Pharmaceuticals

Background/Objectives: Antibody selection is critical for advancing pretargeted PET imaging toward clinical translation. This study directly compared two clinically approved anti-HER2 antibodies—trastuzumab and pertuzumab—within an identical pretargeting system, utilizing the specific chemical ligation between tetrazine and trans-cyclooctene (TCO) via the inverse electron-demand Diels–Alder (IEDD…

Background/Objectives: Osteonecrosis of the jaw, a non-healing wound, is a side effect in patients treated with nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates (e.g., zoledronate) after some oral procedures. Considering zoledronate toxicity in surgical wounds and the capacity of calcium phosphate synthetic compounds to adsorb it, the aim of this work was to demonstrate and elucidate the mechanism underlying …

Helicobacter pylori is one of the most common bacterial pathogens in humans and the primary etiological agent of chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, and gastric cancer. Its ability to establish persistent gastric colonization relies on multiple virulence factors, including adhesins, urease, cytotoxins, motility, outer membrane vesicles, and biofilm formation, which collectively promote bacte…

Background: Male infertility, largely driven by declining sperm quality, is a growing global concern. Radix Bupleuri Chinensis (Chaihu, CH)—a key component of traditional formulas such as Chaihu Shengjing Tang and Chaihu Shugan San—has been clinically used to enhance sperm quality. However, the specific role and mechanism of CH as a single entity in ameliorating spermatogenic dysfunction remain u…

Background/Objective: Cinnamaldehyde (CA) is a naturally occurring bioactive compound derived from the leaves, bark, roots, and flowers of the Chinese medicinal plant Cinnamomum cassia. It exhibits a broad spectrum of pharmacological properties, encompassing antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-diabetic, antifungal, and anticancer activities. Notably, it has shown potential therapeutic benefits in th…

Background/Objective: Niclosamide exhibits considerable potential for the treatment of drug-resistant cancers. However, its poor aqueous solubility substantially limits its oral bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy. To overcome this limitation, we developed a novel pharmaceutical supramolecular crystalline phase comprising niclosamide and nafamostat. Methods: In this study, we developed a nic…

Background: Benzodiazepines and non-benzodiazepine hypnotics (Z-drugs) act at the benzodiazepine binding site of GABAA receptors but differ in their receptor subtype selectivity and behavioural profiles. Diazepam acts as a non-selective positive allosteric modulator of benzodiazepine-sensitive GABAA receptors, whereas zolpidem and indiplon display preferential affinity for α1-containing receptor …

Background/Objectives: Verbena officinalis has long been used in traditional medicine for treating skin disorders, yet its potential in advanced wound-dressing systems remains insufficiently explored. This study aimed to characterize V. officinalis extracts obtained using different solvents, evaluate their antimicrobial, antibiofilm, cytotoxic, and wound-healing activities, and develop electrospu…

Background/Objectives: This study engineered and evaluated a targeted, folate-functionalized chitosan nanoparticle (CS-FA NP) delivery system to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of standard quercetin and Coriandrum sativum seed extract against breast cancer. Methods: Phytochemical profiling confirmed a 14% crude yield for the methanolic extract, with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) a…

Prostate cancer (PC) is one of the most common cancers in men globally and there is an urgent need for new immune-based approaches because many traditional therapies, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and anti-androgens, have limitations. Due to their distinct physicochemical and biological features, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are emerging as a potential nanoplatform for the development of st…

Background/Objectives: Delonix regia seeds contain phytochemicals with therapeutic potential, but their activity against Helicobacter pylori and biomedical properties remain incompletely characterized. This study aimed to characterize the phenolic and amino acid composition of D. regia seed extract (DRSE) and evaluate its anticancer, wound-healing, anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant, antibacterial,…

Background/Objectives: Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Although chemotherapy is widely used, it is associated with severe side effects, including myelosuppression and systemic toxicity. Nanoparticles have emerged as promising candidates for modulating drug activity. In this study, we investigated whether platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) of various sizes interact with id…

Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide, and currently available antidepressants are limited by delayed therapeutic onset, inadequate efficacy in some patients, and adverse effects. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), the largest family of membrane receptors in the central nervous system, regulate neurotransmission, neuroplasticity, neuroinflammation, stress responses, and reward p…

Background/Objectives: Predicting the bioactivity of HIV-related compounds is essential for early-stage drug discovery. However, most existing machine learning (ML) studies emphasize predictive performance while overlooking the predicted pharmacokinetic and drug-likeness properties of prioritized compounds. This study presents a comparative framework integrating classical ML, deep learning, graph…

Advances in computational methods have significantly impacted protein design and drug development by offering innovative ways to accelerate the discovery and optimization of therapeutics [...]

Background: Nanoemulsions are colloidal drug delivery systems consisting of an oil phase dispersed in water and stabilized by surfactants, producing droplets in the nanometer range. By virtue of their small droplet size and large interfacial area, they enhance drug dissolution, intestinal absorption, and site-specific delivery while offering controlled, prolonged release and a reduced risk of sys…

Background: The rapid escalation of multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa necessitates anti-virulence strategies targeting quorum sensing rather than bacterial survival; however, integrating scaffold repurposing with generative AI to inhibit LasR remains underexplored. Here, we address this gap by combining triazole scaffold mining with transformer-based de novo molecular generation to systematically…

Peptides have attracted increasing popularity in modern drug discovery, with the potential to address unmet clinical needs that lie beyond the reach of small molecules and antibodies. By offering “best-of-both-worlds” features, peptides are emerging as powerful tools for targeting disease-associated, challenging proteins. Combinatorial peptide libraries have played a crucial role in the developme…

Metformin remains the cornerstone of pharmacological therapy for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) [...]

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide and a paradigmatic age-related neurodegenerative disease in which retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are selectively lost through mechanisms that extend beyond intraocular pressure. Age-dependent NAD+ depletion in RGCs, compounded by the progressive impairment of NAD+ biosynthesis and by the hyperactivation of NAD+-consuming enzymes und…