{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T04:58:11Z","timestamp":1787029091033,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"13","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,5]],"date-time":"2023-07-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1688515200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Taif University Research Supporting Project","award":["TURSP-2020\/356"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["TURSP-2020\/356"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The current study focused on the fabrication of a well-designed, biocompatible, physically stable, non-irritating and highly porous gelatin scaffold loaded with controlled-release triamcinolone acetonide (TA) and econazole nitrate (EN) co-loaded into mesoporous silica nanoparticles (EN-TA-loaded MSNs) to provide a better long-lasting antifungal therapeutic effect with minimal unfavorable effects. Optimization of the MSNs-loaded scaffold was performed using central composite rotatable design (CCRD), where the effect of gelatin concentration (X1), plasticizer (X2) and freezing time (X3) on the entrapment of EN (Y1) and TA (Y2) and on the release of EN (Y3) and TA (Y4) from the scaffold were studied. The significant compatibility of all formulation ingredients with both drugs was established from XRD, DSC and FT-IR spectra analyses while SEM and zeta studies represented a very precise unvarying distribution of the loaded MSNs in the porous structure of the scaffold. The stability of the optimized scaffold was confirmed from zeta potential analysis (\u221216.20 mV), and it exhibited higher entrapment efficiency (94%) and the slower (34%) release of both drugs. During in vitro and in vivo antifungal studies against Candida albicans, the MSNs-loaded scaffold was comparatively superior in the eradication of fungal infections as a greater zone of inhibition was observed for the optimized scaffold (16.91 mm) as compared to the pure drugs suspension (14.10 mm). Similarly, the MSNs-loaded scaffold showed a decreased cytotoxicity because the cell survival rate in the scaffold presence was 89% while the cell survival rate was 85% in the case of the pure drugs, and the MSNs-loaded scaffold did not indicate any grade of erythema on the skin in comparison to the pure medicinal agents. Conclusively, the scaffold-loaded nanoparticles containing the combined therapy appear to possess a strong prospective for enhancing patients\u2019 adherence and therapy tolerance by yielding improved synergistic antifungal efficacy at a low dose with abridged toxicity and augmented wound-healing impact.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules28135233","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,6]],"date-time":"2023-07-06T00:54:41Z","timestamp":1688604881000},"page":"5233","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Fabrication, Characterization and Biomedical Evaluation of a Statistically Optimized Gelatin Scaffold Enriched with Co-Drugs Loaded into Controlled-Release Silica Nanoparticles"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"28","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7467-5164","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hina","family":"Younis","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hafeez Ullah","family":"Khan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Safirah","family":"Maheen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Malik","family":"Saadullah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shahid","family":"Shah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1906-3760","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nabeel","family":"Ahmad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National University of Science and Technology, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2119-867X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sameer","family":"Alshehri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5752-7389","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohammed Ali A.","family":"Majrashi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Jeddah, Jeddah 23890, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1994-7179","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Abdullah","family":"Alsalhi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Jazan University, Jazan 45142, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rida","family":"Siddique","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mehwish","family":"Andleeb","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Saleha","family":"Shabbir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4531-3911","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ghulam","family":"Abbas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"422","DOI":"10.1089\/tmj.2004.10.422","article-title":"Patient and clinician satisfaction with a store-and-forward teledermatology consult system","volume":"10","author":"Whited","year":"2004","journal-title":"Telemed. 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