• Impact of mucin on drug diffusion: Development of a straightforward in vitro method for the determination of drug diffusivity in the presence of mucin 

      Falavigna, Margherita; Stein, Paul C.; Flaten, Gøril Eide; Di Cagno, Massimiliano Pio (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2020-02-17)
      Mucosal drug delivery accounts for various administration routes (i.e., oral, vaginal, ocular, pulmonary, etc.) and offers a vast surface for the permeation of drugs. However, the mucus layer which shields and lubricates all mucosal tissues can compromise drugs from reaching the epithelial site, thus affecting their absorption and therapeutic effect. Therefore, the effect of the mucus layer on drug ...
    • Interpreting non-linear drug diffusion data: Utilizing Korsmeyer-Peppas model to study drug release from liposomes 

      Wu, Iren Yeeling; Bala, Sonali; Skalko-Basnet, Natasa; Di Cagno, Massimiliano Pio (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2019-07-30)
      The aim of this work was to clarify the dynamics behind the influence of ionic strength on the changes in drug release from large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs). For this purpose, we have investigated the transport of two different model drugs (caffeine and hydrocortisone) formulated into liposomes through different types of barriers with different retention properties (regenerated cellulose and the ...
    • Modelling drug diffusion through unstirred water layers allows real-time quantification of free/loaded drug fractions and release kinetics from colloidal-based formulations 

      Tzanova, Martina Martin; Moretti, Federica; Grassi, Gabriele; Stein, Paul; Hiorth, Marianne; Abrami, Michela; Grassi, Mario; Di Cagno, Massimiliano Pio (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2022-08-25)
      The correlation between in vivo and in vitro data is yet not sufficiently optimized to allow a significant reduction and replacement of animal testing in pharmaceutical development. One of the main reasons for this lies in the poor mechanistic understanding and interpretation of the physical mechanisms enabling formulation rely on for deploying the drug. One mechanism that still lacks a proper ...
    • Novel in situ gel-forming solid dosage form (gfSDF) prepared by the simple syringe-based moulding: A screening study 

      Falavigna, Margherita; Skalko-Basnet, Natasa; Cavallari, Cristina; Pini, Andrea; Luppi, Barbara; Di Cagno, Massimiliano Pio (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2017-05-05)
      The aim of this study was to prepare and optimize a novel type of in situ gel-forming solid dosage form (gfSDF) to be used in the treatment of mucosal/skin ulcerations. For this purpose, a simple but reliable syringe-based hot melt/moulding method was employed. Chloramphenicol (antibiotic) and ibuprofen (anti-inflammatory) were chosen as model active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to be loaded ...
    • The Potential of Cyclodextrins as Novel Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients: A Short Overview 

      Di Cagno, Massimiliano Pio (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2016-12-25)
      Cyclodextrins (CDs) are cyclic oligosaccharides of natural origin that were discovered more than 100 years ago. The peculiar cone-like conformation of the sugar ring, expressing a lipophilic cavity and a hydrophilic external surface, allows these substances to spontaneously complex poorly soluble compounds in an aqueous environment. For more than 50 years, these substances have found applicability ...
    • Studying the effect of solubilizing agents on drug diffusion through the unstirred water layer (UWL) by localized spectroscopy 

      Di Cagno, Massimiliano Pio; Stein, Paul C (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2019-04-04)
      An experimental/computational approach has been successfully applied in order to study the effect of solubilizing vehicles (cyclodextrins and liposomes) on the passive diffusion of four active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) of different nature (hydrophilic, ionizable and lipophilic) through an unstirred water layer (UWL) model. This approach allowed the measurement of flux changes through the UWL ...