• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.268-275
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• 2014

The harshness of legionellosis differs from mild Pontiac fever to potentially fatal Legionnaire's disease. The increasing development of drug resistance against legionellosis has led to explore new novel drug targets. It has been found that phosphoglucosamine mutase, phosphomannomutase, and phosphoglyceromutase enzymes can be used as the most probable therapeutic drug targets through extensive data mining. Phosphoglucosamine mutase is involved in amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism. The purpose of this study was to predict the potential target of that specific drug. For this, the 3D structure of phosphoglucosamine mutase of Legionella pneumophila (strain Paris) was determined by means of homology modeling through Phyre2 and refined by ModRefiner. Then, the designed model was evaluated with a structure validation program, for instance, PROCHECK, ERRAT, Verify3D, and QMEAN, for further structural analysis. Secondary structural features were determined through self-optimized prediction method with alignment (SOPMA) and interacting networks by STRING. Consequently, we performed molecular docking studies. The analytical result of PROCHECK showed that 95.0% of the residues are in the most favored region, 4.50% are in the additional allowed region and 0.50% are in the generously allowed region of the Ramachandran plot. Verify3D graph value indicates a score of 0.71 and 89.791, 1.11 for ERRAT and QMEAN respectively. Arg419, Thr414, Ser412, and Thr9 were found to dock the substrate for the most favorable binding of S-mercaptocysteine. However, these findings from this current study will pave the way for further extensive investigation of this enzyme in wet lab experiments and in that way assist drug design against legionellosis.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.7-14
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• 2019

The microencapsulation of nifedipine (NF) with 4 wt% of poly(${\varepsilon}-caprolactone$) (PCL)/polyvinylpyrollidone (PVP) or PCL/polyethylene glycol (PEG) was carried out by solvent evaporation method in oil in water emulsion system to investigate the effect of PVP and PEG addition on drug release behavior of the microcapsules. The PVA (emulsifier) concentration of 1.0 wt% was chosen for the formation of PCL capsule having an average size of $154{\pm}25{\mu}m$ due to nearly spherical shape with a narrow size distribution. As PCL/PVP and PCL/PEG ratios were raised from 10/0 to 6/4, the capsule size increased gradually from $154{\pm}25{\mu}m$ to $236{\pm}32{\mu}m$ and $248{\pm}56{\mu}m$, respectively. The drug release rate of PCL/PVP and PCL/PEG capsules increased dramatically from 0 to 4 h at the beginning and then reached the plateau region from 20 h. As the concentration of PVP or PEG increased, the amount of drug release increased, suggesting that the larger capsule size was attributed to the higher drug content. However, the drug release behavior remained almost constant. The PCL capsules exhibited no evidence of causing cell lysis or toxicity regardless of NF loading, implying that the microcapsules are clinically suitable for use as drug delivery systems.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.298-306
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• 2001

To develop a novel transdermal delivery system of loxoprofen (LP), a potent antiinflammatory and analgesic agent, the effects of vehicle composition and drug loading dose on the skin permeation property were investigated. And in vivo skin absorption property studied by analysing the $C_{max}$ and AUC was investigated after applying the developed plaster systems on rabbit back skin. Addition of isopropyl myristate (IPM) and IPM-diethylene glycol monoethyl ether (DGME) cosolvent in the plaster showed higher permeation rates than those from propylene glycol laurate-DGME cosolvent systems. As the concentration of LP in the plaster increased from 0.56 mg/$\textrm{cm}^2$ to 1.19 mg/$\textrm{cm}^2$, the drug release and skin permeation rates increased linearly. At loading dose of 1.19 mg/$\textrm{cm}^2$, the flux reached 35.6 $\mu$g/$\textrm{cm}^2$/hr. New LP plasters showed a good adhesive property onto skin, and showed no crystal formation. The AU $C_{0-24hr}$ and $C_{max}$ after dermal application of LP plaster (60 mg/70 $\textrm{cm}^2$) were found to be 6951$\pm$230 ng.hr/ml and 400$\pm$44 ng/ml, respectively. And the plasma concentration maintained above 300 ng/ml up to 24 hr period. In the carrageenan-induced rat paw edema test, LP plaster showed similar inhibition rate with marketed ketoprofen (Ketoto $p^{R}$) plaster.aster.r.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.604-611
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• 2005

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000-based solid dispersions (SDs), by incorporating various pharmaceutical excipients or microemulsion systems, were prepared using a fusion method, t o compare the dissolution rates and bioavailabilities in rats. The amorphous structure of the drug in SDs was also characterized by powder X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The ketoconazole (KT), as an antifungal agent, was selected as a model drug. The dissolution rate of KT increased when solubilizing excipients were incorporated into the PEG-based SDs. When hydrophilic and lipophilic excipients were combined and incorporated into PEG-based SDs, a remarkable enhancement of the dissolution rate was observed. The PEG-based SDs, incorporating a self microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) or microemulsion (ME), were also useful at improving the dissolution rate by forming a microemulsion or dispersible particles within the aqueous medium. However, due to the limited solubilization capacity, these PEG-based SDs showed dissolution rates, below 50% in this study, under sink conditions. The PEG-based SD, with no pharmaceutical excipients incorporated, increased the maximum plasma concentration (C$_{max}$) and area under the plasma concentration curve (AUC$_{0-6h}$) two-fold compared to the drug only. The bioavailability was more pronounced in the cases of solubilizing and microemulsifying PEG-based SDs. The thermograms of the PEG-based SDs showed the characteristic peak of the carrier matrix around 60$^{\circ}C$, without a drug peak, indicating that the drug had changed into an amorphous structure. The diffraction pattern of the pure drug showed the drug to be highly crystalline in nature, as indicated by numerous distinctive peaks. The lack of the numerous distinctive peaks of the drug in the PEG-based SDs demonstrated that a high concentration of the drug molecules was dissolved in the solid-state carrier matrix of the amorphous structure. The utilization of oils, fatty acid and surfactant, or their mixtures, in PEG-based SD could be a useful tool to enhance the dissolution and bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs by forming solubilizing and microemulsifying systems when exposed to gastrointestinal fluid.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.326-334
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• 2002

The purpose of this work was the producing of a biodegradable poly($\varepsilon$-caprolactone) (PCL) microcapsule and the analyzing of form and features for the manufacturing conditions which could be observed in a prospective drug delivery systems (DDS) through drug release. The effects of different stirring rates, stirring times and concentrations of emulsifier for the diameter and form of the microcapsules were observed using image analyzer (IA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). As a result, the microcapsules were made in wrinkle and spherical forms with a mean particle size of 40~300$\pm$20 $mu extrm{m}$. PCL microcapsules containing drugs were confirmed using FT-IR spectra. The role of interfacial adhesion between PCL and drug was determined by contact angle measurements. The drug release test of PCL microcapsules was characterized by UV/vis. spectra. It was found that the drug release rate of the microcapsules prepared with high concentration emulsifier was significantly fast.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.286-290
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• 2012

The majority of laboratory animals were transported from commercial breeders to a research facility by ground transportation. During the transportation, many biological functions and systems can be affected by stress. In this experiment, the change of body weight during the transportation was measured and the recovery periods from the transportation stress established based on the body weight changes. Total 676 laboratory animals which were aged between 3 to 9 wk old were studied. The transportation time taken from container packing to unpacking the container was approximately 24 h. The temperature of animal container was constantly maintained by air-conditioning and heating equipment. Rats were found to be more sensitive than mice. The body weight of rats was significantly decreased 3.71% (p<0.05) compared to the body weight of mice which decreased 0.9% There was no significant difference between the strains in the same species. When the changes of body weights were compared between delivery days, C57BL/6 mice showed the most variable changes compared to other species and strains. Consequently, C57BL/6 was more sensitive to stress than the other strains and the transportation process needs to be standardized to reduce between day variability. To establish the recovery periods from transportation stress, the body weight changes were measured during the acclimation period. Although the body weight of animals decreased during transportation, animals recovered their weight loss after the next day.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.449-457
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• 2003

The purposes of this work were the producing of a biodegradable poly($\varepsilon$-caprolactone) (PCL) / poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) microcapsule and the analyzing of form and features for the manufacturing conditions which could be observed in a prospective drug delivery systems through drug release. The effects of emulsifier, emulsifier concentration, and stirring rate for the diameter and form of the microcapsules were observed using image analyzer and scanning electron microscope. The role of interfacial adhesion between PCL/PEO and drug was determined by contact angle measurements, and the drug release test of the microcapsules was characterized by UV/vis. spectra. As a result, the microcapsules were made in spherical fonns with a mean particle size of 170 nm∼68 $\mu$m. And the work of adhesion between water and PCL/PEO increased with increasing the content of PEO, probably due to the increased the hydrophilicity. It was also found that the drug release rate from the microcapsules significantly increased with increasing the content of PEO, which could be also attributed to the increasing of the hydrophilic groups or the degree of adhesion force at interfaces.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.37-41
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• 2001

Various characteristics of polyethylene oxide (PEO) are useful for drug delivery systems. In this study, PEO was used as a sustained release matrix system containing cefatrizine propyleneglycol (Cefa-PG) which is a new semi-synthetic broad-spectrum and orally active cephalosporin. Five kinds of sustained release matrix tablets were formulated with various content of PEO and other ingredients. And three types of matrix tablets were formulated of which compositions were the same but the hardness was different. It was found that PEO content influenced drug release rate. Increasing PEO content, the drug release rate from matrix tablets was decreased. In addition, Avicel, one of the ingredients of matrix components, changed the drug release from the sustained release PEO matrix tablets. With increasing Avicel content, the rate of drug release was increased. For the effect of hardness of matrix tablets, the rate of drug release is decreased with increasing hardness. In comparison of bioavailability parameters after oral administration of Cefa-PG PEO matrix tablets and general Cefa-PG capsule in beagle dog, the sustained release PEO matrix tablets is more useful than a general dosage form. $AUC^{0-12}$ of the sustained release PEO matrix tablet and the general dosage form was 1.16 and 0.644 respectively.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.215-220
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• 2007

The control of the surface energy by electrohydrodynamic force provides electrospraying with various potential advantages such as simple particle size control, mono-dispersity, high recovery, and mild processing conditions. The advantages are quite helpful to improve the stability of protein drug and control its release. Herein, the nano-encapsulation of protein drugs using electrospraying was investigated. Albumin as a model protein was processed using uniaxial and co-axial electrospraying, and chitosan, polycaporlactone (PCL), and poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) were used as encapsulation materials. The major processing parameters such as the conductivity of spraying liquids, flow rate, the distance of electrical potential gradient, etc were measured to obtain the maximum efficiency. In the chitosan systems, mean particles size decreases as flow rate and the distance between nozzle and the collecting part decreases. In the uniaxial technique of the PCL systems, mean particles size decreases as flow rate decreases. In the coaxial technique of the PCL systems, it was found that the particles size gets larger under the application of the higher ratio of inner-to-outer liquid flow rates. The primary particles formed out of an electrospraying nozzle showed narrow particle size distribution, but once they arrived to the collecting part, aggregation behavior was observed obviously. Efficient nano-encapsulation of albumin with PCL, PEG, and chitosan was conveniently achieved using electrospraying at above 12 kV.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.138-143
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• 2010

This paper presents the analysis, the fabrication and the test results of a micro passive gas pressure regulator to keep the outlet pressure costant even for a widely-varying inlet pressure. This device is to regulate the outlet pressure according to the applied reference pressure based on the pressure balancing mechanism of the structure including a membrane and a valve. This regulator consists of four layers; a bulk-micromachined silicon substrate, a sandblasted glass substrate, a PDMS valve seat layer and a glass valve layer. The device size is $10\times13\times1.7 mm3$. The device was fabricated by micromachining. The characteristic of the device was analyzed and tested. The characteristic of the fabricated pressure regulator is similar to that obtained from the analysis. The pressure regulator of this paper is feasible for portable systems and miniature drug delivery systems.