These results suggest that for 3 months at both standard and accelerated environmental conditions, the formulated 6747-15-5 IQP-0410 transdermal films are stable products. The pyrimidinedione IQP-0410 is a potent NNRTI that has significant potential as an anti-HIV therapeutic agent. Its product profile suggests it will experience many of the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion issues observed in other molecules of this class. Therefore, transdermal drug delivery was investigated as a potential dosage form to overcome these issues. A polymeric based transdermal film was formulated to hold and deliver IQP-0410 that was composed of non-toxic excipients. Our in vitro and ex vivo studies successfully demonstrated that IQP-0410 could be released from the transdermal films and delivered through a full thickness epidermal tissue model. The subsequent successful in vitro reduction of HIV-1 activity from the delivered drug over a 3 day application suggests the potential of IQP-0410 to be administered via transdermal patches. Further studies investigating the transdermal delivery of IQP-0410 will potentially result in transdermal patches that would offer an easier option for patients to comply with their medication regimes as compared to current treatments. Small disulfide-rich peptides from plants and animals have diverse structures and bioactivities, and many have potential therapeutic applications. The Cucurbitaceae plant family is a rich source of bioactive peptides with more than 60 disulfide-rich peptides isolated from over 10 species. One species that has been of particular interest is Momordica charantia Linn., a tropical and subtropical vine, which is widely grown as a vegetable. It is commonly known as bitter gourd or bitter melon because the fruit is among the most bitter of all fruits. The roots, vines and seeds of M. charantia are used in traditional Chinese medicines. Several 1143532-39-1 serine protease inhibitors have been isolated and characterized from the seeds. These inhibitors are classified as squash trypsin inhibitors and are small disulfide-rich peptides containing three-disulfide bonds. Members of this family share the characteristic feature of an inhibitor cystine knot motif, in which an embedded ring, formed by the CysI-CysIV, CysII-CysV disulfide bonds and their connecting peptide backbone segments, is penetrated by the CysIII-CysVI disulfide bond. Major challenges in the study of disulfide-rich peptides include determination of their disulfide connectivity and synthesis of wild type and mutant peptides to explore structure-activity relationships.
