A review. Transdermal delivery has lately emerged as a valuable alternative method to improve bioavailability and increase pharmaceutical efficacy of various drugs. Transdermal administration can potentially minimize side effects as well as first-pass metab. It has been used successfully for hormone replacement therapy, smoking cessation, and pain management. However, there have been challenges in the expanding use of the technol. to numerous types of pharmaceuticals, including extremely hydrophilic or lipophilic drugs, peptides, proteins, and other macromols. In this context, colloidal drug carriers, and in particular lyotropic liq. crystals (LLCs), seem to be promising candidates as the vehicles of unconventional delivery for various drugs. Such vehicles can provide enhanced drug soly., relative protection of the solubilized drugs, and controlled release of drugs, while avoiding substantial side effects. Exhibiting interesting properties for a topical delivery system, LLCs were considered and have been studied as delivery vehicles of pharmaceuticals via the skin and mucosa. This review focuses on lyotropic non-lamellar lyotropic mesophases (hexagonal and cubic) and their nano-dispersions as topical delivery vehicles. Recent advances in transdermal and mucosal drug delivery via LLC carriers are demonstrated and discussed. [on SciFinder(R)]

Chapters 1 and 11

A review on the difficulties in delivery of proteins and peptides and the liq. crystal-based controlled delivery systems that have been produced and examd. to improve delivery. [on SciFinder(R)] Chapter 24, 359

A review on cubosomes, nanosoft particles that are formed when the liq. cryst. cubic phases are dispersed in aq. phase contg. a stabilizer (usually amphiphilic polymer), and their potential use as drug delivery vehicles. In the dispersed soft matter particles, the nanostructure of the original cubic inner structure remains intact despite the dispersion process. The three-dimensional symmetry of the cubic phases, combined with their large interfacial area and balanced content of hydrophobic and hydrophiic domains, make them very promising universal drug carriers, with numerous advantages over most other systems used at present. These exceptional phys. and chem. properties stimulated the study of the liq. crystal dispersions. Thus, one can take advantage of the complex phases for controlled delivery, while simultaneously having the benefit of the low viscosity of a system of soft nanoparticles dispersed in a continuous aq. phase. [on SciFinder(R)]

A review. In some countries health authorities are advising minimizing the use of insol. solid nanoparticles that have been shown to cause some significant damage to the healthy growth of various cells and to decrease the viability of others. However, companies and those dealing with future foods prefer to conc. on delivery methods and technologies and to refrain from using the term nanosized particles. All the technologies will involve utilization of new encapsulation and entrapment of bioactives and other food additives by advanced encapsulation micro- and nanovehicles. [on SciFinder(R)]

Advances in Polymer and Interface Science,in the Honor of Prof. N. Garti 60th Birthday

A review. Required properties of wormlike micelles, home-care products (hard surface cleaning,drain opening, paints), personal-care products (hair bleaching/dyeing agents, skin cosmetics) as well as drug delivery products are described. [on SciFinder(R)]

The authors on the solubilization patterns of two of these nutraceuticals (lycopene and phtosteols) which are practically insol. in water but which have been solubilized in the QL (glycerol monooleate (GMO) + ethanol + water) mesophases. The scientific value of these results is threefold. The QL phase has the capability and capacity to solubilize guest mols. of different natures. An anal. method was developed to detect at what concn. levels the guest mols. contribute to the inner order and symmetry of the mesophase, and at what concn. levels they destroy the inner symmetry and cause phase transformations. Certain guest mols. can complement each other structurally at the interface and exhibit synergistic solubilization. [on SciFinder(R)]

A review. It discusses characteristics of liq. dispersions that provide the food industry with some unique advantages that cannot be obtained using other technologies. It also reviews the phys., chem., and biol. properties of the nanoscale architectures that are substantially different from their macroscopic counterparts. [on SciFinder(R)]

A review. A novel technol. to prep. modified reverse microemulsion (denoted NSSL, nanosized self-assembled liq.) vehicles loaded with cosmetoceuticals, based on permitted ingredients that can be progressively dild. with water, was developed recently in our labs. The microemulsion isotropic regions representing water-in-oil (W/O), bicontinuous mesophase, and oil-in-water (O/W) microemulsion structures are presented in a phase diagram so-called U-type. In such compns. in the isotropic regions of the phase diagram, structures can invert from L2 (reverse micelles) to an L1 (direct micelles) phase via W/O, bicontinuous, and O/W regions progressively, without phase sepn. The concs. (condensed reverse micelles) can be loaded at very high solubilization capacities of guest mols. (lycopene, phytosterols, tocopherols, CoQ10, lutein, antioxidants, aromas, fragrances) that are oil sol. or even mostly insol. in the water or oil phase. The solubilization exceeds manyfold that of the soly. capacity of each of the phases. The microemulsion phase transformations were studied by cond., viscosity differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and self-diffusion-NMR (SD-NMR) measurements, and the microstructure was detd. by small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS), cryo-transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The loci of the solubilizate at any given water content were detd. by following the self-diffusion coeffs. of each of the ingredients. It was concluded that the solubilizates are easily accommodated and tightly packed at the concave, hydrophobic-in-nature, water-in-oil interface and at the bicontinuous interface. Most solubilizates are more loosely packed at the oil-in-water interface and tend to be released from the interface once inversion occurs. Upon inversion to O/W microemulsion droplets, the interface becomes more hydrophilic and convexes toward the water, becoming the continuous phase. The solubilization capacity drops dramatically, and the active matter can be trigger released. The nutraceuticals are solubilized at higher solubilization capacities if interacting with the surfactant. Upon entrapping guest mols., the transition from W/O to bicontinuous, and thereafter to an O/W microemulsion, is occurring, in some cases, at higher levels of water diln., while in other cases, depending on the nature of the solubilizate, at lower dilns., indicating that some of the guest compds. add some order to the internal microemulsion organization, while others are destructive to the interface and enhance phase sepn. or phase transitions. [on SciFinder(R)]

A review discusses the development of modified microemulsions as nanosized self-assembled liq. (NSSL) vehicles for the solubilization of nutraceuticals and to improve transmembrane transport for addnl. health benefits. The solubilization of nonsol. active ingredients such as aromas and antioxidants into clear beverages that are based on water-continuous phase is presented. [on SciFinder(R)]