virus particles can be chemically modified both externally and internally with high precision with various functionalities to act as a platform for the next-generation therapeutics, bio-imaging, drug targeting, and as drug carriers. Besides, the virus capsid can be genetically modified to introduce unnatural amino acids, which aid in monitoring the virus assembly and allowing the design of Nanocapsules for the loading with the desired anticancer drugs. Preserving the virus capsid allows the particles to be modified with targeting moieties to guide the nanoparticles to the diseased cells for selective imaging and treatment. Viruses are novel new type of nanomaterials with exciting potential in molecular imaging and drug delivery. Viral nanoparticles are deemed as a biodegradable and biocompatible and very suitable for in vivo and in vitro drug delivery and for molecular imaging tools.

Aljabali, AAA, Seetan, KI, Alshaer, W, Abu-El-Rub, E, Obeid, MA, Kamal, D & Tambuwala, MM 2021, 'Stem Cell-Based Products in the Market' in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Springer International Publishing, pp. 269-298.
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Aljabali, AAA, Zoubi, MSA, Al-Batanyeh, KM, Alqudah, A, Obeid, MA, Prasher, P, Mishra, V, Gupta, G, Negi, P, Kapoor, DN, Dureja, H, Satija, S, Chellappan, DK, Dua, K & Tambuwala, MM 2021, 'Designing and Synthesis of Green Polymeric Nanomaterials for Pharmaceutical Applications' in Green Nanomaterials, Apple Academic Press, pp. 47-64.
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Anand, K, Chandrasekaran, B, Gupta, G, Dureja, H, Singh, SK, Gulati, M, Chellappan, DK, Balasubramanian, B, Femeela, I, Arumugam, VA & Dua, K 2021, 'Biosynthetic exosome nanoparticles isolation, characterization, and their diagnostic and therapeutic applications' in Advanced Drug Delivery Systems in the Management of Cancer, Elsevier, pp. 373-385.
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Anand, K, Chandrasekaran, B, Gupta, G, Dureja, H, Singh, SK, Gulati, M, Chellappan, DK, Balasubramanian, B, Femeela, I, Arumugam, VA & Dua, K 2021, 'Biosynthetic exosome nanoparticles isolation, characterization, and their diagnostic and therapeutic applications' in Advanced Drug Delivery Systems in the Management of Cancer, Elsevier, The Netherlands, pp. 373-385.
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This chapter discusses exosome nanoparticles and their unique biomolecular functionality and role in diversified pathological conditions, cellular physiology, and related pathways. We examine and compare isolation and detection techniques for exosome analysis. Exosomes are nano-sized extracellular vesicles biosynthesized through the lysosomal pathway via fusion of multi-vesicular bodies (MVBs) with the cell membrane and exosomes are secreted by different cell types. Exosomes contain a mixture of proteins, nucleic acids, and lipid components with the exact signature characteristics of their parent cells. These entities can signal and change the phenotype of target cells, hence they can impact the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases. Exosomes have also been identified in several biological fluids, such as plasma, nasal lavage fluid, saliva, breast milk, and in edible plants like ginger, grapefruit, carrot, and grape. This review provides updated and comprehensive information about the isolation, characterization, and role of exosomes in diseases and therapeutics, with a special emphasis on their biomarker and drug delivery applications.

Banerjee, A, Kumar, R, Gulati, M, Singh, SK, Dua, K, Singh, G, Kumar, P & Sharma, A 2021, 'Self-Emulsifying Drug Delivery Systems: A Strategy to Improve the Bioavailability of Hydrophobic Drugs' in The Era of Nanotechnology, Apple Academic Press, USA, pp. 129-164.
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Designing efficacious formulations for oral route of drug delivery has been challenging but still warranted because of its high patient compliance. However, drugs in pipeline or any new chemical entities being discovered have always faced key challenges of optimum solubility and permeability without which a product cannot show the claimed activity or even enter the trials. Though there are several intriguing choices of drug development available, lipid-based formulations are gaining popularity owing to their ease of manufacturing and efficacious results. Further, narrowing the base of lipid-formulations which have gained acceptance are micro- and nanoemulsions, whose bars have been raised higher with the introduction of “self-emulsifying drug delivery system” (SEDDS), which has swept off the bits-and-flaws of conventional emulsion. Therefore, this chapter is an attempt to cover all the aspects of SEDDS formulation including “self-micro-emulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS)” and “self-nano-emulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS)”; a deep dive in its formulation criteria, selection of suitable candidate and components, self-emulsification process, probable fate of the formulation in vivo, transformation techniques, evaluation parameters, 130new approaches in pipeline, dosage forms that can be prepared, challenging aspects lingering around, extensive researches done since last decade to present and patents being granted so far.

Chan, Y, Ng, SW, Dua, K & Chellappan, DK 2021, 'Plant-Based Chemical Moieties for Targeting Chronic Respiratory Diseases' in Targeting Cellular Signalling Pathways in Lung Diseases, Springer Singapore, pp. 741-781.
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Chan, Y, Ng, SW, Liew, HS, Pua, LJW, Soon, L, Lim, JS, Dua, K & Chellappan, DK 2021, 'Introduction to Chronic Respiratory Diseases: A Pressing Need for Novel Therapeutic Approaches' in Medicinal Plants for Lung Diseases, Springer Singapore, pp. 47-84.
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De Rubis, G & Bebawy, M 2021, 'Extracellular Vesicles in Chemoresistance' in Subcellular Biochemistry, Springer International Publishing, Switzerland, pp. 211-245.
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Chemotherapy represents the current mainstay therapeutic approach for most types of cancer. Despite the development of targeted chemotherapeutic strategies, the efficacy of anti-cancer drugs is severely limited by the development of drug resistance. Multidrug resistance (MDR) consists of the simultaneous resistance to various unrelated cytotoxic drugs and is one of the main causes of anticancer treatment failure. One of the principal mechanisms by which cancer cells become MDR involves the overexpression of ATP Binding Cassette (ABC) transporters, such as P-glycoprotein (P-gp), mediating the active efflux of cytotoxic molecules from the cytoplasm. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are submicron lipid-enclosed vesicles that are released by all cells and which play a fundamental role in intercellular communication in physiological and pathological contexts. EVs have fundamental function at each step of cancer development and progression. They mediate the transmission of MDR through the transfer of vesicle cargo including functional ABC transporters as well as nucleic acids, proteins and lipids. Furthermore, EVs mediate MDR by sequestering anticancer drugs and stimulate cancer cell migration and invasion. EVs also mediate the communication with the tumour microenvironment and the immune system, resulting in increased angiogenesis, metastasis and immune evasion. All these actions contribute directly and indirectly to the development of chemoresistance and treatment failure. In this chapter, we describe the many roles EVs play in the acquisition and spread of chemoresistance in cancer. We also discuss possible uses of EVs as pharmacological targets to overcome EV-mediated drug resistance and the potential that the analysis of tumour-derived EVs offers as chemoresistance biomarkers.

Devkota, HP, Adhikari-Devkota, A, Paudel, KR, Panth, N, Chellappan, DK, Hansbro, PM & Dua, K 2021, 'Tea (Catechins Including (−)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate) and Cancer' in Jafari, SM, Nabavi, SM & Silva, AS (eds), Food Bioactive Ingredients, Springer International Publishing, pp. 451-466.
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Catechins, a group of phenolic compounds (flavan-3-ols), are one of most widely studied plant secondary metabolites regarding their diverse pharmacological actions. Found in many foods and beverages including tea, catechins are reported to be useful for the prevention and treatment of cancer in in vitro and in vivo studies. Various signalling mechanisms have also been explored for the cancer chemopreventive activities of tea and tea catechins. However, the translational research on these compounds to clinical studies have not been performed in detail as compared to in vitro and in vivo studies. This chapter critically discusses the role of catechins in cancer prevention and treatment with special focus on their mechanism of action on signaling pathways.

Dhanjal, DS, Mehta, M, Chopra, C, Singh, R, Sharma, P, Chellappan, DK, Tambuwala, MM, Bakshi, HA, Aljabali, AAA, Gupta, G, Nammi, S, Prasher, P, Dua, K & Satija, S 2021, 'Novel Controlled Release Pulmonary Drug Delivery Systems: Current updates and Challenges' in Modeling and Control of Drug Delivery Systems, Elsevier, pp. 253-272.
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Feitosa, VA, de Jesus Andreoli Pinto, T, Dua, K & Cerize, NNP 2021, 'Advances in polymeric nanoparticles for drug delivery systems in cancer: Production and characterization' in Advanced Drug Delivery Systems in the Management of Cancer, Elsevier, pp. 331-341.
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Gulati, M, Singh, SK, Kumar, R, Dua, K, Panda, S, Blaxland, J & Chandwani, L 2021, 'Probiotic Research in Therapeutics' in Deol, PK (ed), Probiotic Research in Therapeutics: Applications in Cancers and Immunological Diseases, Springer Singapore, Singapore, pp. 95-112.
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Majhi, S, Dua, K, Prasher, P, Narayan Yadav, H & Singh, L 2021, 'Targeting Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms in SARS-CoV-2 Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)' in Targeting Cellular Signalling Pathways in Lung Diseases, Springer Singapore, pp. 517-536.
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Manoharan, S, Thangavelu, L, Dua, K & Chellappan, DK 2021, 'Advanced drug delivery systems in oral cancer' in Advanced Drug Delivery Systems in the Management of Cancer, Elsevier, pp. 235-242.
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Ng, SW, Chan, Y, Ng, XY, Dua, K & Chellappan, DK 2021, 'Chapter 23 Neuroblastoma: Current advancements and future therapeutics' in Advanced Drug Delivery Systems in the Management of Cancer, pp. 281-297.
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Ng, SW, Chan, Y, Ng, XY, Dua, K & Chellappan, DK 2021, 'Neuroblastoma: Current advancements and future therapeutics' in Advanced Drug Delivery Systems in the Management of Cancer, Elsevier, pp. 281-297.
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Obeid, MA, Aljabali, AAA, Alshaer, W, Charbe, NB, Chellappan, DK, Dua, K, Satija, S & Tambuwala, MM 2021, 'Targeting siRNAs in cancer drug delivery' in Advanced Drug Delivery Systems in the Management of Cancer, Elsevier, pp. 447-460.
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Pathak, M, Singh, L, Mishra, GP, Dua, K & Majhi, S 2021, 'Medicinal Plants Used in Treatment of Bronchitis' in Medicinal Plants for Lung Diseases, Springer Singapore, pp. 369-389.
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Pont, LG, Dua, K, Cutler, RL, Benson, H, Hagi, M, Cardenas, VG, Smit, CCH, Ao, A & Williams, KA 2021, 'Current practice in cancer pharmacotherapy' in Advanced Drug Delivery Systems in the Management of Cancer, `Elsevier, The Netherlands, pp. 9-15.
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Cancer is one of the leading causes of death globally and with worldwide increases in life expectancy, the incidence and mortality for most cancers is expected to increase. While surgery and radiation therapy remain the first-line treatment for many cancers, pharmacotherapy has always been an important therapeutic option, especially in the management of locally advanced or metastatic disease. Traditionally, chemotherapy has been the primary pharmacotherapeutic approach used in the treatment of cancer; however, as our knowledge and understanding of cancer pathophysiology have advanced, new treatment options have been developed. Identification of tumor biomarkers and other molecular targets has driven the development of new pharmacotherapeutic options, namely immune- and biological pharmacotherapies, which are now used either in combination with chemotherapy or as monotherapy in the current practice for cancer treatment. In this chapter, we consider and explore the pharmacotherapies currently used worldwide in clinical practice for the treatment of the five most common cancers: lung, female (breast), prostate, colon, and skin.

Pont, LG, Dua, K, Cutler, RL, Benson, H, Hagi, M, Cardenas, VG, Smit, CCH, Ao, A & Williams, KA 2021, 'Current practice in cancer pharmacotherapy' in Advanced Drug Delivery Systems in the Management of Cancer, Elsevier, pp. 9-15.
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Prasher, P, Sharma, M & Dua, K 2021, 'Emerging need of advanced drug delivery systems in cancer' in Advanced Drug Delivery Systems in the Management of Cancer, Elsevier, pp. 27-36.
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Qar, J, Aljabali, AAA, Al-Zanati, T, Zoubi, MSA, Al-Batanyeh, KM, Negi, P, Gupta, G, Pardhi, DM, Dua, K & Tambuwala, MM 2021, 'Bioinspired Nanomaterials for Improving Sensing and Imaging Spectroscopy' in Nanomaterials for Spectroscopic Applications, Jenny Stanford Publishing, pp. 191-212.
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Shaikh, MA, Gilhotra, R, Singh, SK, Rawat, S, Gupta, G, Hussain, S, Singh, Y, Satija, S, Mehta, M & Dua, K 2021, 'Introduction to cancer cell biology' in Advanced Drug Delivery Systems in the Management of Cancer, pp. 1-7.
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Cancer comprises more than 200 genetically related diseases in which information about cells stored in DNA is altered, resulting in changes in gene expression and abnormal cell development, proliferation, and metastasis. Genetic factors, environmental factors, lifestyle factors, occupations, and certain biological factors play a crucial role in the development of various types of cancer. There are eight distinguishing and harmonizing features or hallmarks of cancer cells. These include sustained multiplication (proliferative) signaling, avoidance of immune annihilation (destruction), deregulation of cell energetics, avoidance of apoptosis, shunning of anti-growth signals, metastasis and tissue invasion, endless multiplication (replication) potential, and extended (sustained) tumor angiogenesis. There are two characteristics that enable tumor growth and metastasis: genetic instability and mutability, and inflammation.

Shaikh, MA, Hussain, S, Gilhotra, R, Singh, SK, Rawat, S, Singh, Y, Satija, S, Mehta, M, Dua, K & Gupta, G 2021, 'Introduction to cancer cell biology' in Advanced Drug Delivery Systems in the Management of Cancer, Elsevier, pp. 1-7.
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Singh, L, Dua, K, Kumar, S, Kumar, D & Majhi, S 2021, 'Targeting Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms in Tuberculosis' in Targeting Cellular Signalling Pathways in Lung Diseases, Springer Singapore, pp. 337-353.
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Verma, D, Bhatia, A, Chopra, S, Dua, K, Prasher, P, Gupta, G, Tambuwala, MM, Chellappan, DK, Aljabali, AAA, Sharma, M & Kapoor, DN 2021, 'Advancements on microparticles-based drug delivery systems for cancer therapy' in Advanced Drug Delivery Systems in the Management of Cancer, Elsevier, pp. 351-358.
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Verma, N, Thapa, K & Dua, K 2021, 'Future Prospects and Challenges in Targeting Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms in Respiratory Diseases' in Targeting Cellular Signalling Pathways in Lung Diseases, Springer Singapore, pp. 903-926.
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Verma, N, Thapa, K & Dua, K 2021, 'Material and strategies used in oncology drug delivery' in Advanced Drug Delivery Systems in the Management of Cancer, Elsevier, pp. 47-62.
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Alharbi, KS, Fuloria, NK, Fuloria, S, Rahman, SB, Al-Malki, WH, Javed Shaikh, MA, Thangavelu, L, Singh, SK, Rama Raju Allam, VS, Jha, NK, Chellappan, DK, Dua, K & Gupta, G 2021, 'Nuclear factor-kappa B and its role in inflammatory lung disease', Chemico-Biological Interactions, vol. 345, pp. 109568-109568.
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Nuclear factor-kappa B, involved in inflammation, host immune response, cell adhesion, growth signals, cell proliferation, cell differentiation, and apoptosis defense, is a dimeric transcription factor. Inflammation is a key component of many common respiratory disorders, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchiectasis, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Many basic transcription factors are found in NF-κB signaling, which is a member of the Rel protein family. Five members of this family c-REL, NF-κB2 (p100/p52), RelA (p65), NF-κB1 (p105/p50), RelB, and RelA (p65) produce 5 transcriptionally active molecules. Proinflammatory cytokines, T lymphocyte, and B lymphocyte cell mitogens, lipopolysaccharides, bacteria, viral proteins, viruses, double-stranded RNA, oxidative stress, physical exertion, various chemotherapeutics are the stimulus responsible for NF-κB activation. NF-κB act as a principal component for several common respiratory illnesses, such as asthma, lung cancer, pulmonary fibrosis, COPD as well as infectious diseases like pneumonia, tuberculosis, COVID-19. Inflammatory lung disease, especially COVID-19, can make NF-κB a key target for drug production.

Aljabali, AAA, Al Zoubi, MS, Al-Batayneh, KM, Pardhi, DM, Dua, K, Pal, K & Tambuwala, MM 2021, 'Innovative Applications of Plant Viruses in Drug Targeting and Molecular Imaging- A Review', Current Medical Imaging Formerly Current Medical Imaging Reviews, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 491-506.
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Background:Nature had already engineered various types of nanoparticles (NPs), especially viruses, which can deliver their cargo to the host/targeted cells. The ability to selectively target specific cells offers a significant advantage over the conventional approach. Numerous organic NPs, including native protein cages, virus-like pieces, polymeric saccharides, and liposomes, have been used for the preparation of nanoparticulate. Such nanomaterials have demonstrated better performance and as well as improved biocompatible, devoid of side effects, and stable without any deterioration.Objective:This review discusses current clinical and scientific research on naturally occurring nanomaterials. The review illustrates and updates the tailor-made approaches for selective delivery and targeted medications that require a highaffinity interconnection to the targeted cells.Method:A comprehensive search was performed using keywords for viral nanoparticles, viral particles for drug delivery, viral nanoparticles for molecular imaging, theranostics applications of viral nanoparticles and plant viruses in nanomedicine. We searched in Google Scholar, PubMed, Springer, Medline, and Elsevier from 2000 to till date and by the bibliographic review of all identified articles.Results:The findings demonstrated that structures dependent on nanomaterials might have potential applications in diagnostics, cell marking, comparing agents (computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging), and antimicrobial drugs, as well as drug delivery structures. However, measures should be taken in order to prevent or mitigate in pharmaceutical or medical applications the toxic impact or incompatibility of nanoparticle-based structures with biological systems.

Aljabali, AAA, Alzoubi, L, Hamzat, Y, Alqudah, A, Obeid, MA, Al Zoubi, MS, Ennab, RM, Alshaer, W, Albatayneh, K, Al-Trad, B, Alqudah, DA, Chellappan, DK, Gupta, G, Tambuwala, MM, Kamal, D & Evans, DJ 2021, 'A Potential MRI Agent and an Anticancer Drug Encapsulated within CPMV Virus-Like Particles', Combinatorial Chemistry & High Throughput Screening, vol. 24, no. 10, pp. 1557-1571.
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Background:Virus nanoparticles have been extensively studied over the past decadesfor theranostics applications. Viruses are well-characterized, naturally occurring nanoparticles thatcan be produced in high quantity with a high degree of similarity in both structure and composition.Objectives:The plant virus Cowpea Mosaic Virus (CPMV) has been innovatively used as a nanoscaffold.Utilization of the internal cavity of empty Virus-Like Particles (VLPs) for the inclusion oftherapeutics within the capsid has opened many opportunities in drug delivery and imaging applications.Methods: The encapsidation of magnetic materials and anticancer drugs was achieved. SuperscriptCPMVdenotes molecules attached to the external surface of CPMV and CPMVSubscript denotesmolecules within the interior of the capsid.Results: Here, the generation of novel VLPs incorporating iron-platinum nanoparticles TCPMVFePtand cisplatin (Cis) (TCPMVCis) is reported. TCPMVCis exhibited a cytotoxic IC50 of TCPMVCis onboth A549 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines of 1.8 μM and 3.9 μM, respectively after 72 hours of incubation.The TCPMVFePt were prepared as potential MRI contrast agents.Conclusions:Cisplatin loaded VLP (TCPMVCis) is shown to enhance cisplatin cytotoxicity in cancercell lines with its potency increased by 2.3-folds.

Aljabali, AAA, Hassan, SS, Pabari, RM, Shahcheraghi, SH, Mishra, V, Charbe, NB, Chellappan, DK, Dureja, H, Gupta, G, Almutary, AG, Alnuqaydan, AM, Verma, SK, Panda, PK, Mishra, YK, Serrano-Aroca, Á, Dua, K, Uversky, VN, Redwan, EM, Bahar, B, Bhatia, A, Negi, P, Goyal, R, McCarron, P, Bakshi, HA & Tambuwala, MM 2021, 'The Viral Capsid As Novel Nanomaterials for Drug Delivery', Future Science OA, vol. 7, no. 9, pp. FSO744-FSO744.
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The purpose of this review is to highlight recent scientific developments and provide an overview of virus self-assembly and viral particle dynamics. Viruses are organized supramolecular structures with distinct yet related features and functions. Plant viruses are extensively used in biotechnology, and virus-like particulate matter is generated by genetic modification. Both provide a material-based means for selective distribution and delivery of drug molecules. Through surface engineering of their capsids, virus-derived nanomaterials facilitate various potential applications for selective drug delivery. Viruses have significant implications in chemotherapy, gene transfer, vaccine production, immunotherapy and molecular imaging.

Aljabali, AAA, Pal, K, Serrano-Aroca, A, Takayama, K, Dua, K & Tambuwala, MM 2021, 'Clinical utility of novel biosensing platform: Diagnosis of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 at point of care', Materials Letters, vol. 304, pp. 130612-130612.
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Alnuqaydan, AM, Almutary, AG, Sukamaran, A, Yang, BTW, Lee, XT, Lim, WX, Ng, YM, Ibrahim, R, Darmarajan, T, Nanjappan, S, Chellian, J, Candasamy, M, Madheswaran, T, Sharma, A, Dureja, H, Prasher, P, Verma, N, Kumar, D, Palaniveloo, K, Bisht, D, Gupta, G, Madan, JR, Singh, SK, Jha, NK, Dua, K & Chellappan, DK 2021, 'Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) Virus—Pathophysiological Axis and the Current Treatment Strategies', AAPS PharmSciTech, vol. 22, no. 5.
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Alomari, G, Al‐Trad, B, Hamdan, S, Aljabali, AAA, Al Zoubi, MS, Al‐Batanyeh, K, Qar, J, Eaton, GJ, Alkaraki, AK, Alshaer, W, Haifawi, S, Jemon, K, Chellappan, DK, Dua, K & Tambuwala, MM 2021, 'Alleviation of diabetic nephropathy by zinc oxide nanoparticles in streptozotocin‐induced type 1 diabetes in rats', IET Nanobiotechnology, vol. 15, no. 5, pp. 473-483.
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This study examines the effect of nanoparticles with zinc oxides (ZnONPs) on diabetic nephropathy, which is the primary cause of mortality for diabetic patients with end-stage renal disease. Diabetes in adult male rats was induced via intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. ZnONPs were intraperitoneally administered to diabetic rats daily for 7 weeks. Diabetes was associated with increases in blood glucose level, 24-h urinary albumin excretion rate, glomerular basement membrane thickness, renal oxidative stress markers, and renal mRNA or protein expression of transforming growth factor-β1, fibronectin, collagen-IV, tumour necrosis factor-α and vascular endothelial growth factor-A. Moreover, the expression of nephrin and podocin, and the mRNA expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 were decreased in the diabetic group. These changes were not detected in the control group and were significantly prevented by ZnONP treatment. These results provide evidence that ZnONPs ameliorate the renal damage induced in a diabetic rat model of nephropathy through improving renal functionality; inhibiting renal fibrosis, oxidative stress, inflammation and abnormal angiogenesis; and delaying the development of podocyte injury. The present findings may help design the clinical application of ZnONPs for protection against the development of diabetic nephropathy.

Amador-Fernández, N, Benrimoj, SI, García-Mochón, L, García-Cárdenas, V, Dineen-Griffin, S, Gastelurrutia, MÁ, Gómez-Martínez, JC, Colomer-Molina, V & Martínez-Martínez, F 2021, 'A cost utility analysis alongside a cluster-randomised trial evaluating a minor ailment service compared to usual care in community pharmacy', BMC Health Services Research, vol. 21, no. 1.
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Abstract Background Minor ailments are “self-limiting conditions which may be diagnosed and managed without a medical intervention”. A cluster randomised controlled trial (cRCT) was designed to evaluate the clinical, humanistic and economic outcomes of a Minor Ailment Service (MAS) in community pharmacy (CP) compared with usual care (UC). Methods The cRCT was conducted for 6 months from December 2017. The pharmacist-patient intervention consisted of a standardised face-to-face consultation on a web-based program using co-developed protocols, pharmacists’ training, practice change facilitators and patients’ educational material. Patients requesting a non-prescription medication (direct product request) or presenting minor ailments received MAS or UC and were followed-up by telephone 10-days after the consultation. The primary economic outcomes were incremental cost-utility ratio (ICUR) of the service and health related quality of life (HRQoL). Total costs included health system, CPs and patient direct costs: health professionals’ consultation time, medication costs, pharmacists’ training costs, investment of the pharmacy and consultation costs within the 10 days following the initial consultation. The HRQoL was obtained using the EuroQoL 5D-5L at the time of the consultation and at 10-days follow up. A sensitivity analysis was carried out using bootstrapping. There were two sub-group analyses undertaken, for symptom presentation and direct product requests, to evaluate possible differences. Results A total of 808 patients (323 MAS and 485 UC) were recruited in 27 CPs with 42 pharmacists (20 MAS and 22 UC). 6...

Anand, K, Abdul, NS, Ghazi, T, Ramesh, M, Gupta, G, Tambuwala, MM, Dureja, H, Singh, SK, Chellappan, DK, Dua, K, Pandi, B, Saravanan, M & Chuturgoon, AA 2021, 'Induction of Caspase-Mediated Apoptosis in HepG2 Liver Carcinoma Cells Using Mutagen–Antioxidant Conjugated Self-Assembled Novel Carbazole Nanoparticles and In Silico Modeling Studies', ACS Omega, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 265-277.
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In this study, novel self-assembled carbazole-thiooctanoic acid nanoparticles (CTNs) were synthesized from amino carbazole (a mutagen) and thiooctanoic acid (an antioxidant). The nanoparticles were characterized using hyperspectral techniques. Then, the antiproliferative potential of CTNs was determined in HepG2 liver carcinoma cells. This study employed a solvent-antisolvent interaction method to synthesize a spherical CTN of size less than 50 nm. Moreover, CT was subsequently capped to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in the additional comparative studies. The CT derivative was synthesized from carbazole and lipoic acid by the amide bond formation reaction using a coupling agent. Furthermore, it was characterized using infrared (IR), ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and transmission electron microscopy techniques. The CT-capped gold nanoparticles (CTAuNPs) were prepared from CT, chloroauric acid, and NaBH₄. The CTAuNPs were characterized using ultraviolet-visible, high-resolution TEM, DLS, and Fourier transform IR techniques. The cytotoxicity and apoptosis-inducing ability of both nanoparticles were determined in HepG2 cells. The results demonstrate that CTNs exhibit antiproliferative activity in the cancerous HepG2 cells. Moreover, molecular docking and molecular dynamics studies were conducted to explore the therapeutic potential of CT against human EGFR suppressor protein to gain more insights into the binding mode of the CT, which may show a significant role in anticancer therapy.

Anand, K, Vadivalagan, C, Joseph, JS, Singh, SK, Gulati, M, Shahbaaz, M, Abdellattif, MH, Prasher, P, Gupta, G, Chellappan, DK & Dua, K 2021, 'A novel nano therapeutic using convalescent plasma derived exosomal (CPExo) for COVID-19: A combined hyperactive immune modulation and diagnostics', Chemico-Biological Interactions, vol. 344, pp. 109497-109497.
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Bisht, D, Kumar, D, Kumar, D, Dua, K & Chellappan, DK 2021, 'Phytochemistry and pharmacological activity of the genus artemisia', Archives of Pharmacal Research, vol. 44, no. 5, pp. 439-474.
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Bose, S, Sharma, P, Mishra, V, Patial, S, Saraogi, GK, Tambuwala, MM & Dua, K 2021, 'Comparative in vitro evaluation of glimepiride containing nanosuspension drug delivery system developed by different techniques', Journal of Molecular Structure, vol. 1231, pp. 129927-129927.
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The present study was aimed to develop the Glimepiride (GLM) loaded nanosuspension by different methods for increasing the solubility of GLM. Twelve formulations were prepared by combination method (FG), which included antisolvent precipitation method followed by sonication (Method 1) selecting drug and polymer in ratio of 1:10, 1:20 and 1:30. Further 6 formulations were prepared by nanoprecipitation method (Fg) (Method 2) selecting drug and polymer in ratio of 1:10, 1:20 by using different polymers like polyvinyl pyrolidone (PVP K30), and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) such as PEG 6000 and PEG 400. The GLM nanosuspensions prepared by different techniques were evaluated by optical microscopy, percent entrapment efficiency (%EE), particle size analysis, zeta potential, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and in vitro dissolution. FG1 formulation was found to be better formulation showing 82.04% EE, 129–180 nm particle size range, 30.16 mV zeta potential, 0.253 polydispersity index (PDI) and 86.76% drug release as compared to Fgii formulation having %EE, average particle size, zeta potential, PDI value and drug release as 80.03%, 72–383 nm, -22.19 mV, 0.358 and 74.77%, respectively. On the basis of results obtained from different studies, it can be concluded that GLM nanosuspension prepared by combination technique (FG) shows good solubility and dissolution than those prepared by nanoprecipitation technique (Fg), hence the combination technique is found to be a preferred technique to prepare GLM nanosuspension over nanoprecipitation technique.

Brizuela Rodicio, L, Molinero, A, Amador Fernández, N, Escribano-Molinero, R, Prats Mas, R, Eyaralar Riera, T & Salar Ibáñez, L 2021, 'Servicio profesional farmacéutico de indicación farmacéutica en sequedad ocular utilizando el programa ‘I-VALOR’', Farmacéuticos Comunitarios, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 17-23.
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Chabattula, SC, Gupta, PK, Tripathi, SK, Gahtori, R, Padhi, P, Mahapatra, S, Biswal, BK, Singh, SK, Dua, K, Ruokolainen, J, Mishra, YK, Jha, NK, Bishi, DK & Kesari, KK 2021, 'Anticancer therapeutic efficacy of biogenic Am-ZnO nanoparticles on 2D and 3D tumor models', Materials Today Chemistry, vol. 22, pp. 100618-100618.
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Chan, Y, MacLoughlin, R, Zacconi, FC, Tambuwala, MM, Pabari, RM, Singh, SK, Jesus Andreoli Pinto, TD, Gupta, G, Chellappan, DK & Dua, K 2021, 'Advances in Nanotechnology-Based Drug Delivery in Targeting PI3K Signaling in Respiratory Diseases', Nanomedicine, vol. 16, no. 16, pp. 1351-1355.
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Chan, Y, Mehta, M, Paudel, KR, Madheswaran, T, Panneerselvam, J, Gupta, G, Su, QP, Hansbro, PM, MacLoughlin, R, Dua, K & Chellappan, DK 2021, 'Versatility of Liquid Crystalline Nanoparticles in Inflammatory Lung Diseases', Nanomedicine, vol. 16, no. 18, pp. 1545-1548.
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Chan, Y, Ng, SW, Chellappan, DK, Madheswaran, T, Zeeshan, F, Kumar, P, Pillay, V, Gupta, G, Wadhwa, R, Mehta, M, Wark, P, Hsu, A, Hansbro, NG, Hansbro, PM, Dua, K & Panneerselvam, J 2021, 'Celastrol-loaded liquid crystalline nanoparticles as an anti-inflammatory intervention for the treatment of asthma', International Journal of Polymeric Materials and Polymeric Biomaterials, vol. 70, no. 11, pp. 754-763.
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The present study aimed to formulate celastrol into liquid crystalline nanoparticles (LCNPs) through ultrasonication to enhance its therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of asthma. The physiochemical characteristics, in-vitro release studies were determined along with molecular simulations. Celastrol-loaded LCNPs showed the mean particle size of 194.1 ± 9.78 nm and high entrapment efficiency of 99.1 ± 0.02%. TEM revealed cubical-like structure of the nanoparticles and in-vitro release study demonstrated sustained drug release. They also demonstrated significant activity in reducing IL-1β production, when evaluated using immortalized human bronchial epithelial cell lines (BCi-NS1.1), that may help alleviate the symptoms of asthma.

Chan, Y, Ng, SW, Singh, SK, Gulati, M, Gupta, G, Chaudhary, SK, Hing, GB, Collet, T, MacLoughlin, R, Löbenberg, R, Oliver, BG, Chellappan, DK & Dua, K 2021, 'Revolutionizing polymer-based nanoparticle-linked vaccines for targeting respiratory viruses: A perspective', Life Sciences, vol. 280, pp. 119744-119744.
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Viral respiratory tract infections have significantly impacted global health as well as socio-economic growth. Respiratory viruses such as the influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and the recent SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) typically infect the upper respiratory tract by entry through the respiratory mucosa before reaching the lower respiratory tract, resulting in respiratory disease. Generally, vaccination is the primary method in preventing virus pathogenicity and it has been shown to remarkably reduce the burden of various infectious diseases. Nevertheless, the efficacy of conventional vaccines may be hindered by certain limitations, prompting the need to develop novel vaccine delivery vehicles to immunize against various strains of respiratory viruses and to mitigate the risk of a pandemic. In this review, we provide an insight into how polymer-based nanoparticles can be integrated with the development of vaccines to effectively enhance immune responses for combating viral respiratory tract infections.

Chan, Y, Ng, SW, Tan, JZX, Gupta, G, Negi, P, Thangavelu, L, Balusamy, SR, Perumalsamy, H, Yap, WH, Singh, SK, Caruso, V, Dua, K & Chellappan, DK 2021, 'Natural products in the management of obesity: Fundamental mechanisms and pharmacotherapy', South African Journal of Botany, vol. 143, pp. 176-197.
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Chan, Y, Prasher, P, Löbenberg, R, Gupta, G, Singh, SK, Oliver, BG, Chellappan, DK & Dua, K 2021, 'Applications and Practice of Advanced Drug Delivery Systems for Targeting Toll-Like Receptors in Pulmonary Diseases', Nanomedicine, vol. 16, no. 10, pp. 783-786.
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Chellappan, DK, Dharwal, V, Paudel, KR, Jha, NK, MacLoughlin, R, Oliver, BG, M Hansbro, P & Dua, K 2021, 'Mitochondrial Dysfunctions Associated With Chronic Respiratory Diseases and Their Targeted Therapies: an Update', Future Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 13, no. 15, pp. 1249-1251.
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Chitranshi, N, Kumar, A, Sheriff, S, Gupta, V, Godinez, A, Saks, D, Sarkar, S, Shen, T, Mirzaei, M, Basavarajappa, D, Abyadeh, M, Singh, SK, Dua, K, Zhang, KYJ, Graham, SL & Gupta, V 2021, 'Identification of Novel Cathepsin B Inhibitors with Implications in Alzheimer’s Disease: Computational Refining and Biochemical Evaluation', Cells, vol. 10, no. 8, pp. 1946-1946.
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Amyloid precursor protein (APP), upon proteolytic degradation, forms aggregates of amyloid β (Aβ) and plaques in the brain, which are pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Cathepsin B is a cysteine protease enzyme that catalyzes the proteolytic degradation of APP in the brain. Thus, cathepsin B inhibition is a crucial therapeutic aspect for the discovery of new anti-Alzheimer’s drugs. In this study, we have employed mixed-feature ligand-based virtual screening (LBVS) by integrating pharmacophore mapping, docking, and molecular dynamics to detect small, potent molecules that act as cathepsin B inhibitors. The LBVS model was generated by using hydrophobic (HY), hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA), and hydrogen bond donor (HBD) features, using a dataset of 24 known cathepsin B inhibitors of both natural and synthetic origins. A validated eight-feature pharmacophore hypothesis (Hypo III) was utilized to screen the Maybridge chemical database. The docking score, MM-PBSA, and MM-GBSA methodology was applied to prioritize the lead compounds as virtual screening hits. These compounds share a common amide scaffold, and showed important interactions with Gln23, Cys29, His110, His111, Glu122, His199, and Trp221. The identified inhibitors were further evaluated for cathepsin-B-inhibitory activity. Our study suggests that pyridine, acetamide, and benzohydrazide compounds could be used as a starting point for the development of novel therapeutics.

Chong, WC, Chellappan, DK, Shukla, SD, Peterson, GM, Patel, RP, Jha, NK, Eri, RD, Dua, K, Tambuwala, MM & Shastri, MD 2021, 'An Appraisal of the Current Scenario in Vaccine Research for COVID-19', Viruses, vol. 13, no. 7, pp. 1397-1397.
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The recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has drawn global attention, affecting millions, disrupting economies and healthcare modalities. With its high infection rate, COVID-19 has caused a colossal health crisis worldwide. While information on the comprehensive nature of this infectious agent, SARS-CoV-2, still remains obscure, ongoing genomic studies have been successful in identifying its genomic sequence and the presenting antigen. These may serve as promising, potential therapeutic targets in the effective management of COVID-19. In an attempt to establish herd immunity, massive efforts have been directed and driven toward developing vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen. This review, in this direction, is aimed at providing the current scenario and future perspectives in the development of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2.

Chong, WC, Shastri, MD, Peterson, GM, Patel, RP, Pathinayake, PS, Dua, K, Hansbro, NG, Hsu, AC, Wark, PA, Shukla, SD, Johansen, MD, Schroder, K & Hansbro, PM 2021, 'The complex interplay between endoplasmic reticulum stress and the NLRP3 inflammasome: a potential therapeutic target for inflammatory disorders', Clinical & Translational Immunology, vol. 10, no. 2, p. e1247.
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AbstractInflammation is the result of a complex network of cellular and molecular interactions and mechanisms that facilitate immune protection against intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli, particularly pathogens, to maintain homeostasis and promote tissue healing. However, dysregulation in the immune system elicits excess/abnormal inflammation resulting in unintended tissue damage and causes major inflammatory diseases including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, atherosclerosis, inflammatory bowel diseases, sarcoidosis and rheumatoid arthritis. It is now widely accepted that both endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and inflammasomes play critical roles in activating inflammatory signalling cascades. Notably, evidence is mounting for the involvement of ER stress in exacerbating inflammasome‐induced inflammatory cascades, which may provide a new axis for therapeutic targeting in a range of inflammatory disorders. Here, we comprehensively review the roles, mechanisms and interactions of both ER stress and inflammasomes, as well as their interconnected relationships in inflammatory signalling cascades. We also discuss novel therapeutic strategies that are being developed to treat ER stress‐ and inflammasome‐related inflammatory disorders.

Cochran, BJ, Ong, K-L, Manandhar, B & Rye, K-A 2021, 'APOA1: a Protein with Multiple Therapeutic Functions', Current Atherosclerosis Reports, vol. 23, no. 3, p. 11.
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PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW: Apolipoprotein (APO) A1, the main apolipoprotein of plasma high-density lipoproteins (HDLs), has several well documented cardioprotective functions. A number of additional potentially beneficial functions of APOA1 have recently been identified. This review is concerned with the therapeutic potential of all of these functions in multiple disease states. RECENT FINDINGS: Knowledge of the beneficial functions of APOA1 in atherosclerosis, thrombosis, diabetes, cancer, and neurological disorders is increasing exponentially. These insights have led to the development of clinically relevant peptides and APOA1-containing, synthetic reconstituted HDL (rHDL) preparations that mimic the functions of full-length APOA1. APOA1 is a multifunctional apolipoprotein that has therapeutic potential in several diseases. Translation of this knowledge into the clinic is likely to be dependent on the efficacy and bioavailability of small peptides and synthetic rHDL preparations that are currently under investigation, or in development.

Corrie, L, Gulati, M, Singh, SK, Kapoor, B, Khursheed, R, Awasthi, A, Vishwas, S, Chellappan, DK, Gupta, G, Jha, NK, Anand, K & Dua, K 2021, 'Recent updates on animal models for understanding the etiopathogenesis of polycystic ovarian syndrome', Life Sciences, vol. 280, pp. 119753-119753.
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Devkota, HP, Gaire, BP, Hori, K, Subedi, L, Adhikari-Devkota, A, Belwal, T, Paudel, KR, Jha, NK, Singh, SK, Chellappan, DK, Hansbro, PM, Dua, K & Kurauchi, Y 2021, 'The science of matcha: Bioactive compounds, analytical techniques and biological properties', Trends in Food Science & Technology, vol. 118, pp. 735-743.
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Devkota, HP, Paudel, KR, Jha, NK, Gupta, PK, Singh, SK, Chellappan, DK, Hansbro, PM & Dua, K 2021, 'Applications of Drug-Delivery Systems Targeting Inflammasomes in Pulmonary Diseases', Nanomedicine, vol. 16, no. 27, pp. 2407-2410.
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Dineen-Griffin, S, Benrimoj, SI, Williams, KA & Garcia-Cardenas, V 2021, 'Co-design and feasibility of a pharmacist-led minor ailment service', BMC Health Services Research, vol. 21, no. 1.
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Abstract Background Community pharmacies provide an appropriate setting to deliver minor ailment services (MASs). Many community pharmacy services have been developed previously without stakeholder involvement. As a result, implementation of services may fail to produce the expected impact. The aim of this research was to co-design and test the feasibility of an Australian MAS for minor ailment presentations. Methods This study used co-design methodology which included two phases: (1) a focus group with stakeholders to allow the conceptualization of the service and agreement on service elements; (2) a literature review of clinical guidelines and three working meetings with a team of editors and general practitioners for the development of treatment pathways. Following this, a study evaluating the feasibility of the co-designed service was undertaken. The qualitative part of the methodology associated with the feasibility study comprised semi-structured interviews with MAS pharmacists, observation and completion of a tool by change facilitators identifying barriers and facilitators to service delivery. Qualitative data obtained for all phases were analysed using thematic analysis. Results The developed service included the following components: (i) an in-pharmacy consultation between the patient and pharmacist, (ii) treatment pathways accessible to pharmacists on the internet to guide consultations, (iii) existing digital communication systems used by general practice to exchange patient information, (iv) training, and (v) change facilitation. As a result of feasibility testing, twenty-six implementation factors were identified for practice...

Dirar, AI, Adhikari-Devkota, A, Kunwar, RM, Paudel, KR, Belwal, T, Gupta, G, Chellappan, DK, Hansbro, PM, Dua, K & Devkota, HP 2021, 'Genus Blepharis (Acanthaceae): A review of ethnomedicinally used species, and their phytochemistry and pharmacological activities', Journal of Ethnopharmacology, vol. 265, pp. 113255-113255.
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ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE:Blepharis is an Afro-Asiatic genus belonging to the family Acanthaceae. It comprises 126 species that occur in arid and semi-arid habitats. Some species of Blepharis are used in traditional medicines in different countries mainly for their anti-inflammatory, would healing activities along with treatment of gastrointestinal disorders and bone fractures. AIM OF THE REVIEW:The present review aims to collate and analyze the available data and information on distribution, traditional uses, chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of Blepharis. METHODS:Scientific information of genus Blepharis was retrieved from the online bibliographic databases like MEDLINE/PubMed, SciFinder, Web of Science and Google Scholar and secondary resources including books and proceedings. RESULTS:Seven species of Blepharis were found to be reported frequently as useful in folklore in Asian and African countries. B. maderaspatensis was found to be widely used in Indian traditional medicines whereas the B. ciliaris and B. edulis were common in folklore of Egypt, Jordan, and Arabia. Active phytochemicals of Blepharis are flavonoids from B. ciliaris, alkaloids from B. sindica, phenolic acid derivatives, and phytosterols, and derivatives of hydroxamic acids from B. edulis resulted in possessing diverse biological properties such as anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer. CONCLUSION:Various species of Blepharis were found to be used in traditional medicine systems in African and Asian countries. Few of these species were studied for their bioactive chemical constituents however the activity guided isolation studies are not performed. Similarly, detailed pharmacological studies in animal models to explore their mechanism of action are also not reported. Future studies should focus on these aspects related to the medicinally used species of Blepharis. The detailed and comprehensive comparative analysis presented here gives valuable in...

Dongala, T, Katari, NK, Ettaboina, SK, Krishnan, A, Tambuwala, MM & Dua, K 2021, 'In vitro Dissolution Profile at Different Biological pH Conditions of Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate Tablets Is Available for the Treatment of COVID-19', Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, vol. 7, pp. 613393-613393.
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Hydroxychloroquine sulfate is one of an extensive series of 4-aminoquinolines with antimalarial activity. Moreover, it is used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Sometimes, hydroxychloroquine sulfate is beneficial for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Based on recent clinical experiments, it is exploited for the treatment of COVID-19, coronavirus across the globe. The chromatogram separation was achieved by using Agilent, Zorbax C8, 250 mm × 4.6 mm i.d., column. The buffer consists of 0.01 M of 1-pentane sulfonic acid and 0.02% of orthophosphoric acid in purified water. Mixed buffer, acetonitrile, and methanol (800:100:100 v/v). The flow rate was 1.0 ml min−1, and injection volume was 10 μl. Detection was made at 254 nm by using a dual absorbance detector (DAD). The reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method has been developed and validated as per the current International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines to estimate hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets. As part of method validation, specificity, linearity, precision, and recovery parameters were verified. The concentration and area relationships were linear (R2 > 0.999) over the concentration range of 25–300 μg ml−1 for hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). The relative standard deviations for precision and intermediate precision were <1.5%. The proposed RP-HPLC generic method was applied successfully to evaluate the in vitro dissolution profile with different pH conditions such as 0.1 N HCl, pH 4.5 acetate buffer, and pH 6.8 phosphate buffers as US-marketed reference products.

Faiyaz, M, Ganayee, MA, Akhtar, S, Krishnan, S, Flora, B, Dogra, D, Jha, NK, Chellappan, DK, Negi, P, Dua, K, Kesari, KK & Gupta, PK 2021, 'Nanomaterials in Alzheimer’s disease treatment: a comprehensive review', Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark, vol. 26, no. 10, pp. 851-851.
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Alzheimer’s, a progressive neurodegenerative disease affects brain and neurons through enormous reduction in nerve cell regenerative capacity. Dementia and impairment of cognitive functions are more prevalent in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients in both industrialized and non-industrialized countries. Various factors play significant role in molecular cascades that leads to neuronal inflammation, dementia and thereby AD progression. Current medications are symptomatic that alleviates pain while lack in absolute cure, urging researchers to explore targets and therapeutics. Interestingly, nanomedicines developed due to the onset of nanotechnology, are being extensively investigated for the treatment of AD. This review presents the advancement in nanotherapeutic strategies, involving the emergence of nanomaterials that offers advantage to pass through the blood-brain barrier and acts as a therapeutic modality against AD.

Gobinath, P, Packialakshmi, P, Vijayakumar, K, Abdellattif, MH, Shahbaaz, M, Idhayadhulla, A & Surendrakumar, R 2021, 'Corrigendum: Synthesis and Cytotoxic Activity of Novel Indole Derivatives and Their in silico Screening on Spike Glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2', Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, vol. 8.
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This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.637989

Godbole, G, Bolitho, R & Pont, L 2021, 'Key concepts in medication management in older persons for pharmacists practicing in non‐geriatric specialties', Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research, vol. 51, no. 5, pp. 427-434.
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AbstractMedication management for older persons can be complex. With over 50% of all hospital admissions being for people aged over 65 years, understanding age‐related functional, cognitive and social factor changes and their impact on medication use is critical for pharmacists working in most adult medicine areas. This paper provides an overview of critical elements of medication management for older persons for pharmacists. Key elements include age‐related changes impacting medication effectiveness and safety, frailty, geriatric syndromes, polypharmacy and deprescribing, minimising medication‐related harm at transitions of care, dose administration aids and other strategies to support individuals in medication management and multidisciplinary comprehensive geriatric assessment.

Gulati, N, Chellappan, DK, MacLoughlin, R, Dua, K & Dureja, H 2021, 'Inhaled nano-based therapeutics for inflammatory lung diseases: Recent advances and future prospects', Life Sciences, vol. 285, pp. 119969-119969.
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Gulati, N, Dua, K & Dureja, H 2021, 'Role of chitosan based nanomedicines in the treatment of chronic respiratory diseases', International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, vol. 185, pp. 20-30.
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Chitosan-loaded nanomedicines provide a greater opportunity for the treatment of respiratory diseases. Natural biopolymer chitosan and its derivatives have a large number of proven pharmacological actions like antioxidant, wound healing, immuno-stimulant, hypocholesterolemic, antimicrobial, obesity treatment, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, bone tissue engineering, antifungal, regenerative medicine, anti-diabetic and mucosal adjuvant, etc. which attracted its use in the pharmaceutical industry. As compared to other polysaccharides, chitosan has excellent mucoadhesive characteristics, less viscous, easily modified into the chemical and biological molecule and gel-forming property due to which the drugs retain in the respiratory tract for a longer period of time providing enhanced therapeutic action of the drug. Chitosan-based nanomedicines would have the greatest effect when used to transport poor water soluble drugs, macromolecules like proteins, and peptides through the lungs. In this review, we highlight and discuss the role of chitosan and its nanomedicines in the treatment of chronic respiratory diseases such as pneumonia, asthma, COPD, lung cancer, tuberculosis, and COVID-19.

Gulati, N, Kumar Chellappan, D, M. Tambuwala, M, A. A. Aljabali, A, Prasher, P, Kumar Singh, S, Anand, K, Sharma, A, Kumar Jha, N, Gupta, G, Dua, K & Dureja, H 2021, 'Oral Nanoemulsion of Fenofibrate: Formulation, Characterization, and In Vitro Drug Release Studies', ASSAY and Drug Development Technologies, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 246-261.
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Nanoemulsions (NMs) are one of the most important colloidal dispersion systems that are primarily used to improve the solubility of poorly water soluble drugs. The main objectives of this study were, first, to prepare an NM loaded with fenofibrate using a high shear homogenization technique and, second, to study the effect of variable using a central composite design. Twenty batches of fenofibrate-loaded NM formulations were prepared. The formed NMs were subjected to droplet size analysis, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, pH, dilution, polydispersity index, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and in vitro drug release study. Analysis of variance was used for entrapment efficiency data to study the fitness and significance of the design. The NM-7 batch formulation demonstrated maximum entrapment efficiency (81.82%) with lowest droplet size (72.28 nm), and was thus chosen as the optimized batch. TEM analysis revealed that the NM was well dispersed with droplet sizes <100 nm. Incorporation of the drug into the NM was confirmed with DSC studies. In addition, the batch NM-7 also showed the maximum in vitro drug release (87.6%) in a 0.05 M sodium lauryl sulfate solution. The release data revealed that the NM followed first-order kinetics. The outcomes of the study revealed the development of a stable oral NM containing fenofibrate using the high shear homogenization technique. This approach may aid in further enhancing the oral bioavailability of fenofibrate, which requires further in vivo studies.

Gupta, G, Al-Malki, WH, Kazmi, I, Thangavelu, L, Gupta, PK, Jha, NK, Prasher, P, Singh, SK & Dua, K 2021, 'The Role of HGF/MET in Liver Cancer', Future Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 13, no. 21, pp. 1829-1832.
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Gupta, G, Chellappan, DK, Singh, SK, Gupta, PK, Kesari, KK, Jha, NK, Thangavelu, L, G Oliver, B & Dua, K 2021, 'Advanced Drug Delivery Approaches in Managing TGF-β-Mediated Remodeling in Lung Diseases', Nanomedicine, vol. 16, no. 25, pp. 2243-2247.
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Gupta, G, S., R, Singh, Y, Thangavelu, L, Singh, SK, Dureja, H, Chellappan, DK & Dua, K 2021, 'Emerging cases of mucormycosis under COVID‐19 pandemic in India: Misuse of antibiotics', Drug Development Research, vol. 82, no. 7, pp. 880-882.
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AbstractCOVID‐19's second wave had a significant impact on India, on May 7, 2021, the largest daily recorded case count was a little more than 4 million, and it has since fallen. Although the number of new cases reported has dropped, during the third week of May 2021, India accounted for about 45% of new cases identified globally and around 34% of deaths. As India maintains its present level of stability, a new urgent threat has emerged in the form of coronavirus‐associated mucormycosis. Mucormycosis, an acute and deadly fungal infection caused by Mucorales‐related fungal species, is a fungal emergency with a particularly aggressive propensity for contiguous spread, associated with a poor prognosis if not properly and immediately identified, and treated. Mucormycosis, sometimes referred to as the “black fungus,” has increased more rapidly in India during the second wave of COVID‐19 than during the first wave, with at least 14,872 cases as of May 28, 2021. Uncontrolled diabetic mellitus (DM) and other immunosuppressive diseases such as neutropenia and corticosteroid treatment have traditionally been identified as risk factors for mucormycosis. Therefore, the use of glucocorticoids or high doses of glucocorticoids in mild COVID‐19 cases (without hypoxemia) should be avoided. In addition, drugs that target the immune pathway, such as tocilizumab, are not recommended without clear benefits.

Gupta, S, Khan, A, Vishwas, S, Gulati, M, Gurjeet Singh, T, Dua, K, Kumar Singh, S, Najda, A, Sayed, AA, Almeer, R & Abdel-Daim, MM 2021, 'Demethyleneberberine: A possible treatment for Huntington’s disease', Medical Hypotheses, vol. 153, pp. 110639-110639.
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Hardwick, J, Taylor, J, Mehta, M, Satija, S, Paudel, KR, Hansbro, PM, Chellappan, DK, Bebawy, M & Dua, K 2021, 'Targeting Cancer using Curcumin Encapsulated Vesicular Drug Delivery Systems', Current Pharmaceutical Design, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 2-14.
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Curcumin is a major curcuminoid present in turmeric. The compound is attributed to various therapeuticproperties, which include anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-malarial, and neuroprotection.Due to its therapeutic potential, curcumin has been employed for centuries in treating different ailments. Curcuminhas been investigated lately as a novel therapeutic agent in the treatment of cancer. However, the mechanismsby which curcumin exerts its cytotoxic effects on malignant cells are still not fully understood. One of themain limiting factors in the clinical use of curcumin is its poor bioavailability and rapid elimination. Advancementsin drug delivery systems such as nanoparticle-based vesicular drug delivery platforms have improved severalparameters, namely, drug bioavailability, solubility, stability, and controlled release properties. The use ofcurcumin-encapsulated niosomes to improve the physical and pharmacokinetic properties of curcumin is one suchapproach. This review provides an up-to-date summary of nanoparticle-based vesicular drug carriers and theirtherapeutic applications. Specifically, we focus on niosomes as novel drug delivery formulations and their potentialin improving the delivery of challenging small molecules, including curcumin. Overall, the applications ofsuch carriers will provide a new direction for novel pharmaceutical drug delivery, as well as for biotechnology,nutraceutical, and functional food industries.

Jeyaraman, M, Muthu, S, Bapat, A, Jain, R, Sushmitha, ES, Gulati, A, Channaiah Anudeep, T, Dilip, SJ, Jha, NK, Kumar, D, Kesari, KK, Ojha, S, Dholpuria, S, Gupta, G, Dureja, H, Chellappan, DK, Singh, SK, Dua, K & Jha, SK 2021, 'Bracing NK cell based therapy to relegate pulmonary inflammation in COVID-19', Heliyon, vol. 7, no. 7, pp. e07635-e07635.
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The contagiosity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has startled mankind and has brought our lives to a standstill. The treatment focused mainly on repurposed immunomodulatory and antiviral agents along with the availability of a few vaccines for prophylaxis to vanquish COVID-19. This seemingly mandates a deeper understanding of the disease pathogenesis. This necessitates a plausible extrapolation of cell-based therapy to COVID-19 and is regarded equivalently significant. Recently, correlative pieces of clinical evidence reported a robust decline in lymphocyte count in severe COVID-19 patients that suggest dysregulated immune responses as a key element contributing to the pathophysiological alterations. The large granular lymphocytes also known as natural killer (NK) cells play a heterogeneous role in biological functioning wherein their frontline action defends the body against a wide array of infections and tumors. They prominently play a critical role in viral clearance and executing immuno-modulatory activities. Accumulated clinical evidence demonstrate a decrease in the number of NK cells in circulation with or without phenotypical exhaustion. These plausibly contribute to the progression of pulmonary inflammation in COVID-19 pneumonia and result in acute lung injury. In this review, we have outlined the present understanding of the immunological response of NK cells in COVID-19 infection. We have also discussed the possible use of these powerful biological cells as a therapeutic agent in view of preventing immunological harms of SARS-CoV-2 and the current challenges in advocating NK cell therapy for the same.

Jha, N, Jeyaraman, M, Rachamalla, M, Ojha, S, Dua, K, Chellappan, D, Muthu, S, Sharma, A, Jha, S, Jain, R, Jeyaraman, N, GS, P, Satyam, R, Khan, F, Pandey, P, Verma, N, Singh, S, Roychoudhury, S, Dholpuria, S, Ruokolainen, J & Kesari, K 2021, 'Current Understanding of Novel Coronavirus: Molecular Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Treatment Approaches', Immuno, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 30-66.
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An outbreak of “Pneumonia of Unknown Etiology” occurred in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019. Later, the agent factor was identified and coined as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and the disease was named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In a shorter period, this newly emergent infection brought the world to a standstill. On 11 March 2020, the WHO declared COVID-19 as a pandemic. Researchers across the globe have joined their hands to investigate SARS-CoV-2 in terms of pathogenicity, transmissibility, and deduce therapeutics to subjugate this infection. The researchers and scholars practicing different arts of medicine are on an extensive quest to come up with safer ways to curb the pathological implications of this viral infection. A huge number of clinical trials are underway from the branch of allopathy and naturopathy. Besides, a paradigm shift on cellular therapy and nano-medicine protocols has to be optimized for better clinical and functional outcomes of COVID-19-affected individuals. This article unveils a comprehensive review of the pathogenesis mode of spread, and various treatment modalities to combat COVID-19 disease.

Jha, NK, Ojha, S, Jha, SK, Dureja, H, Singh, SK, Shukla, SD, Chellappan, DK, Gupta, G, Bhardwaj, S, Kumar, N, Jeyaraman, M, Jain, R, Muthu, S, Kar, R, Kumar, D, Goswami, VK, Ruokolainen, J, Kesari, KK, Singh, SK & Dua, K 2021, 'Evidence of Coronavirus (CoV) Pathogenesis and Emerging Pathogen SARS-CoV-2 in the Nervous System: A Review on Neurological Impairments and Manifestations', Journal of Molecular Neuroscience, vol. 71, no. 11, pp. 2192-2209.
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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an issue of global significance that has taken the lives of many across the world. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the virus responsible for its pathogenesis. The pulmonary manifestations of COVID-19 have been well described in the literature. Initially, it was thought to be limited to the respiratory system; however, we now recognize that COVID-19 also affects several other organs, including the nervous system. Two similar human coronaviruses (CoV) that cause severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-1) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) are also known to cause disease in the nervous system. The neurological manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection are growing rapidly, as evidenced by several reports. There are several mechanisms responsible for such manifestations in the nervous system. For instance, post-infectious immune-mediated processes, direct virus infection of the central nervous system (CNS), and virus-induced hyperinflammatory and hypercoagulable states are commonly involved. Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and its variants, dysfunction of taste and smell, and muscle injury are numerous examples of COVID-19 PNS (peripheral nervous system) disease. Likewise, hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke, encephalitis, meningitis, encephalopathy acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, endothelialitis, and venous sinus thrombosis are some instances of COVID-19 CNS disease. Due to multifactorial and complicated pathogenic mechanisms, COVID-19 poses a large-scale threat to the whole nervous system. A complete understanding of SARS-CoV-2 neurological impairments is still lacking, but our knowledge base is rapidly expanding. Therefore, we anticipate that this comprehensive review will provide valuable insights and facilitate the work of neuroscientists in unfolding different neurological dimensions of COVID-19 and other CoV associated abnormalities.

Joshi, D, Sharma, I, Gupta, S, Singh, TG, Dhiman, S, Prashar, A, Gulati, M, Kumar, B, Vishwas, S, Chellappan, DK, Gupta, G, Jha, NK, Gupta, PK, Negi, P, Dua, K & Singh, SK 2021, 'A global comparison of implementation and effectiveness of materiovigilance program: overview of regulations', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 28, no. 42, pp. 59608-59629.
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Medical devices, being life-saving tools, are considered to be a boon for healthcare system. However, in addition to their therapeutic effects, there are several ill consequences that are caused by these devices. An effective cohort vigilant system was needed to manage such adverse effects. This had led to the introduction of materiovigilance. Materiovigilance is the study and follow-up of occurrences that arise as a result from the usage of the medical equipment. It not only manages adverse events (AE) but also creates harmonization among countries. Keeping these objectives in focus, the principles, perspectives, and practices with regard to materiovigilance that are followed in the USA, Europe, China, Japan, Australia, Canada, and India are being compared. Such a comparison is essential, which will help us to understand the gaps in the current regulatory systems in the above-mentioned countries and furthermore will provide a comprehensive picture to the regulatory authorities to amend any existing laws if required. These amendments may ensure optimal patient safety by providing them a benign experience from the use of medical devices.

Kar, R, Jha, SK, Ojha, S, Sharma, A, Dholpuria, S, Raju, VSR, Prasher, P, Chellappan, DK, Gupta, G, Kumar Singh, S, Paudel, KR, Hansbro, PM, Kumar Singh, S, Ruokolainen, J, Kesari, KK, Dua, K & Jha, NK 2021, 'The FBXW7‐NOTCH interactome: A ubiquitin proteasomal system‐induced crosstalk modulating oncogenic transformation in human tissues', Cancer Reports, vol. 4, no. 4.
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AbstractBackgroundUbiquitin ligases or E3 ligases are well programmed to regulate molecular interactions that operate at a post‐translational level. Skp, Cullin, F‐box containing complex (or SCF complex) is a multidomain E3 ligase known to mediate the degradation of a wide range of proteins through the proteasomal pathway. The three‐dimensional domain architecture of SCF family proteins suggests that it operates through a novel and adaptable “super‐enzymatic” process that might respond to targeted therapeutic modalities in cancer.Recent findingsSeveral F‐box containing proteins have been characterized either as tumor suppressors (FBXW8, FBXL3, FBXW8, FBXL3, FBXO1, FBXO4, and FBXO18) or as oncogenes (FBXO5, FBXO9, and SKP2). Besides, F‐box members like βTrcP1 and βTrcP2, the ones with context‐dependent functionality, have also been studied and reported. FBXW7 is a well‐studied F‐box protein and is a tumor suppressor. FBXW7 regulates the activity of a range of substrates, such as c‐Myc, cyclin E, mTOR, c‐Jun, NOTCH, myeloid cell leukemia sequence‐1 (MCL1), AURKA, NOTCH through the well‐known ubiquitin‐proteasome system (UPS)‐mediated degradation pathway. NOTCH signaling is a primitive pathway that plays a crucial role in maintaining normal tissue homeostasis. FBXW7 regulates NOTCH protein activity by controlling its half‐life, thereby maintaining optimum protein levels in tissue. However, aberrations in the FBXW7 or NOTCH expression levels can lead to poor prognosis and detrimental outcomes in patients. Therefore, the FBXW7‐NOTCH axis has been a subject of intense study and research over the years, especially around the interactome's role in driving cancer development and progression. Several studies have reported the effect of FBXW7 and NOTCH mutations on normal tissue behavior. The current review attempts to critically analy...

Kaur, J, Famta, P, Famta, M, Mehta, M, Satija, S, Sharma, N, Vyas, M, Khatik, GL, Chellappan, DK, Dua, K & Khurana, N 2021, 'Potential anti-epileptic phytoconstituents: An updated review', Journal of Ethnopharmacology, vol. 268, pp. 113565-113565.
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ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE:Epilepsy is one of the most commonly occurring non-communicable neurological disorder that affects people of all age groups. Around 50 million people globally are epileptic, with 80% cases in developing countries due to lack of access to treatments determined by high cost and poor availability or it can be defined by the fraction of active epileptic patients who are not appropriately being treated. The availability of antiepileptic drugs and their adjuvant therapy in such countries is less than 50% and these are highly susceptible to drug interactions and severe adverse effects. As a result, the use of herbal medicine is increasingly becoming popular. AIM OF THE STUDY:To provide pharmacological information on the active constituents evaluated in the preclinical study to treat epilepsy with potential to be used as an alternative therapeutic option in future. It also provides affirmation for the development of novel antiepileptic drugs derived from medicinal plants. MATERIALS AND METHODS:Relevant information on the antiepileptic potential of phytoconstituents in the preclinical study (in-vitro, in-vivo) is provided based on their effect on screening parameters. Besides, relevant information on pharmacology of phytoconstituents, the traditional use of their medicinal plants related to epilepsy and status of phytoconstituents in the clinical study were derived from online databases, including PubMed, Clinicaltrial.gov, The Plant List (TPL, www.theplantlist.org), Science Direct. Articles identified using preset searching syntax and inclusion criteria are presented. RESULTS:More than 70% of the phytoconstituents reviewed in this paper justified the traditional use of their medicinal plant related to epilepsy by primarily acting on the GABAergic system. Amongst the phytoconstituents, only cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol have been explored for clinical application in epilepsy. CONCLUSION:The preclinical and clinical data of t...

Kaur, J, Gulati, M, Gowthamarajan, K, Vishwas, S, Kumar Chellappan, D, Gupta, G, Dua, K, Pandey, NK, Kumar, B & Singh, SK 2021, 'Combination therapy of vanillic acid and oxaliplatin co-loaded in polysaccharide based functionalized polymeric micelles could offer effective treatment for colon cancer: A hypothesis', Medical Hypotheses, vol. 156, pp. 110679-110679.
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Colon cancer is characterised by the persistent change in bowel habits due to the formation of polyps (cancerous) in the inner lining of the colon. Clinically, there are several anticancer drugs available to treat colon cancer. Oxaliplatin (third generation platinum drug) is widely prescribed anticancer drug due to its broad range anticancer properties and low toxicities over cisplatin and carboplatin. Currently, use of oxaliplatin as adjuvant chemotherapy represents a standard care for the treatment of advanced colon cancer. Despite this, its rapid degradation in systemic circulations upon administration, lack of tumor specificity, and low bioavailability limits its anticancer potential. On the other hand, vanillic acid (VA) has shown anticancer potential in colon cancer by targeting mTOR/Ras pathway, HIF-1α inhibition, NF-ĸB, and Nrf2 that regulate cell growth, cell survival, proliferation and adaptation to cancer microenvironment. Normal oral delivery of these two drugs offers non-specific drug release in gastrointestinal tract that leads to unwanted toxicity and very less amount of drug become available for colonic site. Therefore, loading of these two drugs in polysaccharide based functionalized polymeric micelles (FPMs) can offer selective targeting at colonic site and could offer better therapeutic efficacy at much lesser doses of drugs. Therefore, a new hypothesis has been proposed that the combination of vanillic acid with oxaliplatin co-loaded in FPMs could provide colon targeting ability with enhanced potency and safety profile by targeting multiple pathways than current adjuvant chemotherapies available in the market for the treatment of colon cancer.

Kaur, J, Mishra, V, Singh, SK, Gulati, M, Kapoor, B, Chellappan, DK, Gupta, G, Dureja, H, Anand, K, Dua, K, Khatik, GL & Gowthamarajan, K 2021, 'Harnessing amphiphilic polymeric micelles for diagnostic and therapeutic applications: Breakthroughs and bottlenecks', Journal of Controlled Release, vol. 334, pp. 64-95.
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Amphiphilic block copolymers are widely utilized in the design of formulations owing to their unique physicochemical properties, flexible structures and functional chemistry. Amphiphilic polymeric micelles (APMs) formed from such copolymers have gained attention of the drug delivery scientists in past few decades for enhancing the bioavailability of lipophilic drugs, molecular targeting, sustained release, stimuli-responsive properties, enhanced therapeutic efficacy and reducing drug associated toxicity. Their properties including ease of surface modification, high surface area, small size, and enhanced permeation as well as retention (EPR) effect are mainly responsible for their utilization in the diagnosis and therapy of various diseases. However, some of the challenges associated with their use are premature drug release, low drug loading capacity, scale-up issues and their poor stability that need to be addressed for their wider clinical utility and commercialization. This review describes comprehensively their physicochemical properties, various methods of preparation, limitations followed by approaches employed for the development of optimized APMs, the impact of each preparation technique on the physicochemical properties of the resulting APMs as well as various biomedical applications of APMs. Based on the current scenario of their use in treatment and diagnosis of diseases, the directions in which future studies need to be carried out to explore their full potential are also discussed.

Khanuja, HK, Awasthi, R, Mehta, M, Satija, S, Aljabali, AAA, Tambuwala, MM, Chellappan, DK, Dua, K & Dureja, H 2021, 'Nanosuspensions - An Update on Recent Patents, Methods of Preparation, and Evaluation Parameters', Recent Patents on Nanotechnology, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 351-366.
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Background:Nanosuspensions are colloidal systems consisting of pure drug and stabilizers,without matrix or lyophilized into a solid matrix. Nanosuspensions improve the solubility ofthe drug both in the aqueous and organic phases. Nanosuspensions are also known as brick dust molecules,as they increase the dissolution of a system and improve absorption.Methods:Extensive information related to nanosuspensions and its associated patents were collectedusing Pub Med and Google Scholar.Results:Over the last decade nanosuspensions have attracted tremendous interest in pharmaceuticalresearch. It provides unique features including, improved solubility, high drug loading capacity, andpassive targeting. These particles are cost-effective, simple, and have lesser side effects with minimaldose requirements. However, the stability of nanosuspensions still warrants attention.Conclusion:Nanosuspensions play a vital role in handling the numerous drug entities with difficultphysico-chemical characteristics such as solubility and can further aid with a range of routes thatinclude nasal, transdermal, ocular, parenteral, pulmonary etc. This review highlights the relevance ofnanosuspensions in achieving safe, effective and targeted drug delivery.

Khursheed, R, Singh, SK, Gulati, M, Wadhwa, S, Kapoor, B, Pandey, NK, Chellappan, DK, Gupta, G, Jha, NK, Dua, K, Kapoor, DN, Karri, VVSR, Pattanayak, P, Sharni, A & Mondal, S 2021, 'Exploring role of polysaccharides present in Ganoderma lucidium extract powder and probiotics as solid carriers in development of liquisolid formulation loaded with quercetin: A novel study', International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, vol. 183, pp. 1630-1639.
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Ganoderma lucidium extract powder (GLEP) contains various polysaccharides which are well known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions. Probiotics (PB) are well-established for providing a plethora of health benefits. Hence, use of mushroom polysaccharides and probiotics as carriers to solidify liquisolid formulation is anticipated to function as functional excipients i.e. as adsorbent that may provide therapeutic benefits. Quercetin (QUR) has been used as model lipophilic drug in this study. QUR loaded liquisolid compacts (LSCs) were formulated using Tween 80 as solvent. These were further solidified using a combination of PB and GLEP as carriers. Aerosil-200 (A-200) was used as coating agent. The formulation exhibited very good flow characteristics. Dissolution rate of raw QUR was found to be less than 10% in 60 min while in case of QUR loaded LSCs, more than 90% drug release was observed within 5 min. Absence of crystalline peaks of QUR in the DSC and PXRD reports of LSCs and their porous appearance in SEM micrographs indicate that QUR was successfully incorporated in the LSCs. The developed formulation was found to be stable on storage under accelerated stability conditions.

Khursheed, R, Singh, SK, Kapoor, B, Gulati, M, Wadhwa, S, Gupta, S, Prasher, P, Kumar, D, Dua, K, Kumar, LMS, Babu, UV, Sharma, M, Soni, HK & Kumar, V 2021, 'Development and Validation of RP-HPLC Method for Simultaneous Determination of Curcumin and Quercetin in Extracts, Marketed Formulations, and Self-Nanoemulsifying Drug Delivery System', Re:GEN Open, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 43-52.
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Khursheed, R, Singh, SK, Wadhwa, S, Gulati, M, Kapoor, B, Awasthi, A, Kr, A, Kumar, R, Pottoo, FH, Kumar, V, Dureja, H, Anand, K, Chellappan, DK, Dua, K & Gowthamarajan, K 2021, 'Opening eyes to therapeutic perspectives of bioactive polyphenols and their nanoformulations against diabetic neuropathy and related complications', Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 427-448.
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Introduction: Diabetic neuropathy (DN) is one of the major complications arising from hyperglycaemia in diabetic patients. In recent years polyphenols present in plants have gained attention to treat DN. The main advantages associated with them are their action via different molecular pathways to manage DN and their safety. However, they failed to gain clinical attention due to challenges associated with their formulation development such as lipophilicity,poor bioavailability, rapid systemic elimination, and enzymatic degradation. Area covered: This article includes different polyphenols that have shown their potential against DN in preclinical studies and the research carried out towards development of their nanoformulations in order to overcome aforementioned issues. Expert opinion: In this review various polyphenol based nanoformulations such as nanospheres, self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems, niosomes, electrospun nanofibers, metallic nanoparticles explored exclusively to treat DN are discussed. However, the literature available related to polyphenol based nanoformulations to treat DN is limited. Moreover, these experiments are limited to preclinical studies. Hence, more focus is required towards  development of nanoformulations using simple and single step process as well as inexpensive and non-toxic excipients so that a stable, scalable, reproducible and non-toxic formulation could be achieved and clinical trials could be initiated.

Khursheed, R, Singh, SK, Wadhwa, S, Gulati, M, Kapoor, B, Jain, SK, Gowthamarajan, K, Zacconi, F, Chellappan, DK, Gupta, G, Jha, NK, Gupta, PK & Dua, K 2021, 'Development of mushroom polysaccharide and probiotics based solid self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system loaded with curcumin and quercetin to improve their dissolution rate and permeability: State of the art', International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, vol. 189, pp. 744-757.
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Komalla, V, Mehta, M, Achi, F, Dua, K & Haghi, M 2021, 'The Potential for Phospholipids in the Treatment of Airway Inflammation: An Unexplored Solution', Current Molecular Pharmacology, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 333-349.
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:Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cystic fibrosis (CF) are major inflammatory respiratory diseases. Current mainstay therapy for asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are corticosteroids, which have well-established side effect profiles. Phospholipids (PLs) are ubiquitous, diverse compounds with varying functions such as their structural role in the cell membrane, energy storage, and cell signaling. Recent advances in understanding PLs role as inflammatory mediators in the body as well as their widespread long-standing use as carrier molecules in drug delivery demonstrate the potential application of PLs in modulating inflammatory conditions.:This review briefly explains the main mechanisms of inflammation in chronic respiratory diseases, current anti-inflammatory treatments and areas of unmet need. The structural features, roles of endogenous and exogenous phospholipids, including their use as pharmaceutical excipients, are reviewed. Current research on the immunomodulatory properties of PLs and their potential application in inflammatory diseases is the major section of this review.:Considering the roles of PLs as inflammatory mediators and their safety profile established in pharmaceutical formulations, these small molecules demonstrate great potential as candidates in respiratory inflammation. Future studies need to focus on the immunomodulatory properties and the underlying mechanisms of PLs in respiratory inflammatory diseases.

Krishnan, S, Thirunavukarasu, A, Jha, NK, Gahtori, R, Roy, AS, Dholpuria, S, Kesari, KK, Singh, SK, Dua, K & Gupta, PK 2021, 'Nanotechnology-based therapeutic formulations in the battle against animal coronaviruses: an update', Journal of Nanoparticle Research, vol. 23, no. 10.
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Kulkarni, MP, Kiran, PSS, Singh, K, Dua, K, Tanwar, S, Satija, S, Singh, V & Kumar, R 2021, 'A Review of Basics and Potential of Liquid Crystalline Nanoparticles as Drug Delivery Systems', Nanoscience & Nanotechnology-Asia, vol. 11, no. 6.
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Aim: For procuring the stable form of drug delivery, tremendous efforts have been made in developing new drug delivery vectors. One such approach that meets the desired stability standards is Liquid Crystalline Nanoparticles (LCNs). Background:The liquid crystals are the intermediate forms of solid and liquid materials, which hold high tolerance to bear the influences of physical parameters. The liquid crystals are employed in nanotechnology to find the best way to produce the intended action of customized targeting drug delivery. The structural alignment is another critical aspect to consider, as these can accommodate wholesome drug amounts. Methods:From the studies, it has been evident that distinct characteristics like the simplicity in structure, self-assembling properties, feasibility of production, efficacy in delivery with low toxic values, have addressed the excellency of LCNs. Conclusion:The current review focusses on key areas regarding the nature of liquid crystal, diverse forms, technologies used to transform them into the desired nanoparticles, and their applications as drug delivery carriers as well as theranostic agent.

Lee, L-Y, Hew, GSY, Mehta, M, Shukla, SD, Satija, S, Khurana, N, Anand, K, Dureja, H, Singh, SK, Mishra, V, Singh, PK, Gulati, M, Prasher, P, Aljabali, AAA, Tambuwala, MM, Thangavelu, L, Panneerselvam, J, Gupta, G, Zacconi, FC, Shastri, M, Jha, NK, Xenaki, D, MacLoughlin, R, Oliver, BG, Chellappan, DK & Dua, K 2021, 'Targeting eosinophils in respiratory diseases: Biological axis, emerging therapeutics and treatment modalities', Life Sciences, vol. 267, pp. 118973-118973.
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Eosinophils are bi-lobed, multi-functional innate immune cells with diverse cell surface receptors that regulate local immune and inflammatory responses. Several inflammatory and infectious diseases are triggered with their build up in the blood and tissues. The mobilization of eosinophils into the lungs is regulated by a cascade of processes guided by Th2 cytokine generating T-cells. Recruitment of eosinophils essentially leads to a characteristic immune response followed by airway hyperresponsiveness and remodeling, which are hallmarks of chronic respiratory diseases. By analysing the dynamic interactions of eosinophils with their extracellular environment, which also involve signaling molecules and tissues, various therapies have been invented and developed to target respiratory diseases. Having entered clinical testing, several eosinophil targeting therapeutic agents have shown much promise and have further bridged the gap between theory and practice. Moreover, researchers now have a clearer understanding of the roles and mechanisms of eosinophils. These factors have successfully assisted molecular biologists to block specific pathways in the growth, migration and activation of eosinophils. The primary purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the eosinophil biology with a special emphasis on potential pharmacotherapeutic targets. The review also summarizes promising eosinophil-targeting agents, along with their mechanisms and rationale for use, including those in developmental pipeline, in clinical trials, or approved for other respiratory disorders.

Lo, SY, Reeve, E, Page, AT, Zaidi, STR, Hilmer, SN, Etherton-Beer, C, McLachlan, A, Pont, L & Naganathan, V 2021, 'Attitudes to Drug Use in Residential Aged Care Facilities: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Nurses and Care Staff', Drugs & Aging, vol. 38, no. 8, pp. 697-711.
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BACKGROUND: Residential aged care facility (RACF) staff are well placed to identify opportunities for more appropriate prescribing. However, little is known about their views of polypharmacy, deprescribing and specific medications. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to establish the beliefs and attitudes of RACF staff towards polypharmacy and medication use in residents. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on RACF staff in metropolitan New South Wales, Australia using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was drafted based on the available literature and research team expertise and then piloted by a mixed group of 13 RACF staff. The final version of the questionnaire consisted of 28 questions. A total of 38 RACFs were contacted about the study. The questionnaire was distributed to eligible RACF staff between October 2017 and October 2019. The RACF staff were eligible if they provided direct patient care to residents or worked as a facility manager. Participants were excluded if they had insufficient English language skills. The results were presented in two groups, the nursing and care staff, using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: A total of 176 individuals from nine RACFs completed the questionnaire of whom 160 were eligible for study inclusion. Most considered polypharmacy to be five or more different tablets and capsules per day (95% nursing and 82% care staff respectively). A wide range of beliefs about medication use and deprescribing that centred on what constitutes appropriate polypharmacy was identified. Most thought that preventive medications were essential for residents. Most nurses agreed that sleeping tablets and pharmacological management of verbal aggression and wandering behaviours should be used less frequently whilst most care staff agreed that medications should be used more frequently to manage physical aggression. CONCLUSIONS: To successfully and sustainably optimise medication use in RACF resident...

Madan, JR, Dere, SG, Awasthi, R & Dua, K 2021, 'Efavirenz Loaded Mixed Polymeric Micelles: Formulation, Optimization, and In Vitro Characterization', ASSAY and Drug Development Technologies, vol. 19, no. 5, pp. 322-334.
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Madan, JR, Patil, K, Awasthi, R & Dua, K 2021, 'Formulation and evaluation of solid self-microemulsifying drug delivery system for azilsartan medoxomil', International Journal of Polymeric Materials and Polymeric Biomaterials, vol. 70, no. 2, pp. 100-116.
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© 2019, © 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This study aimed to develop solid self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (S-SMEDDS) for solubility enhancement of azilsartan medoxomil (AZL). Ternary phase diagrams were constructed using surfactant: co-surfactant at 1:0, 1:1, 1:2 and 2:1 ratios. Initially, the oils, surfactants and co-surfactants were screened. The drug–soya lecithin complexes were prepared and characterized for complexation percentage, complex solubility, and partition coefficient. The liquid SMEDDS were prepared and evaluated for thermodynamic stability, self-emulsification efficiency and time, viscosity, size and polydispersibility index, zeta potential, drug loading, and in vitro dissolution. Further, the solid SMEDDS were formulated and evaluated for morphological characterization, and thermal behavior. The solid SMEDDS were filled with hard gelatin capsule and accessed for in vitro drug release profile. S-SMEDDS containing Syloid® XDP 3150 had highest adsorption capacity. Self-emulsification time, drug loading and percentage transmittance were 25 ± 1.23 s, 99.20 ± 0.11% and 99.3 ± 0.1%, respectively. Particle size, polydispersibility index and zeta potential were 201.0 nm, 0.544 and -19.7 mV, respectively. S-SMEDDS had good flow property, spontaneous self-microemulsification property and improved in vitro dissolution profile of AZL when compared to pure AZL.

Madan, JR, Waghmare, SV, Patil, RB, Awasthi, R & Dua, K 2021, 'Cocrystals of Apixaban with Improved Solubility and Permeability: Formulation, Physicochemical Characterization, Pharmacokinetic Evaluation, and Computational Studies', ASSAY and Drug Development Technologies, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 124-138.
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The objective of the current study was to develop new cocrystals of Apixaban (APX) to improve its solubility and permeability. The molecular interaction between APX and caffeine (CFFN) was further studied by Raman spectroscopy. The results of all eight studied conformers revealed that the synthesized APX-CFFN cocrystals had the highest solubility and permeability. The water solubility and permeability of APX in the cocrystal were simultaneously enhanced as compared with pure APX in the physiological pH environment (pH 6.8 and pH 7.4). The X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the cocrystal has a component molar ratio of 1:1. This was dominated by a three-dimensional hydrogen bonding supramolecular structure. The in vivo pharmacokinetic (PK) study indicated that the mean area under curve (AUC) of APX from the synthesized cocrystal was enhanced more than three-folds than the pure APX. Tablets of APX and APX-CFFN cocrystals were prepared using direct compression method and evaluated for in vitro dissolution profile in phosphate buffers (pH 6.8 and pH 7.4). Computational investigations with molecular dynamics simulations also supported the formation of stable cocrystals. The drug release of APX from the tablets was considerably increased when compared with the pure APX in both pH conditions and it was found to increase with an increase in media pH. The present investigation represents an alternative approach for optimizing physicochemical and PK properties of Biopharmaceutical Classification System class-III drugs without changing its molecular structure and intrinsic bioactivities.

Mehta, M, Malyla, V, Paudel, KR, Chellappan, DK, Hansbro, PM, Oliver, BG & Dua, K 2021, 'Berberine loaded liquid crystalline nanostructure inhibits cancer progression in adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial cells in vitro', Journal of Food Biochemistry, vol. 45, no. 11, p. e13954.
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Metastasis represents the leading cause of death in lung cancer patients. C-X-C Motif Chemokine Ligand 8 (CXCL-8), Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 20 (CCL-20) and heme oxygenase -1 (HO-1) play an important role in cancer cell proliferation and migration. Berberine is an isoquinoline alkaloid isolated from several herbs in the Papaveraceae family that exhibits anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antidiabetic properties. Therefore, the aim of present study is to investigate the inhibitory potential of berberine monoolein loaded liquid crystalline nanoparticles (berberine-LCNs) against cancer progression. Berberine-LCNs were prepared by mixing berberine, monoolein and poloxamer 407 (P407) using ultrasonication method. A549 cells were treated with or without 5 µM dose of berberine LCNs for 24 hr and total cellular protein was extracted and further analyzed for the protein expression of CCl-20, CXCL-8 and HO-1 using human oncology array kit. Our results showed that berberine-LCNs significantly reduced the expression of CCl-20, CXCL-8 and HO-1 at dose of 5µM. Collectively, our findings suggest that berberine-LCNs have inhibitory effect on inflammation/oxidative stress related cytokines i.e. CCL20, CXCL-8, and HO-1 which could be a novel therapeutic target for the management of lung cancer. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Berberine is an isoquinoline alkaloid extracted from various plants of Papaveraceae family. CXCL-8, CCL-20 and HO-1 play an important role in cancer progression. Our study showed that Berberine LCNs significantly downregulate the expression of CXCL-8, CCL-20 and HO-1 which suggests that Berberine loaded nanoparticles could be a promising therapeutic alternative for the management of lung cancer.

Mehta, M, Paudel, KR, Panth, N, Xenaki, D, Macloughlin, R, Oliver, BG, Lobenberg, R, Hansbro, PM, Chellappan, DK & Dua, K 2021, 'Drug Delivery Advances in Mitigating Inflammation Via Matrix Metalloproteinases in Respiratory Diseases', Nanomedicine, vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 437-439.
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Mehta, M, Paudel, KR, Shukla, SD, Allam, VSRR, Kannaujiya, VK, Panth, N, Das, A, Parihar, VK, Chakraborty, A, Ali, MK, Jha, NK, Xenaki, D, Su, QP, Wich, PR, Adams, J, Hansbro, PM, Chellappan, DK, Oliver, BGG & Dua, K 2021, 'Recent trends of NFκB decoy oligodeoxynucleotide-based nanotherapeutics in lung diseases', Journal of Controlled Release, vol. 337, pp. 629-644.
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Mehta, M, Paudel, KR, Shukla, SD, Shastri, MD, Satija, S, Singh, SK, Gulati, M, Dureja, H, Zacconi, FC, Hansbro, PM, Chellappan, DK & Dua, K 2021, 'Rutin-Loaded Liquid Crystalline Nanoparticles Attenuate Oxidative Stress in Bronchial Epithelial Cells: A PCR Validation', Future Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 543-549.
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Aim: In the present study, the inhibitory potential of rutin-loaded liquid crystalline nanoparticles (LCNs) on oxidative stress was determined in human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) by analysing the expression levels of different antioxidant (NADPH quinine oxidoreductase-1 ( NQO1); γ-glutamyl cysteine synthetase catalytic subunit ( GCLC)) and pro-oxidant (NADPH oxidase (Nox)-4; Nox2B) genes. Results: Our findings revealed that the rutin-loaded LCNs inhibited the genes, namely  Nox2B and Nox4, which caused oxidative stress. In addition, these nanoparticles demonstrated an upregulation in the expression of the antioxidant genes  Gclc and Nqo-1 in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion: The study indicates the promising potential of rutin-loaded LCNs as an effective treatment strategy in patients with high oxidant loads in various respiratory diseases.

Mehta, M, Satija, S, Paudel, KR, Malyla, V, Kannaujiya, VK, Chellappan, DK, Bebawy, M, Hansbro, PM, Wich, PR & Dua, K 2021, 'Targeting respiratory diseases using miRNA inhibitor based nanotherapeutics: Current status and future perspectives', Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine, vol. 31, pp. 102303-102303.
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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a fundamental role in the developmental and physiological processes that occur in both animals and plants. AntagomiRs are synthetic antagonists of miRNA, prevent the target mRNA from suppression. Therapeutic approaches that modulate miRNAs have immense potential in the treatment of chronic respiratory disorders. However, the successful delivery of miRNAs/antagomiRs to the lungs remains a major challenge in clinical applications. A range of materials, namely, polymer nanoparticles, lipid nanocapsules and inorganic nanoparticles have shown promising results for intracellular delivery of miRNA in chronic respiratory disorders. This review discusses the current understanding of miRNA biology, the biological roles of antagomiRs in chronic respiratory disease and the recent advances in the therapeutic utilization of antagomiRs as disease biomarkers. Furthermore our review provides a common platform to debate on the nature of antagomiRs and also address the viewpoint on the new generation of delivery systems that target antagomiRs in respiratory diseases.

Mishra, V, Nayak, P, Singh, M, Tambuwala, MM, Aljabali, AA, Chellappan, DK & Dua, K 2021, 'Pharmaceutical Aspects of Green Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles: A Boon to Cancer Treatment', Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 21, no. 12, pp. 1490-1509.
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Background:Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are among the most investigated nanostructures in recentyears, which exhibit more challenging and promising qualities in different biomedical applications. The AgNPssynthesized by the green approach provide potential healthcare benefits over chemical approaches, includingimprovement of tissue restoration, drug delivery, diagnosis, being environmentally friendly, and a boon to cancertreatment.Objective:In the current scenario, the development of safe and effective drug delivery systems is the utmostconcern of formulation development scientists as well as clinicians.Methods:Google, Web of Science, and PubMed portals have been searched for potentially relevant literature toget the latest developments and updated information related to different aspects of green synthesized AgNPsalong with their biomedical applications, especially in the treatment of different types of cancers.Results:The present review highlights the latest published research regarding the different green approaches forthe synthesis of AgNPs, their characterization techniques as well as various biomedical applications, particularlyin cancer treatment. In this context, environment-friendly AgNPs are proving themselves as better candidates interms of size, drug loading and release efficiency, targeting efficiency, minimal drug-associated side effects,pharmacokinetic profiling, and biocompatibility issues.Conclusion:With continuous efforts by multidisciplinary team approaches, nanotechnology-based AgNPs willshed new light on diagnostics and therapeutics in various disease treatments. However, the toxicity issues ofAgNPs need greater ...

Ooi, BK, Phang, SW, Yong, PVC, Chellappan, DK, Dua, K, Khaw, K-Y, Goh, BH, Pusparajah, P & Yap, WH 2021, 'In vitro evaluation of the involvement of Nrf2 in maslinic acid-mediated anti-inflammatory effects in atheroma pathogenesis', Life Sciences, vol. 278, pp. 119658-119658.
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Palanisamy, S, Subramanian, K, Bennet, LG, Ambrose, J, Gopalakrishnan, A, Babu, S, Rajamani, R, Jha, NK, Pandit, S, Singh, SK, Dua, K & Gupta, PK 2021, 'Synthesis and characterization of PCU@C-Ag/AgCl nanoparticles as an antimicrobial material for respiratory tract infection', Nanofabrication, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 68-78.
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Abstract The pregnant cow urine (PCU) is an active source of antimicrobial agents that is used for fabricating chitosan coated Ag/AgCl nanoparticles (NPs) in the present study. These PCU@C-Ag/AgCl NPs were physicochemically characterized and evaluated for antimicrobial activity against selected respiratory tract infection (RTI) pathogens. The absorption band around 420 nm in UV-Visible spectrum indicated the presence of Ag NPs. The spherical shape of NPs was observed using TEM. Also, the crystalline structure was confirmed using the XRD pattern. The PCU@C-Ag/AgCl NPs showed strong antimicrobial activity against all tested RTI pathogens. In addition, FESEM analysis showed morphological changes in RTI bacterial pathogens. Thereby, PCU@C-Ag/AgCl NPs may be used as an antimicrobial material to treat RTIs in near future at clinical level.

Pattanayak, P, Singh, SK, Gulati, M, Vishwas, S, Kapoor, B, Chellappan, DK, Anand, K, Gupta, G, Jha, NK, Gupta, PK, Prasher, P, Dua, K, Dureja, H, Kumar, D & Kumar, V 2021, 'Microfluidic chips: recent advances, critical strategies in design, applications and future perspectives', Microfluidics and Nanofluidics, vol. 25, no. 12, p. 99.
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Microfluidic chip technology is an emerging tool in the field of biomedical application. Microfluidic chip includes a set of groves or microchannels that are engraved on different materials (glass, silicon, or polymers such as polydimethylsiloxane or PDMS, polymethylmethacrylate or PMMA). The microchannels forming the microfluidic chip are interconnected with each other for desired results. This organization of microchannels trapped into the microfluidic chip is associated with the outside by inputs and outputs penetrating through the chip, as an interface between the macro- and miniature world. With the help of a pump and a chip, microfluidic chip helps to determine the behavioral change of the microfluids. Inside the chip, there are microfluidic channels that permit the processing of the fluid, for example, blending and physicochemical responses. Microfluidic chip has numerous points of interest including lesser time and reagent utilization and alongside this, it can execute numerous activities simultaneously. The miniatured size of the chip fastens the reaction as the surface area increases. It is utilized in different biomedical applications such as food safety sensing, peptide analysis, tissue engineering, medical diagnosis, DNA purification, PCR activity, pregnancy, and glucose estimation. In the present study, the design of various microfluidic chips has been discussed along with their biomedical applications.

Paudel, KR, Wadhwa, R, Tew, XN, Lau, NJX, Madheswaran, T, Panneerselvam, J, Zeeshan, F, Kumar, P, Gupta, G, Anand, K, Singh, SK, Jha, NK, MacLoughlin, R, Hansbro, NG, Liu, G, Shukla, SD, Mehta, M, Hansbro, PM, Chellappan, DK & Dua, K 2021, 'Rutin loaded liquid crystalline nanoparticles inhibit non-small cell lung cancer proliferation and migration in vitro', Life Sciences, vol. 276, pp. 119436-119436.
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Poulos, RG, Boon, MY, George, A, Liu, KPY, Mak, M, Maurice, C, Palesy, D, Pont, LG, Poulos, CJ, Ramsey, S, Simpson, P, Steiner, GZ, Villarosa, AR, Watson, K & Parker, D 2021, 'Preparing for an aging Australia: The development of multidisciplinary core competencies for the Australian health and aged care workforce', Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 399-422.
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Appropriately skilled staff are required to meet the health and care needs of aging populations yet, shared competencies for the workforce are lacking. This study aimed to develop multidisciplinary core competencies for health and aged care workers in Australia through a scoping review and Delphi survey. The scoping review identified 28 records which were synthesized through thematic analysis into draft domains and measurable competencies. Consensus was sought from experts over two Delphi rounds (n = 111 invited; n = 59 round one; n = 42 round two). Ten domains with 66 core competencies, to be interpreted and applied according to the worker's scope of practice were finalized. Consensus on multidisciplinary core competencies which are inclusive of a broad range of registered health professionals and unregistered aged care workers was achieved. Shared knowledge, attitudes, and skills across the workforce may improve the standard and coordination of person-centered, integrated care for older Australians from diverse backgrounds.

Prasher, P, Sharma, M, Chellappan, DK, Gupta, G, Jha, NK, Singh, SK, MacLoughlin, R, A Pinto, TJ, Löbenberg, R & Dua, K 2021, 'Advanced Drug Delivery Systems Targeting NF-κB in Respiratory Diseases', Future Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 13, no. 13, pp. 1087-1090.
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Prasher, P, Sharma, M, Mehta, M, Satija, S, Aljabali, AA, Tambuwala, MM, Anand, K, Sharma, N, Dureja, H, Jha, NK, Gupta, G, Gulati, M, Singh, SK, Chellappan, DK, Paudel, KR, Hansbro, PM & Dua, K 2021, 'Current-status and applications of polysaccharides in drug delivery systems', Colloid and Interface Science Communications, vol. 42, pp. 100418-100418.
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The polysaccharide-based advanced drug delivery system owing to their biocompatibility, ability to encapsulate the drug molecules in their interspaces, and ability to achieve a controlled release of the cargo drug molecules result in improved drug pharmacokinetics. The drug-loaded polysaccharides possess ability to evade the multidrug-resistant microbial efflux pumps by aggregation effect, whereas the drug loaded polysaccharide-fabricated metal nanoparticles present an exceptional candidature for effectively transporting the drug molecules across the membrane barriers while enabling the theranostic applications at the same time. The biodegradability of polysaccharide based drug delivery systems ensure a sustained release of the encapsulated drug molecules, which minimizes the side effects caused by a burst release of the cargo therapeutics. These drug delivery systems proved highly beneficial for the NSAIDs that otherwise manifest ulcerogenic effect in the gastrointestinal tract. The large surface area of polysaccharides further provide a higher drug-loading capacity, which maintains the optimal concentration of the cargo drug at the target sites. The emerging applications of biodegradable polysaccharides in the designing of multicompartmental microspheres revolutionized tissue engineering, multi drug delivery, and cell culturing technologies. The present review deals with the current-status of polysaccharides as advanced drug delivery systems.

Prasher, P, Sharma, M, R Wich, P, Jha, NK, Singh, SK, Chellappan, DK & Dua, K 2021, 'Can Dextran-Based Nanoparticles Mitigate Inflammatory Lung diseases?', Future Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 13, no. 23, pp. 2027-2031.
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Prasher, P, Sharma, M, Zacconi, F, Gupta, G, Aljabali, AAA, Mishra, V, Tambuwala, MM, Kapoor, DN, Negi, P, Andreoli Pinto, TDJ, Singh, I, Chellappan, DK & Dua, K 2021, 'Synthesis and Anticancer Properties of ‘Azole’ Based Chemotherapeutics as Emerging Chemical Moieties: A Comprehensive Review', Current Organic Chemistry, vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 654-668.
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Azole frameworks serve as privileged scaffolds in the contemporary drug designparadigm owing to their unique physicochemical profile that promotes the developmentof highly selective, physiological benevolent chemotherapeutics. Several azole nucleifunction as bioisostere in medicinal chemistry and prompt the development of tailoredtherapeutics for targeting the desired biological entities. Besides, the azole scaffold formsan integral part in the advanced drug designing methodologies, such as target template insitudrug synthesis, that assists in rapid identification of the hit molecules form a diversepool of leads; and direct biomolecule-drug conjugation, along with bioorthogonal strategiesthat ensure localization, and superior target specificity of the directed therapeutic.Lastly, the structural diversity of azole framework and high yielding click synthetic methodsprovide a comprehensive Structure-Activity Relationship analysis for design optimization of the potentialdrug molecules by fine-tuning the placement of different substituents critical for the activity. This review providesa comprehensive analysis of the synthesis and anticancer potential of azole based chemotherapeutics.

Ramanunny, AK, Wadhwa, S, Gulati, M, Singh, SK, Kapoor, B, Dureja, H, Chellappan, DK, Anand, K, Dua, K, Khursheed, R, Awasthi, A, Kumar, R, Kaur, J, Corrie, L & Pandey, NK 2021, 'Nanocarriers for treatment of dermatological diseases: Principle, perspective and practices', European Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 890, pp. 173691-173691.
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© 2020 Elsevier B.V. Skin diseases are the fourth leading non-fatal skin conditions that act as a burden and affect the world economy globally. This condition affects the quality of a patient's life and has a pronounced impact on both their physical and mental state. Treatment of these skin conditions with conventional approaches shows a lack of efficacy, long treatment duration, recurrence of conditions, systemic side effects, etc., due to improper drug delivery. However, these pitfalls can be overcome with the applications of nanomedicine-based approaches that provide efficient site-specific drug delivery at the target site. These nanomedicine-based strategies are evolved as potential treatment opportunities in the form of nanocarriers such as polymeric and lipidic nanocarriers, nanoemulsions along with emerging others viz. carbon nanotubes for dermatological treatment. The current review focuses on challenges faced by the existing conventional treatments along with the topical therapeutic perspective of nanocarriers in treating various skin diseases. A total of 213 articles have been reviewed and the application of different nanocarriers in treating various skin diseases has been explained in detail through case studies of previously published research works. The toxicity related aspects of nanocarriers are also discussed.

Rapalli, VK, Banerjee, S, Khan, S, Jha, PN, Gupta, G, Dua, K, Hasnain, MS, Nayak, AK, Dubey, SK & Singhvi, G 2021, 'QbD-driven formulation development and evaluation of topical hydrogel containing ketoconazole loaded cubosomes', Materials Science and Engineering: C, vol. 119, pp. 111548-111548.
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The proposed study aimed to develop topical hydrogel containing ketoconazole loaded cubosomes with lower surfactant concentrations using the ‘Quality by Design’ (QbD) approach. Risk assessment was performed, followed by screening and optimization of formulations by 32 factorial design using Design-Expert® software. Keeping the combination of constituents similar to that of the optimized batches as predicted post conduct of ‘Design of Experiment’ (DoE) studies, scale-up batches were prepared. The 32 factorial design model successfully predicted the composition of the optimized formulation within the confidence limits. In vitro drug release study was performed and analyzed by various mathematical models. Ex vivo permeation study was investigated using goat ear skin. These ketoconazole loaded cubosomes showed a release pattern similar to the Korsmeyer-Peppas model experiencing Fickian diffusion having 67% cumulative ketoconazole release within 24 h. Ex vivo permeation study of hydrogel containing ketoconazole loaded cubosomes revealed a sustained release pattern through the goat ear skin with around 92.73 % release within 24 h. Scale-up studies also gave the confirmatory results for the post characterization studies, whereby the particle size of ketoconazole loaded cubosomes was 198 nm with 45% ketoconazole entrapment efficiency. This hydrogel containing ketoconazole loaded cubosomes can be used for topical drug delivery.

Reali, S, Lee, T, Bishop, J, Mirkov, S, Johnson, J, McCourt, E, Hughes, J, Pont, L, Page, AT & Penm, J 2021, 'Attitudes, barriers and facilitators of hospital pharmacists conducting practice‐based research: a systematic review', Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research, vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 192-202.
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AbstractIntroductionPractice‐based research is essential in enhancing medication knowledge, quality use of medicines, the scope of the pharmacy profession and improving patient outcomes. This systematic review aims to uncover the attitudes of hospital pharmacists towards practice‐based research and their perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to undertaking practice‐based research.MethodsA systematic search of MEDLINE, Embase, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature databases from 1 January 2000 to 11 March 2021 was conducted. Peer‐reviewed empirical studies exploring hospital pharmacists’ perceptions of – as well as barriers and facilitators to – practice‐based research were included and a descriptive synthesis used to identify common themes.ResultsNine studies were included in this review. Barriers and facilitators across four broad themes were related to pharmacist capacity and capability, workplace environment, research resources, and research culture. Hospital pharmacists had a high interest in conducting research, but limited research experience. Common barriers identified were lack of time, workplace support, funding, research culture, and competing priorities. Having a post‐graduate qualification and a positive attitude towards research facilitated research participation. Departmental support, designated research time and creation of research networks and forums were seen as facilitators for practice‐based research.ConclusionHospital pharmacists recognise the importance of practice‐based research in improving knowledge, patient care and advancing pharmacy practice. However, large variation has been reported for their confidence ...

Satija, S, Kaur, H, Tambuwala, MM, Sharma, P, Vyas, M, Khurana, N, Sharma, N, Bakshi, HA, Charbe, NB, Zacconi, FC, Aljabali, AA, Nammi, S, Dureja, H, Singh, TG, Gupta, G, Dhanjal, DS, Dua, K, Chellappan, DK & Mehta, M 2021, 'Hypoxia-Inducible Factor (HIF): Fuel for Cancer Progression', Current Molecular Pharmacology, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 321-332.
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Hypoxia is an integral part of the tumor microenvironment, caused primarily due to rapidly multiplying tumor cells and a lack of proper blood supply. Among the major hypoxic pathways, HIF-1 transcription factor activation is one of the widely investigated pathways in the hypoxic tumor microenvironment (TME). HIF-1 is known to activate several adaptive reactions in response to oxygen deficiency in tumor cells. HIF-1 has two subunits, HIF-1β (constitutive) and HIF-1&#945; (inducible). The HIF-1&#945; expression is largely regulated via various cytokines (through PI3K-ACT-mTOR signals), which involves the cascading of several growth factors and oncogenic cascades. These events lead to the loss of cellular tumor suppressant activity through changes in the level of oxygen via oxygen-dependent and oxygen-independent pathways. The significant and crucial role of HIF in cancer progression and its underlying mechanisms have gained much attention lately among the translational researchers in the fields of cancer and biological sciences, which have enabled them to correlate these mechanisms with various other disease modalities. In the present review, we have summarized the key findings related to the role of HIF in the progression of tumors.

Satija, S, Sharma, P, Kaur, H, Dhanjal, DS, Chopra, RS, Khurana, N, Vyas, M, Sharma, N, Tambuwala, MM, Bakshi, HA, Charbe, NB, Zacconi, FC, Chellappan, DK, Dua, K & Mehta, M 2021, 'Perfluorocarbons Therapeutics in Modern Cancer Nanotechnology for Hypoxiainduced Anti-tumor Therapy', Current Pharmaceutical Design, vol. 27, no. 43, pp. 4376-4387.
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:With an estimated failure rate of about 90%, immunotherapies that are intended for the treatment ofsolid tumors have caused an anomalous rise in the mortality rate over the past decades. It is apparent that resistancetowards such therapies primarily occurs due to elevated levels of HIF-1 (Hypoxia-induced factor) intumor cells, which are caused by disrupted microcirculation and diffusion mechanisms. With the advent of nanotechnology,several innovative advances were brought to the fore; and, one such promising direction is the useof perfluorocarbon nanoparticles in the management of solid tumors. Perfluorocarbon nanoparticles enhance theresponse of hypoxia-based agents (HBAs) within the tumor cells and have been found to augment the entry ofHBAs into the tumor micro-environment. The heightened penetration of HBAs causes chronic hypoxia, thusaiding in the process of cell quiescence. In addition, this technology has also been applied in photodynamictherapy, where oxygen self-enriched photosensitizers loaded perfluorocarbon nanoparticles are employed. Theresulting processes initiate a cascade, depleting tumour oxygen and turning it into a reactive oxygen specieseventually to destroy the tumour cell. This review elaborates on the multiple applications of nanotechnologybased perfluorocarbon formulations that are being currently employed in the treatment of tumour hypoxia.

Shahcheraghi, SH, Aljabali, AAA, Al Zoubi, MS, Mishra, V, Charbe, NB, Haggag, YA, Shrivastava, G, Almutary, AG, Alnuqaydan, AM, Barh, D, Dua, K, Chellappan, DK, Gupta, G, Lotfi, M, Serrano-Aroca, Á, Bahar, B, Mishra, YK, Takayama, K, Panda, PK, Bakshi, HA & Tambuwala, MM 2021, 'Overview of key molecular and pharmacological targets for diabetes and associated diseases', Life Sciences, vol. 278, pp. 119632-119632.
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Shahcheraghi, SH, Ayatollahi, J, Aljabali, AAA, Shastri, MD, Shukla, SD, Chellappan, DK, Jha, NK, Anand, K, Katari, NK, Mehta, M, Satija, S, Dureja, H, Mishra, V, Almutary, AG, Alnuqaydan, AM, Charbe, N, Prasher, P, Gupta, G, Dua, K, Lotfi, M, Bakshi, HA & Tambuwala, MM 2021, 'An Overview of Vaccine Development for COVID-19', Therapeutic Delivery, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 235-244.
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The COVID-19 pandemic continues to endanger world health and the economy. The causative SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has a unique replication system. The end point of the COVID-19 pandemic is either herd immunity or widespread availability of an effective vaccine. Multiple candidate vaccines – peptide, virus-like particle, viral vectors (replicating and nonreplicating), nucleic acids (DNA or RNA), live attenuated virus, recombinant designed proteins and inactivated virus – are presently under various stages of expansion, and a small number of vaccine candidates have progressed into clinical phases. At the time of writing, three major pharmaceutical companies, namely Pfizer and Moderna, have their vaccines under mass production and administered to the public. This review aims to investigate the most critical vaccines developed for COVID-19 to date.

Sharifi-Rad, J, Quispe, C, Alfred, MA, Anil Kumar, NV, Lombardi, N, Cinquanta, L, Iriti, M, Varoni, EM, Gupta, G, Chellappan, DK, Dua, K, Cardoso, SM, Peron, G, Dey, A, Cruz-Martins, N & Rodrigues, CF 2021, 'Current trends on resveratrol bioactivities to treat periodontitis', Food Bioscience, vol. 42, pp. 101205-101205.
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Sharma, A, Hawthorne, S, Jha, SK, Jha, NK, Kumar, D, Girgis, S, Goswami, VK, Gupta, G, Singh, S, Dureja, H, Chellappan, DK & Dua, K 2021, 'Effects of Curcumin-Loaded Poly(Lactic-Co-Glycolic Acid) Nanoparticles in MDA-MB231 Human Breast Cancer Cells', Nanomedicine, vol. 16, no. 20, pp. 1763-1773.
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Aim: This study was aimed at evaluating the anticancer potential of curcumin-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) based nanoparticles (NPs) in MDA-MB231 human breast cancer cells. Methods: Curcumin-loaded PLGA NPs were developed using a modified solvent evaporation technique. Physical characterization was performed on the formulated NPs. Furthermore, in vitro experiments were conducted to study the biological activity of the curcumin-loaded NPs. Results: Curcumin-loaded PLGA NPs demonstrated high encapsulation efficiency and sustained payload release. Moreover, the NPs exhibited a significant reduction in cell viability, cell migration and cell invasion in the MDA-MB231 cells. Conclusion: The study revealed that the formulated curcumin-loaded PLGA NPs possessed significant anti-metastatic properties. The findings showcased the possible potential of curcumin-loaded NPs in the management of debilitating conditions such as cancer. In addition, this study could form the basis for further research and advancements in this area.

Sharma, A, Kumar, D, Dahiya, K, Hawthorne, S, Jha, SK, Jha, NK, Nand, P, Girgis, S, Raj, S, Srivastava, R, Goswami, VK, Gregoriou, Y, El-Zahaby, SA, Ojha, S, Dureja, H, Gupta, G, Singh, S, Chellappan, DK & Dua, K 2021, 'Advances in Pulmonary Drug Delivery Targeting Microbial Biofilms in Respiratory Diseases', Nanomedicine, vol. 16, no. 21, pp. 1905-1923.
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The increasing burden of respiratory diseases caused by microbial infections poses an immense threat to global health. This review focuses on the various types of biofilms that affect the respiratory system and cause pulmonary infections, specifically bacterial biofilms. The article also sheds light on the current strategies employed for the treatment of such pulmonary infection-causing biofilms. The potential of nanocarriers as an effective treatment modality for pulmonary infections is discussed, along with the challenges faced during treatment and the measures that may be implemented to overcome these. Understanding the primary approaches of treatment against biofilm infection and applications of drug-delivery systems that employ nanoparticle-based approaches in the disruption of biofilms are of utmost interest which may guide scientists to explore the vistas of biofilm research while determining suitable treatment modalities for pulmonary respiratory infections.

Shastri, MD, Allam, VSRR, Shukla, SD, Jha, NK, Paudel, KR, Peterson, GM, Patel, RP, Hansbro, PM, Chellappan, DK & Dua, K 2021, 'Interleukin-13: A pivotal target against influenza-induced exacerbation of chronic lung diseases', Life Sciences, vol. 283, pp. 119871-119871.
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Non-communicable, chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) affect millions of individuals worldwide. The course of these CRDs (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cystic fibrosis) are often punctuated by microbial infections that may result in hospitalization and are associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality, as well as reduced quality of life. Interleukin-13 (IL-13) is a key protein that regulates airway inflammation and mucus hypersecretion. There has been much interest in IL-13 from the last two decades. This cytokine is believed to play a decisive role in the exacerbation of inflammation during the course of viral infections, especially, in those with pre-existing CRDs. Here, we discuss the common viral infections in CRDs, as well as the potential role that IL-13 plays in the virus-induced disease pathogenesis of CRDs. We also discuss, in detail, the immune-modulation potential of IL-13 that could be translated to in-depth studies to develop IL-13-based therapeutic entities.

Shastri, MD, Chong, WC, Dua, K, Peterson, GM, Patel, RP, Mahmood, MQ, Tambuwala, M, Chellappan, DK, Hansbro, NG, Shukla, SD & Hansbro, PM 2021, 'Emerging concepts and directed therapeutics for the management of asthma: regulating the regulators', Inflammopharmacology, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 15-33.
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Asthma is a common, heterogeneous and serious disease, its prevalence has steadily risen in most parts of the world, and the condition is often inadequately controlled in many patients. Hence, there is a major need for new therapeutic approaches. Mild-to-moderate asthma is considered a T-helper cell type-2-mediated inflammatory disorder that develops due to abnormal immune responses to otherwise innocuous allergens. Prolonged exposure to allergens and persistent inflammation results in myofibroblast infiltration and airway remodelling with mucus hypersecretion, airway smooth muscle hypertrophy, and excess collagen deposition. The airways become hyper-responsive to provocation resulting in the characteristic wheezing and obstructed airflow experienced by patients. Extensive research has progressed the understanding of the underlying mechanisms and the development of new treatments for the management of asthma. Here, we review the basis of the disease, covering new areas such as the role of vascularisation and microRNAs, as well as associated potential therapeutic interventions utilising reports from animal and human studies. We also cover novel drug delivery strategies that are being developed to enhance therapeutic efficacy and patient compliance. Potential avenues to explore to improve the future of asthma management are highlighted.

Shastri, MD, Shukla, SD, Chong, WC, KC, R, Dua, K, Patel, RP, Peterson, GM & O'Toole, RF 2021, 'Smoking and COVID-19: What we know so far', Respiratory Medicine, vol. 176, pp. 106237-106237.
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The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has placed a spotlight on infectious diseases and their associations with host factors and underlying conditions. New data on the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus are entering the public domain at a rapid rate such that their distillation often lags behind. To minimise weak associations becoming perceived as established paradigms, it is imperative that methodologies and outputs from different studies are appropriately critiqued and compared. In this review, we examine recent data on a potential relationship between smoking and COVID-19. While the causal role of smoking has been firmly demonstrated in regard to lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, such associations have the benefit of decades' worth of multi-centre epidemiological and mechanistic data. From our analysis of the available studies to date, it appears that a relationship is emerging in regard to patients with a smoking history having a higher likelihood of developing more severe symptoms of COVID-19 disease than non-smokers. Data on whether COVID-19 has a greater incidence in smokers than non-smokers is thus far, contradictory and inconclusive. There is therefore a need for some caution to be exercised until further research has been conducted in a wider range of geographical settings with sufficient numbers of patients that have been carefully phenotyped in respect of smoking status and adequate statistical control for confounding factors.

Shrivastava, G, Aljabali, AAA, Shahcheraghi, SH, Lotfi, M, Shastri, MD, Shukla, SD, Chellappan, DK, Jha, NK, Anand, K, Dureja, H, Pabari, RM, Mishra, V, Almutary, AG, Alnuqaydan, AM, Charbe, N, Prasher, P, Negi, P, Goyal, R, Dua, K, Gupta, G, Serrano-Aroca, Á, Bahar, B, Barh, D, Panda, PK, Takayama, K, Lundstorm, K, McCarron, P, Bakshi, H & Tambuwala, MM 2021, 'Targeting LIN28: A New Hope in Prostate Cancer Theranostics', Future Oncology, vol. 17, no. 29, pp. 3873-3880.
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The mortality and morbidity rates for prostate cancer have recently increased to alarming levels, rising higher than lung cancer. Due to a lack of drug targets and molecular probes, existing theranostic techniques are limited. Human LIN28A and its paralog LIN28B overexpression are associated with a number of tumors resulting in a remarkable increase in cancer aggression and poor prognoses. The current review aims to highlight recent work identifying the key roles of LIN28A and LIN28B in prostate cancer, and to instigate further preclinical and clinical research in this important area.

Singh, AK, Rai, SN, Maurya, A, Mishra, G, Awasthi, R, Shakya, A, Chellappan, DK, Dua, K, Vamanu, E, Chaudhary, SK & Singh, MP 2021, 'Therapeutic Potential of Phytoconstituents in Management of Alzheimer’s Disease', Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol. 2021, pp. 1-19.
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Since primitive times, herbs have been extensively used in conventional remedies for boosting cognitive impairment and age-associated memory loss. It is mentioned that medicinal plants have a variety of dynamic components, and they have become a prominent choice for synthetic medications for the care of cognitive and associated disorders. Herbal remedies have played a major role in the progression of medicine, and many advanced drugs have already been developed. Many studies have endorsed practicing herbal remedies with phytoconstituents, for healing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). All the information in this article was collated from selected research papers from online scientific databases, such as PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. The aim of this article is to convey the potential of herbal remedies for the prospect management of Alzheimer’s and related diseases. Herbal remedies may be useful in the discovery and advancement of drugs, thus extending new leads for neurodegenerative diseases such as AD. Nanocarriers play a significant role in delivering herbal medicaments to a specific target. Therefore, many drugs have been described for the management of age-linked complaints such as dementia, AD, and the like. Several phytochemicals are capable of managing AD, but their therapeutic claims are restricted due to their lower solubility and metabolism. These limitations of natural therapeutics can be overcome by using a targeted nanocarrier system. This article will provide the primitive remedies as well as the development of herbal remedies for AD management.

Singh, Y, Ali, H, Alharbi, KS, Almalki, WH, Kazmi, I, Al‐Abbasi, FA, Anand, K, Dureja, H, Singh, SK, Thangavelu, L, Chellappan, DK, Dua, K & Gupta, G 2021, 'Calcium sensing receptor hyperactivation through viral envelop protein E of SARS CoV2: A novel target for cardio‐renal damage in COVID‐19 infection', Drug Development Research, vol. 82, no. 6, pp. 784-788.
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AbstractOver the recent decades, a number of new pathogens have emerged within specific and diverse populations across the globe, namely, the Nipah virus, the Ebola virus, the Zika virus, and coronaviruses (CoVs) to name a few. Recently, a new form of coronavirus was identified in the city of Wuhan, China. Interestingly, the genomic architecture of the virus did not match with any of the existing genomic sequencing data of previously sequenced CoVs. This had led scientists to confirm the emergence of a new CoV strain. Originally, named as 2019‐nCoV, the strain is now called as SARS‐CoV‐2. High serum levels of proinflammatory mediators, namely, interleukin‐12 (IL‐12), IL‐1β, IL‐6, interferon‐gamma (IFNγ), chemoattractant protein‐1, and IFN‐inducible protein, have been repeatedly observed in subjects who were infected with this virus. In addition, the virus demonstrated strong coagulation activation properties, leading to further the understanding on the SARS‐CoV2. To our understanding, these findings are unique to the published literature. Numerous studies have reported anomalies, namely, decline in the number of lymphocytes, platelets and albumins; and a rise in neutrophil count, aspartate transaminase, alanine aminotransaminase, lactate dehydrogenase, troponins, creatinine, complete bilirubin, D‐dimers, and procalcitonin. Supplementation of calcium during the SARS CoV‐2 associated hyperactive stage of calcium‐sensing receptors (CaSR) may be harmful to the cardio‐renal system. Thus, pharmacological inhibition of CaSR may prevent the increase in the levels of intracellular calcium, oxidative, inflammatory stress, and cardio‐renal cellular apoptosis induced by high cytokines level in COVID‐19 infection.

Taylor, J, Patio, K, De Rubis, G, Morris, MB, Evenhuis, C, Johnson, M & Bebawy, M 2021, 'Membrane to cytosol redistribution of αII‐spectrin drives extracellular vesicle biogenesis in malignant breast cells', PROTEOMICS, vol. 21, no. 13-14, pp. 1-13.
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AbstractSpectrin is a ubiquitous cytoskeletal protein that provides structural stability and supports membrane integrity. In erythrocytes, spectrin proteolysis leads to the biogenesis of plasma membrane extracellular vesicles (EVs). However, its role in non‐erythroid or cancer‐derived plasma membrane EVs biogenesis is unknown. This study aims to examine the role of αII‐spectrin in malignant and non‐malignant plasma membrane vesiculation. We developed a custom, automated cell segmentation plugin for the image processor, Fiji, that provides an unbiased assessment of high resolution confocal microscopy images of the subcellular distribution of αII‐spectrin. We show that, in low vesiculating non‐malignant MBE‐F breast cells, prominent cortical spectrin localises to the cell periphery at rest. In comparison, cortical spectrin is diminished in high vesiculating malignant MCF‐7 breast cells at rest. A cortical distribution of spectrin correlates with increased biomechanical stiffness as measured by Atomic Force Microscopy. Furthermore, cortical spectrin can be induced in malignant MCF‐7 cells by treatment with known vesiculation modulators including the calcium chelator, BAPTA‐AM or the calpain inhibitor II (ALLM). These results demonstrate that the subcellular localisation of spectrin is distinctly different in malignant and non‐malignant cells at rest and shows that the redistribution of cortical αII‐spectrin to the cytoplasm supports plasma membrane‐derived EV biogenesis in malignant cells.

Velu, V, Banerjee, S, Radhakrishnan, V, Gupta, G, Chellappan, DK, Fuloria, NK, Fuloria, S, Mehta, M, Dua, K & Malipeddi, H 2021, 'Identification of Phytoconstituents of Tragia Involucrata leaf Extracts and Evaluate their Correlation with Anti-inflammatory & Antioxidant Properties', Anti-Inflammatory & Anti-Allergy Agents in Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 308-315.
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Aims:The present investigation was aimed at exploring the phytoconstituents using GasChromatography Mass Spectroscopy and to evaluate antioxidant and anti-inflammatory propertiesof the leaf extracts.Materials and Methods:The extracts were obtained sequentially with petroleum ether, ethyl acetateand water using Soxhlet apparatus. The anti-inflammatory property of the identified compoundsusing GC- MS spectroscopy was evaluated in silico. The antioxidant activity was performedby DPPH and H2O2 method whereas anti-inflammatory study was carried out by HRBCmembrane stabilization method. Terpenoids were found to be a major constituents in petroleumether extract while, phenols and flavonoids were predominantly found in ethyl acetate extract.Results and Discussion:The GC-MS analysis of the extract revealed six major molecules includingSqualene, 19β, 28-epoxyleanan-3-ol and 2-tu-Butyl-5-chloromethyl-3-methyl-4-oxoimidazolidine-1-carboxylic acid. The ethyl acetate extract showed a significant antioxidant activity(P<0.01) in both DPPH method (70.87%) and H2O2 method (73.58%) at 200 μg mL-1. Increasedmembrane stabilization of petroleum ether extract was observed in the in vitro anti-inflammatoryactivity study. A strong relationship between the terpenoid content and anti-inflammatory activitywas obtained from the correlation (0.971) and docking study.Conclusion:These results justify T. involucrata to be a rich source of terpenoids with potent anti-inflammatory property.

Vohra, K, Mehta, M, Garg, V, Dua, K & Dureja, H 2021, 'Formulation, Characterisation and In vitro Cytotoxic Effect of Lens culinaris Medikus Seeds Extract Loaded Chitosan Microspheres', Current Molecular Pharmacology, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 448-457.
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Objective:The aim of present study was to formulate chitosan microspheres loaded withethanolic extract of Lens culinaris Medikus (L.culinaris) seeds (ME) and to explore its anticancerpotential against lung cancer (A549) cell line.Methods: Central composite design was applied to prepare and optimise the chitosan microspheres.The prepared microspheres were evaluated for its physicochemical characterisation, invitro drug release and anti-cancer potential in vitro.Results:L.culinaris loaded chitosan microspheres were prepared successfully with suitable particlesize, entrapment efficiency and drug release. The developed ME were spherical shaped with theparticle size of 2.08 μm. The drug entrapment efficiency and cumulative drug release was found1.58±0.02% and 81.95±0.35%, respectively. Differential scanning calorimetry studies revealed nointeraction between drugs and polymers used. The cytotoxic effect of the optimised formulation revealeda significant response as compared to the ethanolic extract of L.culinaris seeds (IC50: 22.56μg/ml vs. 63.58 μg/ml), which was comparable to that of reference drug, doxorubicin (22 μg/ml).These observations demonstrate that the optimised microspheres are effective against lung cancer(A549) cells.Conclusion:The significant cytotoxic response of the developed microspheres may be attributeddue to its low particle size, high entrapment efficiency and prolonged drug release profile.

Vyas, T, Rapalli, VK, Chellappan, DK, Dua, K, Dubey, SK & Singhvi, G 2021, 'Bacterial biofilms associated skin disorders: Pathogenesis, advanced pharmacotherapy and nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems as a treatment approach', Life Sciences, vol. 287, pp. 120148-120148.
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Wadhwa, R, Paudel, KR, Chin, LH, Hon, CM, Madheswaran, T, Gupta, G, Panneerselvam, J, Lakshmi, T, Singh, SK, Gulati, M, Dureja, H, Hsu, A, Mehta, M, Anand, K, Devkota, HP, Chellian, J, Chellappan, DK, Hansbro, PM & Dua, K 2021, 'Anti‐inflammatory and anticancer activities of Naringenin‐loaded liquid crystalline nanoparticles in vitro', Journal of Food Biochemistry, vol. 45, no. 1, p. e13572.
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In this study, we had developed Naringenin-loaded liquid crystalline nanoparticles (LCNs) and investigated the anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities of Naringenin-LCNs against human airway epithelium-derived basal cells (BCi-NS1.1) and human lung epithelial carcinoma (A549) cell lines, respectively. The anti-inflammatory potential of Naringenin-LCNs evaluated by qPCR revealed a decreased expression of IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β, and TNF-α in lipopolysaccharide-induced BCi-NS1.1 cells. The activity of LCNs was comparable to the positive control drug Fluticasone propionate (10 nM). The anticancer activity was studied by evaluating the antiproliferative (MTT and trypan blue assays), antimigratory (scratch wound healing assay, modified Boyden chamber assay, and immunoblot), and anticolony formation activity in A549 cells. Naringenin LCNs showed promising antiproliferative, antimigratory, and anticolony formation activities in A549 cells, in vitro. Therefore, based on our observations and results, we conclude that Naringenin-LCNs may be employed as a potential therapy-based intervention to ameliorate airway inflammation and to inhibit the progression of lung cancer. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Naringenin was encapsulated into liquid crystalline nanoparticles, thus, attributing to their sustained-release nature. In addition, Naringenin-loaded LCNs efficiently reduced the levels of pro-inflammatory markers, namely, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-8. In addition, the Naringenin-loaded LCNs also possess potent anticancer activity, when tested in the A549 cell line, as revealed by the inhibition of proliferation and migration of cells. They also attenuated colony formation and induced apoptosis in the A549 cells. The findings from our study could form the basis for future research that may be translated into an in vivo model to validate the possible therapeutic alternative for lung cancer using Naringenin-loaded LCNs. In addition, the applications of Naringenin-loaded LCNs a...

Zarzuelo, MJ, Valverde-Merino, MI, Fernandez-Rodriguez, M, Amador-Fernandez, N, Uribe-Sanchez, A, Gomez-Guzman, M & Martinez-Martinez, F 2021, 'Results of Development and Application of an Objective Structured Clinical Examination: A Pioneering Experience in Pharmaceutical Care', Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 621-628.
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Objectives: Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is a tool to assess skills and competencies and it can be relevant in Pharmacy studies and more specifically in Pharmaceutical Care (PC) to develop more practical and useful skills in the working life of a healthcare professional. Design and Methods: A prospective study was performed by students of the subject of PC in the Bachelor of Pharmacy and by students from the Master in PC, at the end of their classes. Five stations with standardized patients and written records were designed. A checklist was prepared in each station with various components to evaluate competencies and a questionnaire to explore students´ opinion was designed. Results: The mean of the global punctuation was 65.17±11.30/100, being higher for the Master student than Bachelor. 85.10% of students passed the exam. The best scored station by the students was the one of “Adherence” and the worst were both the written stations (“Dispensing Record” and “Medication Review Follow-up”). The best competency was technique. The activity was valued very positively according to the global score of the opinion questionnaire (4.50±0.50/5). Conclusion: Pharmacists must boost their skills and abilities required to perform pharmacy services. The use of OSCE represents a new tool to encourage and evaluate these PC skills.

Avong, YK, Abiodun, AS, Jatau, B, Shuibu, AT, Elagbaje, C, Opadeyi, A, Ali, I, Fraden, B, Harmark, L, Kayode, GA, Tiemersma, E, Isah, A, Tumwijukye, H, Cutler, R, Pont, L & Cobelens, F 1970, 'Oral Presentation: Nigeria is Making Progress Implementing the Active Drug Safety Monitoring and Management Scheme for New and Repurposed Antituberculosis Drugs', DRUG SAFETY, 20th Annual Meeting of the International-Society-of-Pharmacovigilance (ISoP) on Integrated Pharmacovigilance for Safer Patients, ADIS INT LTD, OMAN, Muscat, pp. 1395-1395.

Dua, K, Löbenberg, R, Luzo, ACM, Shukla, S & Satija, S 2021, 'Targeting Cellular Signalling Pathways in Lung Diseases', Springer.
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The book comprehensively reviews and provides detailed insight into the cellular and molecular signalling mechanisms involved in pathophysiology of various respiratory diseases, towards developing effective therapeutic strategies in the ...

Dua, K, Mehta, M, Pinto, TDJA, Pont, LG, Williams, KA & Rathbone, M 2021, 'Advanced Drug Delivery Systems in the Management of Cancer', Elsevier.
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This book begins with a brief introduction to cancer biology. This is followed by an overview of the current landscape in pharmacotherapy for the cancer management.

Dua, K, Nammi, S, Chang, D, Chellappan, DK, Gupta, G & Collet, T 2021, 'Medicinal Plants for Lung Diseases A Pharmacological and Immunological Perspective', Springer.
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This book summarizes experimentally-supported research on the therapeutic efficacy of plant extracts and their constituents on a range of respiratory diseases including infections.

Gupta, G, Kazmi, I, Al-Abbasi, FA, Singh, Y, Roshan, S, Rani, S, Mishra, A, Prasher, P, Jha, NK, Thangavelu, L, Dureja, H, Singh, SK, Bhatt, S, Chellappan, DK & Dua, K 2021, 'Activation of TWEAK/Fn14 signaling suppresses TRAFs/NF-?B pathway in the pathogenesis of cancer.', pp. 232-235.
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Lambert, M, Smit, C, Vos, SD, Benko, R, Llor, C, Paget, J, Briant, K, Pont, L, Dijk, LV & Taxis, K 2021, 'A systematic literature review of community pharmacist-led interventions to optimize the use of antibiotics', Authorea, Inc..
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Pathak, S, Gupta, G, Thangavelu, L, Singh, SK, Dua, K, Chellappan, DK & Gilhotra, RM 2021, 'Recent update on barbiturate in relation to brain disorder.', pp. 1028-1032.
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Shukla, SD, Shastri, MD, Jha, NK, Gupta, G, Chellappan, DK, Bagade, T & Dua, K 2021, 'Female gender as a risk factor for developing COPD.', IfADo - Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund, pp. 1290-1293.
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Singh, Y, Gupta, G, Anand, K, Kumar Jha, N, Thangavelu, L, Kumar Chellappan, D & Dua, K 2021, 'Molecular exploration of combinational therapy of orlistat with metformin prevents the COVID-19 consequences in obese diabetic patients.', pp. 580-582.
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Sunkara, K, Allam, VR, Shukla, SD, Chellappan, DK, Gupta, G, MacLoughlin, R & Dua, K 2021, 'COVID-19 in underlying COPD Patients.', pp. 248-251.
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