Pharmaceutics and Drug Design Commons^™

Anti-Muc4Β Antibodies As A Novel Therapeutic Modality For The Treatment Of Pancreatic Cancer, Catherine Orzechowski

Theses & Dissertations

The deregulation of cell surface glycoproteins, such as mucins, is a hallmark of many tumors of epithelial origin. The transmembrane mucin MUC4, is differentially overexpressed in several malignancies, including pancreatic, breast, ovarian, lung, cervical, and head and neck cancers. Of all the aforementioned cancers, the role of MUC4 has been the most thoroughly in pancreatic cancer (PC), which is the 4th leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. While MUC4 is undetectable in the normal or inflamed pancreas (pancreatitis), its expression progressively increases during PC progression and its higher expression correlates with poor survival. The role of MUC4 …

Polymeric Drug Delivery Systems For Cancer Therapy And Radionuclide Decorporation, Sameer A. Alshehri

Theses & Dissertations

The main objective of this body of work is to develop polymeric drug delivery systems for cancer radiotherapy and the decorporation of radiological materials. The polymeric systems for radiotherapy were evaluated in vitro and in vivo (in normal, prostate, and ovarian cancer mice models). The polymeric system for radionuclide decorporation was also evaluated in vitro and in a normal mouse model. Due to its attractive properties, the N-(2-Hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide (HPMA) copolymer was utilized as the main carrier for the developed systems.

Chapter 1 provides an overview of prostate and ovarian cancer, targeted radiopharmaceuticals, nanomedicine-based drug delivery for cancer, HPMA copolymers, …

Rilpivirine-Associated Aggregation-Induced Emission Enables Cell-Based Nanoparticle Tracking, Insiya Mukadam

Theses & Dissertations

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has improved the quality and duration of life for people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. However, limitations in drug efficacy, the emergence of viral mutations and the paucity of cell-tissue targeting remain. We posit that to maximize ART potency and therapeutic outcomes newer drug formulations that reach HIV cellular reservoirs need to be created. In a step towards achieving this goal we discovered the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) property of the non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor Rilpivirine (RPV) and used it as a platform for drug cell and subcellular tracking. RPV nanocrystals were created with endogenous AIE …

Long-Acting Nanoformulated Antivirals For The Treatment And Prevention Of Hiv-1 And Hbv Infections, Dhruvkumar M. Soni Dr.

Theses & Dissertations

While antiretroviral therapy (ART) has revolutionized treatment and prevention of human immunodeficiency virus type one (HIV-1) infection, regimen adherence, viral mutations, drug toxicities, stigma and pill fatigue are limitations. These have led to the development of long acting (LA) ART. These include, but are not limited to, implantable devices, new chemical entities, prodrug modifications and nanoformulations. To these ends, this thesis focues on the transformation of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) into LA parenterals, While elusive, data from our laboratories demonstrated that modifications to the PROdrug and nucleoTide technology (ProTide) enables improvements in drug apparent half-life and tissue and cell …

Honey Vs. Silver Sulfadiazine In The Reepithelialization Of Partial-Thickness Burn Wounds, Andi Diamond, Monica Bowler

Physician Assistant Capstones, 2020-current

Objective: To determine whether silver sulfadiazine (SSD) should remain the gold standard of initial burn wound treatment or if it should be replaced with an alternative treatment that allows for faster skin cell regrowth. Methods: Database search of PubMed and Google Scholar were used to evaluate patient clinical trials with the search terms “burn”, “honey”, and “silver”. Results: Three trials met inclusion criteria. All three of the studies found significant improvement in their primary endpoint with the use of honey. The first study showed the honey group to have healing time of 13.47 ± 4.06 days and …

Great Expectations: Phosph(On)Ate Prodrugs In Drug Design—Opportunities And Limitations, Victoria Yan

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Phosphate and phosphonates are chemical moieties with historical precedence in anticancer and antiviral nucleotide analogues. Synchronous to modern efforts identifying novel therapeutic targets in cancer, such chemical moieties are being investigated in the design of novel inhibitors with antineoplastic potential. A central challenge to the delivery of phosph(on)ate-containing drugs is their anionic character at physiological pH, which portends poor membrane permeability. This limitation has been successfully overcome through the use of prodrugs. When attached to the phosph(on)ate moiety, prodrugs mask the negative charge and easily enable cell permeability. Upon cellular entry, the promoieties are enzymatically or environmentally cleaved to unveil …

Celecoxib Loaded In-Situ Provesicular Powder And Its In-Vitro Cytotoxic Effect For Cancer Therapy: Fabrication, Characterization, Optimization And Pharmacokinetic Evaluation, Shady Swidan, Ali Nasr, Sameh Elhady, Noha Badawi

Pharmacy

Introduction: Several recent studies have shown that the role of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) in carcinogenesis has become more evident. It affects angiogenesis, apoptosis, and invasion, and plays a key role in the production of carcinogens. It has also been reported that COX-2 inhibitors such as celecoxib (CLX) might play an effective role in preventing cancer formation and progression. Formulation of CLX into nanovesicles is a promising technique to improve its bioavailability and anticancer efficacy. Aim: The aim of this study is to optimize and evaluate the anticancer efficacy of CLX-loaded in-situ provesicular powder composed of surfactants and fatty alcohol-based novel …

Development And Characterization Of Glimepiride Novel Solid Nanodispersion For Improving Its Oral Bioavailability, Shady Swidan, Mona Qushawy, Ali Nasr, Yasmin Mortagi

Pharmacy

Glimepiride is an antidiabetic drug which is one of the third generation sulfonylureas. It belongs to class II, according to the BCS (Biopharmaceutical Classification System), which is characterized by low solubility and high permeability. The aim of this work was to formulate glimepiride as solid dispersion using water-soluble carriers to enhance its aqueous solubility and thus enhance its bioavailability. Nine formulations of glimepiride solid dispersion were prepared by a solvent evaporation technique using three different carriers (mannitol, polyethylene glycol 6000, and β-cyclodextrin) with three different drug carrier ratio (1:1, 1:3, and 1:6). Formulation variables were optimized using 32 full factorial …

Veru-111 As An Oral Tubulin Inhibitor Suppressing Triple-Negative Breast Cancer And Evaluation Of Novel Tubulin Inhibitors For Cancer Therapy, Shanshan Deng

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) has aggressive clinical features strongly associated with poorer overall prognosis and higher mortality rates relative to other molecular subtypes. FDA-approved drugs, such as paclitaxel, are effective in treating TNBC. Yet, treatment failure is commonly observed due to the development of acquired chemoresistance, which remains a clinical challenge for TNBC therapy.

Model-Based Dose-Exposure-Response Assessment For Lead And Backup Spectinamide In A Mouse Model Of Tuberculosis, Santosh Janardan Wagh

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Despite decades of research, tuberculosis remains the oldest pathogen-based disease that is the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. Among many anti-tubercular therapies under investigation, the semisynthetic compounds spectinamides are a promising novel class of anti-tuberculosis agents. One such lead candidate, spectinamide 1810, and backup spectinamide 1599 have demonstrated excellent efficacy, safety, and drug-like properties in various in vitro and in vivo assessments. The dose-ranging and dose fractionation studies were designed to characterize the dose-exposure-response relationship for lead and backup spectinamide in a mouse model of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. In this current study, we used 26 and …

Contraceptive Methods In The United States: The Question Of Abortive Mechanisms, Tara Ferenczy

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis reviews the many methods of contraception available in the United States. Although society’s understanding of women’s health has become a major topic, there is still a significant deficit of information regarding how the accessible methods affect women’s bodies, specifically reproductive tissue. The thesis analyzes numerous contraceptive options focusing specifically on the mechanisms of action to determine whether options have abortifacient properties so that readers may develop educated opinions regarding medical and ethical uses. Information involving strengths and limitations of each technique and the effects on both the female body and the reproductive material assist in understanding the process …

Validation And Application Of A Novel Target-Based Whole-Cell Screen To Identify Antifungal Compounds, Christian Alexander Dejarnette

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Traditional approaches to drug discovery are inefficient and have several key limitations that constrain our capacity to rapidly identify and develop novel experimental therapeutics. To address this, we have devised a second-generation target-based whole-cell screening assay based on the principles of competitive fitness, which can rapidly identify target-specific and physiologically-active compounds. Briefly, strains expressing high, intermediate, and low levels of a preselected target protein were constructed, tagged with spectrally distinct fluorescent proteins (FPs), and mixed together. The pooled strains were then grown in the presence of various small molecules, and the relative growth of each strain within the mixed culture …

Click-Free Synthesis Of A Multivalent Tricyclic Peptide As A Molecular Transporter, Sumit Kumar, Dindyal Mandal, Shaima Ahmed El-Mowafi, Saghar Mozaffari, Rakesh Kumar Tiwari, Keykavous Parang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The cellular delivery of cell-impermeable and water-insoluble molecules remains an ongoing challenge to overcome. Previously, we reported amphipathic cyclic peptides c[WR]₄ and c[WR]₅ consisting of alternate arginine and tryptophan residues as nuclear-targeting molecular transporters. These peptides contain an optimal balance of positive charge and hydrophobicity, which is required for interactions with the phospholipid bilayer to facilitate their application as a drug delivery system. To further optimize them, we synthesized and evaluated a multivalent tricyclic peptide as an efficient molecular transporter. The monomeric cyclic peptide building blocks were synthesized using Fmoc/tBu solid-phase chemistry and cyclization in the …

Antioxidant And Elastase Inhibitor Potential Of Petals And Receptacle Of Rose Flower (Rosa Damascena), Evi Mawarni, Chrismis Novalinda Ginting, Linda Chiuman, Ermi Girsang, Rr. Anisa Siwianti Handayani, Wahyu Widowati

Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research

Free radicals can cause damage to cells or tissues, autoimmune diseases, degenerative diseases, or cancer. Therefore, the body needs important substances, namely antioxidants that can help protect the body by reducing negative effect from free radicals. Rose flower (Rosa damascena) has anthocyanin pigment which belongs to flavonoid group which has a function as antioxidant or free radical scavenger. This study aims to determine antioxidant and anti-elastase potentials of rose petals and receptacles. The method used in this study was a qualitative phytochemical test to determine the compounds contained in the Rose Petal Extract (RPE) and Rose Receptacle Extract (RRE), ABTS …

Epigenetic Diet To Modulate Immune Response Against Sars-Cov-2, Andika Andika, Risa Ahdyani, Linda Erlina, Azminah Azminah, Arry Yanuar

Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread to various parts of the world and caused many deaths. The victims are infected by SARS-CoV-2, a new type of coronavirus that has appeared since December 2019 and caused respiratory symptoms, fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. In addition to social distancing, wearing masks and washing hands, diet is important as a defense of the body against SARS-CoV-2. In this review, researchers conducted epigenetic diet studies that could potentially inhibit SARS-CoV-2, and can be consumed and used on a daily basis.

Potential Risk Factors For Mortality Due To Cardiovascular Disease Among Hemodialysed Patients In Indonesia, Diana Laila Ramatillah, Syed Azhar Syed Sulaiman, Kashif Ullah Khan

Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research

Severe vascular calcifications, alterations in cardiovascular structure and function, immune dysfunction, and anemia are adverse effects of parathyroid hormone (PTH), which may contribute to increase risk factors of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality among renal failure patients. To evaluate the potential risk factors for mortality due to cardiovascular disease among hemodialysed patients in Indonesia, this cohort study was conducted. This study included 178 patients on hemodialysis who had been followed up two times a week for nine months (prospective cohort) and 185 patients who died in the last five years (retrospective cohort). Universal sampling technique were used to select the study …

Antagonistic Drug-Herb Interactions Between Clinacanthus Nutans And Cyclophosphamide On Wrl 68 Cell Line, Nurliana Abd Mutalib, Normala Abd Latip

Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research

Clinacanthus nutans (Acanthaceae), locally known as Sabah snake grass, is popularly taken as prevention as well as treatment for cancer in Malaysia, despite lack of concrete clinical evidence. However, it is crucial to evaluate potential antagonistic, additive, or synergistic interactions that may result from the co-treatment of this plant in chemotherapy. In this study, we demonstrate the drug-herb interaction using combination treatment of C. nutans extracts and cyclophosphamide on the WRL 68 cell line. Materials and Methods: Aqueous and 70% ethanol extract of C. nutans leaves were prepared using decoction and maceration methods. MTT assay was used to test …

A Study On The Formulation Of Plant Matrix Tablets From Coarse Botanical Materials Using Cinnamon Bark And Areca Nut As The Model Botanical Materials, Natalia Veronica, Xiu Hui Ang, Shing Ming Ooi, Celine Valeria Liew, Paul Wan Sia Heng

Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research

Background: There is much interest in formulating botanical materials into tablets due to the compactness and ease of administration. However, tableting of coarse milled botanical materials poses a challenge due to poor tableting properties. Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of wet granulation to produce tablets from coarse milled botanical materials and to assess the effect of formulation on properties of the tablets. Materials and Methods: Cinnamon bark and areca nut were milled to obtain 1–2 mm particle size, which was subsequently used in wet granulation using maltodextrin solution as a granulating liquid. Two diluents were tried; microcrystalline …

Long-Lasting, Patient-Controlled, Procedure-Free Contraception: A Review Of Annovera With A Pharmacist Perspective, Jennifer J. Virro, Kathleen Besinque, Christiane E. Carney, Danielle Gross, Brian Bernick, Sebastian Mirkin

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Annovera (segesterone acetate and ethinyl estradiol vaginal system) is a US Food and Drug Administration FDA-approved long-lasting, reversible contraceptive that is fully administered by the user and does not require a procedure for insertion or removal. The vaginal system is in the shape of a ring and contains low doses of a novel progestin, egesterone acetate, and ethinyl estradiol. It is made of silicone and is fully pliable and flexible. The vaginal system is reusable for 13 cycles, using a 21 days in/7 days out regimen, providing women with the ability to control their fertility. Particularly now during the COVID-19 …

A Mini Review : Clinically Significant Potential Drug-Drug Interactions In Covid-19 And Comorbid Therapy, Ana Khusnul Faizah, Nani Wijayanti Dyah Nurrahman, Oki Nugraha Putra

Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and can be aggravated by comorbid diseases. In administering COVID-19 therapy, we need to consider potential drug-drug interactions (pDDIs) with comorbid drugs. Most patients with comorbid diseases get polypharmacy, therefore the risk of pDDIs increases. Potential drug-drug interactions can cause unwanted effects such as toxicity to death. There is no on-label therapy for COVID-19 but FDA has Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, azithromycin, remdesivir, ritonavir, and lopinavir. Some COVID-19 treatment potential drug-drug interactions have a level of severity C and D, so …

Sars-Cov-2: Virology And Drug Repurposing Approaches, Ratika Rahmasari, Heri Setiawan, Rezi Riadhi Syahdi, Ayun Arifianti, Marina Ika Irianti, Rani Sauriasari, Juliann Nzembi Makau, Muhareva Raekiansyah

Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research

An emerging coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is the causative agent for the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which has caused a worldwide social and economic disruption. Currently, no antiviral drugs with proven clinical efficacy, or vaccines for its prevention. Therefore, to combat the pandemic of this novel coronavirus, new effective treatments are urgently needed. In the process of traditional drug development, developing new drugs from scratch is a time- consuming process, requires high-investment, and is a high-risk process, which is impractical to face the immediate global challenge of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Drug repurposing strategy is one of the effective ways …

Chloroquine: An Old To Be Repurposed Drug For Covid-19 Infection (Risk And Benefit), Oki Nugraha Putra, Ana Khusnul Faizah, Nani Wijayanti Dyah Nurrahman, Hardiyono Hardiyono

Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) with a high rate of mortality. Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have been used for antimalarial and autoimmune diseases for many years. Due to low toxicity and well tolerability as well as immunomodulatory properties, these drugs are proposed to treat viral infection. Some studies, both in vitro and in a clinical setting, have been evaluated for their ability to treat SARS- CoV-2 as promising therapies. Although The National Agency of Drugs and Food Control of The Republic of Indonesia issued emergency authorization for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to be used against …

Prediction Of Asiatic Acid Derivatives Affinity Against Sars-Cov-2 Main Protease Using Molecular Docking, Ida Musfiroh, Alia Resti Azura, Driyanti Rahayu

Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research

COVID-19 is a pandemic that currently occurs in almost all parts of the world, caused by a new coronavirus species that can infect humans, namely SARS-CoV-2. To date, there is no effective drug to treat COVID-19. There are studies proving that the secondary metabolites of pentacyclic triterpenes have antiviral activity, one of which is asiatic acid. The aims of this study are to obtain the affinity and interactions of asiatic acid derivative structures in inhibiting the main protease of SARS-CoV-2. The research method was molecular docking of asiatic acid and its derivatives against the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 (6LU7) consisting …

Dermaseptin-Based Antiviral Peptides To Prevent Covid-19 Through In Silico Molecular Docking Studies Against Sars-Cov-2 Spike Protein, Taufik Muhammad Fakih

Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research

A pandemic coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has now been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. The search for new drugs, especially by utilizing antiviral peptides is a very potential area. Through this study, protein-peptide docking and protein-protein docking simulations were conducted using in silico methods to identify, evaluate, and explore the molecular affinity and interaction of dermaseptin peptide molecules produced by frogs of the genus Phyllomedusa against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein macromolecule, and its effect on attachment to the surface of the ACE-2 (Angiotensin Converting Enzyme-2) receptor. …

Remdesivir: Mechanism And Effectiveness For Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19), Vina Neldi, Suharjono Suharjono

Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research

Currently, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a very serious health problem. The World Health Organization (WHO) has characterized this disease as a pandemic. Recommendations related to vaccines and drugs are not available yet because they are still in the clinical trial phase, and one of the superior drugs is remdesivir which has an antiviral activity. Several clinical trials of this drug are being carried out with the aim of evaluating its safety and efficacy in COVID-19 patients. There are two clinical trials with completed recruitment status, which are NCT04257656 and NCT04280705. NCT04257656 showed that remdesivir had faster time for clinical …

The Potential Roles Of Jamu For Covid-19: A Learn From The Traditional Chinese Medicine, Dwi Hartanti, Binar Asrining Dhiani, Shintia Lintang Charisma, Retno Wahyuningrum

Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research

As the pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues while there is no drug and vaccine available, every effort to discover one should be considered. This review aimed to discuss the potential use of jamu, the Indonesian traditional herbal medicine, to deal with COVID-19 by following those of more-established traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The online literature search using the PubMed database, as well as the circulars from the Indonesian Ministry of Health, were carried out to collect data up to June 07, 2020. The use of TCM for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19 has been officiated in the …

Hybrid Cyclic/Linear Peptides In A Multi-Component Lipid Structure As A Sirna Delivery System, Abdulaziz Alasmari

Pharmaceutical Sciences (MS) Theses

Delivering siRNA is challenging due to many obstacles, such as extremely short in vivo half-life, rapid elimination via glomerular filtration, and inability to cross cell membranes due to the hydrophilic and negatively-charged nature. Thus, a delivery system is needed to deliver the siRNA into the cells by crossing the negatively-charged phospholipid cell membrane. The goal of this project was to design hybrid cyclic-linear peptides as siRNA delivery system. We designed and synthesized hybrid cyclic-linear peptides [R5K]W5, [R6K]W6, and [R5K]W7 containing positively-charged arginine residues attached to hydrophobic tryptophan chains for more efficient interaction with siRNA and to improve siRNA internalization into …

Prospects For Rnai Therapy Of Covid-19, Hasan Uludağ, Kylie Parent, Hamidreza Montazeri Aliabadi, Azita Haddadi

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus is a fast emerging disease with deadly consequences. The pulmonary system and lungs in particular are most prone to damage caused by the SARS-CoV-2 infection, which leaves a destructive footprint in the lung tissue, making it incapable of conducting its respiratory functions and resulting in severe acute respiratory disease and loss of life. There were no drug treatments or vaccines approved for SARS-CoV-2 at the onset of pandemic, necessitating an urgent need to develop effective therapeutics. To this end, the innate RNA interference (RNAi) mechanism can be employed to develop front line therapies against …

Foundational Research And Nih Funding Enabling Emergency Use Authorization Of Remdesivir For Covid-19, Ekaterina Galkina Cleary, Matthew J. Jackson, Zoë Folchman-Wagner, Fred D. Ledley

Natural & Applied Sciences Faculty Publications

Emergency Use Authorization for remdesivir months after discovery of COVID-19 is unprecedented. Typically, decades of research and public-sector funding are required to establish the mature body of foundational research requisite for efficient, targeted drug discovery and development. This work quantifies the body of research related to remdesivir’s biological target, RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), or parent chemical structure, nucleoside analogs (NcAn), through 2019, as well as NIH funding for this research 2000–2019. There were 6,567 RdRp-related publications in PubMed, including 1,263 with NIH support, and 11,073 NcAn-related publications, including 2,319 with NIH support. NIH support for RdRp research comprised 2,203 Project …

Nih Funding For Research Underlying New Cancer Therapies, Ekaterina Galkina Cleary, Fred D. Ledley

Natural & Applied Sciences Faculty Publications

Contemporary discovery and development of cancer drugs are based on the model that investments in basic biomedical science will provide insights that can be translated into new cures. In the USA, basic research is primarily funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH),1 which allocates half of its research budget to basic science,2 with smaller amounts contributed by philanthropy, academics, or industry.1 Basic science is formally defined as the “systematic study directed toward fuller knowledge or understanding of the fundamental aspects of phenomena and observable facts without specific application towards processes or products in mind”.3 However, science is often useinspired,4 …