@phdthesis{Luebtow2020,
  author    = {L{\"u}btow, Michael M.},
  title     = {Structure-property relationships in poly(2-oxazoline)/poly(2-oxazine) based drug formulations},
  doi       = {10.25972/OPUS-19338},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-193387},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {According to estimates, more than 40\% of all new chemical entities developed in pharmaceutical industry are practically insoluble in water. Naturally, the demand for excipients which increase the water solubility and thus, the bioavailability of such hydrophobic drugs is enormous. Poly(2-oxazoline)s (POx) are currently intensively discussed as highly versatile class of biomaterials. Although selected POx based micellar drug formulations exhibit extraordinarily high drug loadings > 50 wt.\% enabling high anti-tumor efficacies in vivo, the formulation of other hydrophobic compounds has failed. This casts doubt on the general understanding in which a hydrophobic active pharmaceutical ingredient is dissolved rather unspecifically in the hydrophobic core of the micelles following the fundamental concept of "like dissolves like". Therefore, a closer look at the interactions between all components within a formulation becomes increasingly important. To do so, a large vehicle platform was synthesized, loaded with various hydrophobic drugs of different structure, and the formulations subsequently characterized with conventional and less conventional techniques. The obtained in-depth insights helped to develop a more thorough understanding about the interaction of polymer and incorporated API finally revealing morphologies deviating from a classical core/shell structure. During these studies, the scarcely investigated polymer class of poly(2-oxazine)s (POzi) was found as promising drug-delivery vehicle for hydrophobic drugs. Apart from this fundamental research, the anti-tumor efficacy of the two APIs curcumin and atorvastatin has been studied in more detail. To increase the scope of POx and POzi based formulations designed for intravenous administration, a curcumin loaded hydrogel was developed as injectable drug-depot.},
  subject      = {Polymere},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{FirdessaFite2015,
  author    = {Firdessa Fite, Rebuma},
  title     = {Use of polyhexanide and nanomedicine approach for effective treatments of cutaneous leishmaniasis},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-115072},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Despite huge suffering caused by cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), there is no effective and affordable treatment strategy against CL and no licensed vaccines. The current treatments show limited efficacy and high toxicity. Improved therapies through discovery of novel drugs and/or an alternative treatment approaches are/is urgently needed. We aimed at identifying a novel antileishmanial agent and developing an innovative nanoparticle (NP) based platform for safe and effective treatments against CL. We discovered that polyhexanide (PHMB), a widely used antimicrobial polymer and wound antisepsis, shows an inherent antileishmanial activity at submicromolar concentrations. PHMB appears to kill L. major parasites via a dual mechanism involving disruption of membrane integrity and selective chromosome condensation. However, host chromosomes binding appear to be limited by exclusion from mammalian cell nuclei. Moreover, we attempted to establish effective drug delivery systems that overcome the various shortcomings in the present treatment of CL. In this scenario, we initially studied the cellular interactions of NPs and their uptake mechanisms into mammalian cells before applying them in drug delivery system. We obtained clear evidence for the involvement of multiple endocytic routes to internalize NPs. Physicochemical properties of NPs, cell type, temperature and pathogenesis of the target diseases were shown to be determinant factors. Thereafter, a mechanism based host- and pathogen-directed combination therapy comprising PHMB and CpG ODN immunomodulator was established for overall synergistic effect against CL. It simultaneously targets the pathogen and the host immunity with effective delivery system. The results show that PHMB binds to CpG ODN and form stable nanopolyplexes for efficient cell entry and therapy. The nanopolyplexes displayed enhanced cellular uptake and antileishmanial potency while drastically reducing the toxicity against mammalian cells. In conclusion, our findings clearly indicate that PHMB can be used as effective candidate drug against CL and as non-viral delivery of immunomodulatorynucleic acids. Moreover, our proof-of concept study showed nanomedicine approaches are effective strategy to challenge CL and other human diseases.},
  subject      = {Leishmaniose},
  language  = {en}
}