Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.4
4.2
Journals
Membranes
Special Issues
Membrane-Based Technologies in Pharmaceutical Sciences
share announcement

Membrane-Based Technologies in Pharmaceutical Sciences

A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375). This special issue belongs to the section "Membrane Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 12166

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Stefano Focaroli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Panoz Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
Interests: solid state formulations; microfluidics
Prof. Dr. Anne Marie Healy

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
Interests: pharmaceutical material science; preformulation and formulation of pharmaceuticals; amorphous solids; co-crystals; formulating poorly soluble drugs; pharmaceutical processing; pulmonary drug delivery and formulation stability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Claudio Nastruzzi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
Interests: biomaterials; microfluidcs; tissue engineering; nanotechnolgy; composite material
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Viviana Salvatore

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
ATXA Therapeutics Limited, UCD Conway Institute for Biomolecular & Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
Interests: molecular biology; cell biology; cancer biology; tumor M,croenvironment; co-cultures
Dr. Jayprakash Yadav

E-Mail
Guest Editor
School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Panoz Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
Interests: polymorphism; crystals and crystallisation; structure-property correlationship; mechanical behaviour of molecular crystals; structures and intermolecular interactions; computation to predict deformation in solid forms; nanoindentation of multicomponent systems; compaction physics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

From the beginning, the interlinking of medicinal chemistry and membrane technologies has led to significant advances in the world of medical sciences. Procedures such as drug screening, synthesis, and separation have been extensively performed by the use of membrane-based techniques including ingredient extraction, ultrafiltration and microfiltration, membrane chromatography, and membrane emulsification, just to mention a few. 

In the broad field of pharmaceutics, the concept of “membrane” represents, not just a useful tool in active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing, but it can be extended to aspects of formulation and the biological sciences. For instance, producing lipid and polymeric vesicles intended for drug targeting and/or to resemble cell membrane-like structures or a single layer of cells placed between two or more compartments to perform drug transport and adsorption studies, represent two of the countless examples of membrane technology being applied in these research areas. 

In light of that, researchers from different backgrounds such as chemistry, physics, material science and biology, have been working together to improve different aspects of the pharmaceutical sciences from the lead design to the clinical phases. 

This special issue aims to highlight methods and emerging concepts for membrane systems with a special emphasis on pharmaceutical sciences. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following: 

  • Membrane-based device manufacturing 
  • Drug synthesis and screening 
  • Target identification and validation 
  • Pharmacokinetics studies 
  • Drug delivery systems production (i.e., liposomes, vesicles, etc.) 

Original research papers and review articles are welcomed.

Dr. Stefano Focaroli
Prof. Dr. Anne Marie Healy
Prof. Dr. Claudio Nastruzzi
Dr. Viviana Salvatore
Dr. Jayprakash Yadav
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Membranes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (5 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

19 pages, 1741 KiB  
Article
Perfluorosulfonic Acid Membranes Modified with Polyaniline and Hydrothermally Treated for Potentiometric Sensor Arrays for the Analysis of Combination Drugs
by Anna Parshina, Anastasia Yelnikova, Tatyana Kolganova, Tatyana Titova, Polina Yurova, Irina Stenina, Olga Bobreshova and Andrey Yaroslavtsev
Membranes 2023, 13(3), 311; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes13030311 - 08 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1148
Abstract
A novel potentiometric multisensory system for the analysis of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim combination drugs was developed. The potentiometric sensors (Donnan potential (DP) was used as an analytical signal) with an inner reference solution were based on perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membranes modified with polyaniline [...] Read more.
A novel potentiometric multisensory system for the analysis of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim combination drugs was developed. The potentiometric sensors (Donnan potential (DP) was used as an analytical signal) with an inner reference solution were based on perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membranes modified with polyaniline (PANI) by in situ oxidative polymerization. The order of the membrane treatment with precursor solutions and their concentrations was varied. Additionally, the PFSA/PANI composite membranes were hydrothermally treated at 120 °C. The influence of the preparation conditions and the composition of membranes on their sorption and transport properties was studied. We estimated the factors affecting the sensitivity of DP-sensors based on the PFSA/PANI composite membranes to ions of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim simultaneously presented in solutions. A developed multisensory system provided a simultaneous determination of two analytes in aqueous solutions without preliminary separation, derivatization, or probe treatment. The re-estimation of the calibration characteristics of the multisensory system did not show a statistically significant difference after a year of its use. The limits of detection of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim were 1.4 × 10−6 and 8.5 × 10−8 M, while the relative errors of their determination in the combination drug were 4 and 5% (at 5 and 6% relative standard deviation), respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Membrane-Based Technologies in Pharmaceutical Sciences)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 1628 KiB  
Article
Enantiodiscriminating Lipophilic Liquid Membrane-Based Assay for High-Throughput Nanomolar Enantioenrichment of Chiral Building Blocks
by Bálint Jávor, Panna Vezse, Ádám Golcs, Péter Huszthy and Tünde Tóth
Membranes 2023, 13(1), 94; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes13010094 - 11 Jan 2023
Viewed by 1577
Abstract
The reported optical resolution method was designed to support high-throughput enantioseparation of molecular building blocks obtained by automated small-scale synthetic methods. Lipophilic esters of common resolving agents were prepared and used as liquid membranes on the indifferent polymer surface of a microtiter assay. [...] Read more.
The reported optical resolution method was designed to support high-throughput enantioseparation of molecular building blocks obtained by automated small-scale synthetic methods. Lipophilic esters of common resolving agents were prepared and used as liquid membranes on the indifferent polymer surface of a microtiter assay. Chiral model compounds were enriched in one of the enantiomers starting from the aqueous solutions of their racemic mixture. Enantiodiscrimination was provided by forming diastereomeric coordination complexes of lipophilic enantiopure esters with the enantiomers of the chiral building blocks inside the liquid membranes. This enantiomeric recognition resulted in a greater distribution ratio of the preferred isomer in the membrane phase, thus the process enables a simultaneous enantioenrichment of the solutions outside the membrane. This paper reports a novel microplate-integrated stereoselective membrane enrichment technique satisfying the need for automatable enantioseparation on a subpreparative scale. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Membrane-Based Technologies in Pharmaceutical Sciences)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 3100 KiB  
Article
A Thermodynamic Study on the Interaction between RH-23 Peptide and DMPC-Based Biomembrane Models
by Cristiano Giordani, Stefano Russo, Cristina Torrisi, Silvia Morante, Francesco Castelli and Maria Grazia Sarpietro
Membranes 2022, 12(12), 1282; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12121282 - 19 Dec 2022
Viewed by 1252
Abstract
Investigation of the interaction between drugs and biomembrane models, as a strategy to study and eventually improve drug/substrate interactions, is a crucial factor in preliminary screening. Synthesized peptides represent a source of potential anticancer and theragnostic drugs. In this study, we investigated the [...] Read more.
Investigation of the interaction between drugs and biomembrane models, as a strategy to study and eventually improve drug/substrate interactions, is a crucial factor in preliminary screening. Synthesized peptides represent a source of potential anticancer and theragnostic drugs. In this study, we investigated the interaction of a novel synthesized peptide, called RH-23, with a simplified dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) model of the cellular membrane. The interaction of RH-23 with DMPC, organized either in multilamellar vesicles (MLVs) and in Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) monolayers, was assessed using thermodynamic techniques, namely differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and LB. The calorimetric evaluations showed that RH-23 inserted into MLVs, causing a stabilization of the phospholipid gel phase that increased with the molar fraction of RH-23. Interplay with LB monolayers revealed that RH-23 interacted with DMPC molecules. This work represents the first experimental thermodynamic study on the interaction between RH-23 and a simplified model of the lipid membrane, thus providing a basis for further evaluations of the effect of RH-23 on biological membranes and its therapeutic/diagnostic potential. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Membrane-Based Technologies in Pharmaceutical Sciences)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 6192 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Acetaminophen Degradation by Laccases Immobilized by Two Different Methods via a Continuous Flow Microreactor Process Scheme
by Laura D. Sotelo, Diana C. Sotelo, Nancy Ornelas-Soto, Juan C. Cruz and Johann F. Osma
Membranes 2022, 12(3), 298; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12030298 - 05 Mar 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3194
Abstract
The presence of micropollutants in wastewater is one of the most significant environmental challenges. Particularly, pollutants such as pharmaceutical residues present high stability and resistance to conventional physicochemical and biological degradation processes. Thus, we aimed at immobilizing a laccase enzyme by two different [...] Read more.
The presence of micropollutants in wastewater is one of the most significant environmental challenges. Particularly, pollutants such as pharmaceutical residues present high stability and resistance to conventional physicochemical and biological degradation processes. Thus, we aimed at immobilizing a laccase enzyme by two different methods: the first one was based on producing alginate-laccase microcapsules through a droplet-based microfluidic system; the second one was based on covalent binding of the laccase molecules on aluminum oxide (Al2O3) pellets. Immobilization efficiencies approached 92.18% and 98.22%, respectively. Laccase immobilized by the two different methods were packed into continuous flow microreactors to evaluate the degradation efficiency of acetaminophen present in artificial wastewater. After cyclic operation, enzyme losses were found to be up to 75 µg/mL and 66 µg/mL per operation cycle, with a maximum acetaminophen removal of 72% and 15% and a retention time of 30 min, for the laccase-alginate microcapsules and laccase-Al2O3 pellets, respectively. The superior catalytic performance of laccase-alginate microcapsules was attributed to their higher porosity, which enhances retention and, consequently, increased the chances for more substrate–enzyme interactions. Finally, phytotoxicity of the treated water was lower than that of the untreated wastewater, especially when using laccase immobilized in alginate microcapsules. Future work will be dedicated to elucidating the routes for scaling-up and optimizing the process to assure profitability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Membrane-Based Technologies in Pharmaceutical Sciences)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Review

Jump to: Research

15 pages, 3320 KiB  
Review
Expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene Membranes for Vascular Stent Coating: Manufacturing, Biomedical and Surgical Applications, Innovations and Case Reports
by Roberta Cassano, Paolo Perri, Antonio Esposito, Francesco Intrieri, Roberta Sole, Federica Curcio and Sonia Trombino
Membranes 2023, 13(2), 240; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes13020240 - 17 Feb 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3334
Abstract
Coated stents are defined as innovative stents surrounded by a thin polymer membrane based on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)useful in the treatment of numerous vascular pathologies. Endovascular methodology involves the use of such devices to restore blood flow in small-, medium- and large-calibre arteries, both [...] Read more.
Coated stents are defined as innovative stents surrounded by a thin polymer membrane based on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)useful in the treatment of numerous vascular pathologies. Endovascular methodology involves the use of such devices to restore blood flow in small-, medium- and large-calibre arteries, both centrally and peripherally. These membranes cross the stent struts and act as a physical barrier to block the growth of intimal tissue in the lumen, preventing so-called intimal hyperplasia and late stent thrombosis. PTFE for vascular applications is known as expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (e-PTFE) and it can be rolled up to form a thin multilayer membrane expandable by 4 to 5 times its original diameter. This membrane plays an important role in initiating the restenotic process because wrapped graft stent could be used as the treatment option for trauma devices during emergency situations and to treat a number of pathological vascular disease. In this review, we will investigate the multidisciplinary techniques used for the production of e-PTFE membranes, the advantages and disadvantages of their use, the innovations and the results in biomedical and surgery field when used to cover graft stents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Membrane-Based Technologies in Pharmaceutical Sciences)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-5
Back to TopTop