Phase separation in aqueous solutions of macromolecules underlies the generation of biomolecular condensates in cells. Condensates are membraneless bodies, representing dense, macromolecule-rich phases that coexist with the dilute, macromolecule-deficient phases. In cells, condensates comprise hundreds of different macromolecular and small molecule solutes. How do different solutes contribute to the driving forces for phase separation? To answer this question, we introduce a formalism we term energy dominance analysis. This approach rests on analysis of shapes of the dilute phase boundaries, slopes of tie lines, and changes to dilute phase concentrations in response to perturbations of concentrations of different solutes. The framework is based solely on conditions for phase equilibria in systems with arbitrary numbers of macromolecules and solution components. Its practical application relies on being able to measure dilute phase concentrations of the components of interest. The dominance framework is both theoretically facile and experimentally applicable. We present the formalism that underlies dominance analysis and establish its accuracy and flexibility by deploying it to analyze phase diagrams probed in simulations and in experiments.

In this work, we propose a comprehensive experimental study of the diffusion of nickel ions in combination with different cyclodextrins as carrier molecules for enhanced solubility and facilitated transport. For this, ternary mutual diffusion coefficients measured by Taylor dispersion method are reported for aqueous solutions containing nickel salts and different cyclodextrins (that is, α-CD, β-CD, and γ-CD) at 298.15 K. A combination of Taylor dispersion and other methods, such as UV-vis spectroscopy, will be used to obtain complementary information on these systems. The determination of the physicochemical properties of these salts with CDs in aqueous solution provides information that allows us to understand solute-solvent interactions, and gives a significant contribution to understanding the mechanisms underlying diffusional transport in aqueous solutions, and, consequently, to mitigating the potential toxicity associated with these metal ions. For example, using mutual diffusion data, it is possible to estimate the number of moles of each ion transported per mole of the cyclodextrin driven by its own concentration gradient.

Compression therapy has been an essential part of conservative therapy for people with chronic wounds and edema of the lower extremities for hundreds of years. The initiated therapy can be divided into the decongestion phase, maintenance phase, and prevention. The choice of the respective compression materials is based, among other factors, on these phases, the clinical stage and symptoms, the needs of the affected person and their physical abilities. Today, a wide range of different materials and methods are available for compression therapy. Thus, it is increasingly difficult to keep an overview of these treatment options, especially since the nomenclature used by the manufacturers is often inconsistent. Thus, the materials and methods for compression therapy currently available in German-speaking countries and their clinical indications are described in this review article. In addition, a uniform nomenclature is proposed, on the basis of which an appropriate exchange between all those involved in the care of people with compression therapy is guaranteed.
UNASSIGNED: Die Kompressionstherapie ist seit mehreren Hunderten von Jahren ein wesentlicher Bestandteil der konservativen Therapie bei Menschen mit chronischen Wunden und Ödemen der unteren Extremitäten. Die dann eingeleitete Therapie kann in die Phasen der Entstauung, Erhaltung und Prävention unterteilt werden. Die Auswahl der jeweiligen Kompressionsversorgung orientiert sich u. a. an den Therapiephasen, dem klinischen Stadium und Symptomen, den Bedürfnissen Betroffener und deren körperlichen Fähigkeiten. Für die Kompressionstherapie steht heute eine Vielzahl an unterschiedlichen Materialien und Methoden zur Verfügung. Daher gestaltet es sich zunehmend schwieriger, einen Überblick über diese Behandlungsoptionen zu behalten, zumal die verwendete Nomenklatur der Hersteller oft nicht einheitlich ist. In dieser Übersichtsarbeit werden daher die aktuell im deutschsprachigen Raum verfügbaren Materialien und Methoden zur Kompressionstherapie mit ihren Einsatzmöglichkeiten erläutert. Zudem wird eine einheitliche Nomenklatur vorgeschlagen, auf deren Basis eine sachgerechte Dokumentation und Kommunikation aller an der Versorgung von Menschen mit Kompressionstherapie Beteiligten gewährleistet ist.

Multicomponent supramolecular systems can be used to achieve different properties and new behaviors compared to their corresponding single component systems. Here, a two-component system is used, showing that a non-gelling component modifies the assembly of the gelling component, allowing access to co-assembled structures that cannot be formed from the gelling component alone. The systems are characterized across multiple length scales, from the molecular level by NMR and CD spectroscopy to the microstructure level by SANS and finally to the material level using nanoindentation and rheology. By exploiting the enhanced mechanical properties achieved through addition of the second component, multicomponent noodles are formed with superior mechanical properties to those formed by the single-component system. Furthermore, the non-gelling component can be triggered to crystallize within the multicomponent noodles, allowing the preparation of new types of hierarchical composite noodles.

Poor bioavailability and aqueous solubility represent a major constraint during the development of new API molecules and can influence the impact of new medicines or halt their approval to the market. Cocrystals offer a novel and competitive advantage over other conventional methods with respect towards the substantial improvement in solubility profiles relative to the single-API crystals. Furthermore, the production of such cocrystals through atomization-based methods allow for greater control, with respect to particle size reduction, to further increase the solubility of the API. Such atomization-based methods include supercritical fluid methods, conventional spray drying and electrohydrodynamic atomization/electrospraying. The influence of process parameters such as solution flow rates, pressure and solution concentration, in controlling the solid-state and final particle size are discussed in this review with respect to atomization-based methods. For the last decade, literature has been attempting to catch-up with new regulatory rulings regarding the classification of cocrystals, due in part to data sparsity. In recent years, there has been an increase in cocrystal publications, specifically employing atomization-based methods. This review considers the benefits to employing atomization-based methods for the generation of pharmaceutical cocrystals, examines the most recent regulatory changes regarding cocrystals and provides an outlook towards the future of this field.

The rapid growth of population and industrialization results in pollution of freshwater sources which leads to the water stress conditions on the world in future. Adsorption is a low cost and popular technique for the removal of contaminants from water bodies. Most of the reports till date are on removal of a single component from aqueous solutions using this technique, but the real-world effluent contains multiple contaminants such as dyes, heavy metals, pesticides, antibiotics and many more. Therefore, a study on simultaneous removal of contaminants is highly needed to obtain a suitable adsorbent that can be used commercially. This critical review provides a detailed study on the removal of contaminants in the presence of other contaminant/s i.e., from a multi-component system (MCS). The different possible interaction mechanisms in MCS like synergism, antagonism and non-interaction are discussed. The MCS containing the mixture of conventional contaminants such as heavy metals and dyes, and other emerging contaminants such as antibiotics, organic contaminants, pesticides and personal care products are explained in depth. This review article will be helpful for researchers working in the field of simultaneous removal of contaminants from MCSs for wastewater remediation.

Solid multicomponent systems (SMS) are gaining an increasingly important role in the pharmaceutical industry, to improve the physicochemical properties of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). In recent years, various processes have been employed for SMS manufacturing. Control of the particle solid-state properties, such as size, morphology, and crystal form is required to optimize the SMS formulation. By utilizing the unique and tunable properties of supercritical fluids, supercritical anti-solvent (SAS) process holds great promise for the manipulation of the solid-state properties of APIs. The SAS techniques have been developed from batch to continuous mode. Their applications in SMS preparation are summarized in this review. Many pharmaceutical co-crystals and solid dispersions have been successfully produced via the SAS process, where the solid-state properties of APIs can be well designed by controlling the operating parameters. The underlying mechanisms on the manipulation of solid-state properties are discussed, with the help of on-line monitoring and computational techniques. With continuous researching, SAS process will give a large contribution to the scalable and continuous manufacturing of desired SMS in the near future.

Enhancing the solubility of active drug ingredients is a major challenge faced by scientists and researchers. Different approaches have been explored for the enhancement of solubility and physicochemical properties of drugs, without affecting their stability or pharmacological activity. Among the various strategies available, pharmaceutical co-crystals, co-amorphous systems, and pharmaceutical salts as multicomponent systems (MCS) have gained interest to improve physicochemical properties of drugs. Development of MCS by conventional methods involves the utilization of excess amount of solvents, thus, making the product prone to instability, and may also cause harmful side effects in patients. Scale up is critical and involves the investment of huge capital and time. Lately, hot-melt extrusion has been utilized in the development of MCS to enhance solubility, bioavailability, stability, and physicochemical properties of the drugs. In this review, the authors discussed the development of different MCS produced via hot-melt extrusion technology. Specifically, approaches for screening of co-formers and co-crystals, selection of excipients for co-amorphous systems, pharmaceutical salts, and significance of MCS and process parameters affecting product quality are discussed.

Pharmaceutical co-crystals (CCs) are multicomponent materials that enable the development of novel therapeutic products by enhancing the properties of active pharmaceutical ingredients, such as solubility, permeability and bioavailability. Currently, CCs are a commercial reality; nonetheless, their industrial production remains a challenge due to problems related to scale up, control and mode of preparation, which usually relies on batch production rather than continuous. This paper describes the implementation of a concurrent coaxial antisolvent electrospray (Co-E), as a new manufacturing technique, for the synthesis of CCs in a rapid, continuous and controlled manner. The features of Co-E were sized against other co-crystallization methods such as antisolvent crystallization, neat and liquid assisted grinding. Three pairs of amino acids were used as model compounds to demonstrate the features of this new system. The Co-E displayed exclusive product characteristics, including spherical particle morphology and enhanced CC formation. This technique exhibited robustness against process disturbances, displaying consistent product characteristics. Co-E represents a new alternative for the reliable production of CCs and other pharmaceutical products.

Efavirenz is the most used medication in the treatment of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The limited number of pediatric antiretroviral formulations approved by regulatory agencies is the most significant obstacle to adequate and efficient pharmacotherapy for this group of patients. The efavirenz has excellent therapeutic potential, but has low aqueous solubility/bioavailability.
To minimize these limitations, multicomponent systems with β-cyclodextrin and polyvinylpyrrolidone K-30 were obtained. Due to the limited number of pediatric antiretroviral formulations, the development of a pediatric orodispersible tablet is an alternative that is thought easy to administer, since it disintegrates rapidly in the oral cavity. The multicomponent systems were obtained by the method of kneading and characterized by solubility test, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and infrared absorption spectroscopy by Fourier transform. The orodispersible tablets were prepared by direct compression. The quality control of hardness, friability, disintegration, and dissolution was performed. The influence of the components of the formulation on the characteristics of the tablets was evaluated through a 22 factorial design added with three central points, to compare the effect of the dependent variables on the responses.
An increase in drug solubility was observed, with a decrease in crystallinity. Besides that, an excellent dissolution profile presented with more than 83% of the drug\'s content dissolved in less than 15 minutes. Satisfactory disintegration time and friability were observed.
It was observed that reduced concentrations of mannitol decreased the hardness and disintegration time of the formulations. The orodispersible tablet composed of efavirenz: β- cyclodextrin: polyvinylpyrrolidone, favors greater absorption and bioavailability. It has several advantages for pediatric patients, as the dosage form disintegrates quickly in the mouth and does not require water for administration, thereby improving patient compliance with the treatment.