Formulation of sublingual tablets of drugs with limited permeability poses a great challenge due to their poor absorption. In this study, bioenhanced sublingual tablets (BESTs) of zolmitriptan were prepared using novel surfactant binder (Pluronic® p123/Syloid® mixture) to enhance tablet disintegration and dissolution. Microencapsulated polysorbate 80 (Sepitrap™ 80) were included in the composit...

Block copolymers with a low hydrophilic-to-lipophilic balance form membranes that are highly permeable to hydrophilic molecules. Polymersomes with this type of membrane enable the controllable release of molecules without membrane rupture. However, these polymersomes are difficult to assemble because of their low hydrophobicity. Here, we report a microfluidic approach to the production of these...

Although the effects of red blood cell (RBC) aggregation on low-shear rate blood viscosity are well known, the effects on in vivo flow resistance are still not fully resolved. The present study was designed to explore the in vivo effects of RBC aggregation on flow resistance using a novel technique to enhance aggregation: cells are covalently coated with a block copolymer (Pluronic F-98) and th...

The effect of mechanical agitation on the microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Porphyridium cruentum was investigated in aerated continuous cultures with and without the added shear protectant Pluronic F68. Damage to cells was quantified through a decrease in the steady state concentration of the biomass in the photobioreactor. For a given aeration rate, the steady state biomass concentrati...

BACKGROUND Carbon nanotubes are increasingly being tested for use in cellular applications. Determining the mode of entry is essential to control and regulate specific interactions with cells, to understand toxicological effects of nanotubes, and to develop nanotube-based cellular technologies. We investigated cellular uptake of Pluronic copolymer-stabilized, purified ~145 nm long single wall c...

Aggregation of thermosensitive polymer-coated gold nanoparticles was performed in aqueous solution in the presence of a triblock copolymer poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(propylene oxide)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (Pluronic P123, PEO(20)-PPO(68)-PEO(20)). The gold nanoparticles, AuNPs, which are covered by thermosensitive statistical copolymers poly(EO(x)-st-PO(y)), aggregate when the temperat...

Sumatriptan succinate is an agonist for a vascular 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)1 receptor subtype (probably a member of the 5-HT1D family). It does not have significant affinity for the remaining 5-HT receptors. It does not have affinity for alpha1, alpha2 or beta-adrenergic, dopamine1, dopamine2, muscarinic or benzodiazepine receptors. The objective of the study was to evaluate the in vitro tran...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of these studies was to understand the influence of cosolvent and surfactant contributions to particle size distributions emitted from solution metered dose inhalers (pMDIs) based on the propellant HFA 227. METHODS Two sets of formulations were prepared: (a) pMDIs-HFA 227 containing cosolvent (5-15% w/w ethanol) with constant surfactant (pluronic) concentration and (b) ...

This work evaluated the potential of Pluronics (varieties F127 and P123) in combination with solubilizing agents to be used as syringeable in situ gelling depots of intratumoral β-lapachone (βLAP). Pluronic dispersions prepared at various concentrations in the absence and the presence of ethanol and randomly methylated β-cyclodextrin (RMβCD) were characterized regarding their rheological proper...

In recent years, assemblies of functionalised gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have received a growing interest as a route toward hybrid materials with new functionalities. Here, we report on thermally reversible assemblies formed by mixing thermosensitive polymerprotected AuNPs and Pluronic triblock copolymers. Amino-terminated copolymers, poly(EO-st-PO), with different EO/PO ratios were coupled by ...