Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Recent publications

• Intrinsic disorder in integral membrane proteins October 17, 2021
  The well-defined roles and specific protein-protein interactions of many integral membrane proteins (IMPs), such as those functioning as receptors for extracellular matrix proteins and soluble growth factors, easily align with considering IMP structure as a classical "lock-and-key" concept. Nevertheless, continued advances in understanding protein conformation, such as those which established the widespread existence of intrinsically […]
  Brian J Aneskievich
• The CB₁ Receptor Positive Allosteric Modulator, ZCZ011, Attenuates Naloxone-Precipitated Diarrhea and Weight Loss in Oxycodone-Dependent Mice October 9, 2021
  Opioid use disorder reflects a major public health crisis of morbidity and mortality where opioid withdrawal often contributes to continued use. However, current medications that treat opioid withdrawal symptoms are limited by their abuse liability or lack of efficacy. Although cannabinoid 1 (CB(1)) receptor agonists, including Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), ameliorate opioid withdrawal in both clinical and […]
  Julien C Dodu
• Protein-Protein Interactions in Translesion Synthesis September 28, 2021
  Translesion synthesis (TLS) is an error-prone DNA damage tolerance mechanism used by actively replicating cells to copy past DNA lesions and extend the primer strand. TLS ensures that cells continue replication in the presence of damaged DNA bases, albeit at the expense of an increased mutation rate. Recent studies have demonstrated a clear role for […]
  Radha Charan Dash
• Computational modeling of fluidized beds with a focus on pharmaceutical applications: A review September 23, 2021
  The fluidized bed is an essential and standard equipment in the field of process development. It has a wide application in various areas and has been extensively studied. This review paper aims to discuss computational modeling of a fluidized bed with a focus on pharmaceutical applications. Eulerian, Lagrangian, and combined Eulerian-Lagrangian models have been studied […]
  Sameera Sansare
• Therapeutic potential of chemically modified, synthetic, triplex peptide nucleic acid-based oncomiR inhibitors for cancer therapy September 22, 2021
  MicroRNA-155 (miR-155) is overexpressed in various types of lymphomas and leukemias, suggesting that targeting miR-155 could be a potential platform for the development of precision medicine. Here we tested the anti-cancer activity of novel, chemically modified, triplex peptide nucleic acid (PNA)-based antimiRs compared to the current state-of-the-art conventional full length antimiRs. Next-generation modified PNAs that […]
  Karishma Dhuri
• Dual-Modality Poly-l-histidine Nanoparticles to Deliver Peptide Nucleic Acids and Paclitaxel for In Vivo Cancer Therapy September 15, 2021
  Cationic polymeric nanoformulations have been explored to increase the transfection efficiency of small molecules and nucleic acid-based drugs. However, an excessive positive charge density often leads to severe cell and tissue-based toxicity that restricts the clinical translation of cationic polymeric nanoformulations. Herein, we investigate a series of cationic poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)-histidine-based nanoformulations for enhanced cytoplasmic […]
  Aniket Wahane
• Extracellular vesicles mediated exocytosis of antisense peptide nucleic acids August 30, 2021
  Peptide nucleic acids (PNAs), a synthetic DNA mimic, have been extensively utilized for antisense- and antigene-based biomedical applications. Significant efforts have been made to increase the cellular uptake of PNAs, but here we examined relatively unexplored aspects of intracellular trafficking and endocytic recycling of PNAs. For proof-of-concept, we used anti-microRNA (miR) PNA targeting miR-155. The […]
  Shipra Malik
• Pharmaceutical applications of powder-based binder jet 3D printing process - A review August 27, 2021
  Pharmaceutical applications of the 3D printing process have recently matured, followed by the FDA approval of Spritam, the first commercial 3D printed dosage form. Due to being a new technology in the conventional dosage formulation field, there is still a dearth of understanding in the 3D printing process regarding the effect of the raw materials […]
  Koyel Sen
• Seeing Keratinocyte Proteins through the Looking Glass of Intrinsic Disorder August 7, 2021
  Epidermal keratinocyte proteins include many with an eccentric amino acid content (compositional bias), atypical ultrastructural fate (built-in protease sensitivity), or assembly visible at the light microscope level (cytoplasmic granules). However, when considered through the looking glass of intrinsic disorder (ID), these apparent oddities seem quite expected. Keratinocyte proteins with highly repetitive motifs are of low […]
  Rambon Shamilov
• Alterations of cytochrome P450-mediated drug metabolism during liver repair and regeneration after acetaminophen-induced liver injury in mice August 5, 2021
  Acetaminophen (APAP)-induced liver injury (AILI) is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the United States, but its impact on metabolism, therapeutic efficacy, and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) of co- and/or subsequent administered drugs are not fully investigated. The current work explored this field with a focus on the AILI-mediated alterations of cytochrome P450 […]
  Yifan Bao
• Effect of polymer source on in vitro drug release from PLGA microspheres July 31, 2021
  Determination of the qualitative (Q1) sameness of poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) polymers can be very challenging due to PLGA being a random copolymer with inherent heterogeneity. Performance variation of PLGA microsphere drug product as a result of altered PLGA characteristics has been recognized as a critical limiting factor in product development. It has been reported […]
  Bo Wan
• High-Throughput Non-targeted Chemical Structure Identification Using Gas-Phase Infrared Spectra July 21, 2021
  The high-throughput identification of unknown metabolites in biological samples remains challenging. Most current non-targeted metabolomics studies rely on mass spectrometry, followed by computational methods that rank thousands of candidate structures based on how closely their predicted mass spectra match the experimental mass spectrum of an unknown. We reasoned that the infrared (IR) spectra could be […]
  Erandika Karunaratne
• Effects of a CB₂ Subtype Selective Agonist ABK5-1 on Cytokine Production in Microglia July 15, 2021
  CONCLUSIONS: Our current results support the possibility that ABK5-1 is an anti-inflammatory drug for microglia.
  Yaliang Tang
• A platform utilizing <em>Drosophila</em> ovulation for nonhormonal contraceptive screening July 14, 2021
  A significant unmet need for new contraceptive options for both women and men remains due to side-effect profiles, medical concerns, and the inconvenience of many currently available contraceptive products. Unfortunately, the development of novel nonsteroidal female contraceptive medicine has been stalled in the last couple of decades due to the lack of effective screening platforms. […]
  Kewa Jiang
• Generation of Single-Chain Variable Fragment (scFv) Libraries for Use in Phage Display July 7, 2021
  Phage display is a powerful platform for the discovery of novel biologics with high binding affinities to a specific target protein. Here, we describe methods to construct a phage display library containing diverse single-chain variable antibody fragments (scFvs). Specifically, updated methods for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and fusion of human antibody genes, their ligation […]
  Megan A Schladetsch