Current Issue : April - June Volume : 2012 Issue Number : 2 Articles : 6 Articles
The present study explores the pharmaceutical potential of a natural organic matter (fulvic acid) for sustained\r\nrelease, acid buffering capacity and mucoadhesion in vaginal drug delivery. The antifungal drug, Itraconazole,\r\nwas first converted into inclusion complexes with fulvic acid (1:1 & 1:2 molar ratio) and then characterized by\r\nDifferential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared\r\nSpectroscopy (FT IR) and Mass Spectroscopy. Results were also authenticated by conformational analysis.\r\nSolubility analysis of complexes yielded different thermodynamic parameters and explained the driving force\r\nfor solubilisation when the pH was varied in an acidic range. MTT assays were also performed to assess the\r\npotential in vitro cell toxicity of the complexes in comparison to the neat drug. The complexes were then\r\nformulated into tablets and optimized for hardness, mucoadhesion and release profiles. The optimized tablets\r\npresented with satisfactory mucoadhesion, acid buffering and spreading ability. Moreover, the antifungal\r\nactivity of the formulation was also increased due to improved aqueous solubility of the drug despite the\r\nlarger size of the complex. The study also indicated the potential use of fulvic acid as a functional excipient in\r\nthe preparation of a vaginal drug delivery system (VDDS)....
Research in natural polymeric materials has witnessed growing interest and attention. This is attributable to a number of factors which include their relative abundance, low cost, and biodegrable and eco-firendly profiles. This article reviews the current applications of natural polymeric materials in pharmaceutical formulations. The pharmaceutical applications of some of the traditional and commercially available natural polymers were discussed. Emerging potential pharmaceutical excipients of natural origins were also discussed. The increasing research interests in this group of materials are indications of their increasing importance. It is believed that as technology and testing techniques advance, more understanding of their physicochemical nature would be gained that can enable them to be tailored for wider Pharmaceutical applications than their synthetic counterparts....
Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a biomaterial with potential for applications in biomedical and tissue engineering; however, its brittle nature and high crystallinity limit its potential. Blending PHB with a variety of PEGs produced natural-synthetic composite films composed of FDA-approved polymers with significant reductions in crystallinity, from 70.1% for PHB films to 41.5% for its composite with a 30%?(w/w) loading of PEG2000. Blending also enabled manipulation of the material properties, increasing film flexibility with an extension to break of 2 . 4 9 Ã?± 1 . 0 1 % for PHB films and 8 . 3 2 Ã?± 1 . 0 6 %\n for films containing 30% (w/w) PEG106. Significant changes in the film surface properties, as measured by porosity, contact angles, and water uptake, were also determined as a consequence of the blending process, and these supported greater adhesion and proliferation of neural-associated olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs). A growth rate of 7 . 2 Ã?â?? 1 05 cells per day for PHB films with 30% (w/w) PEG2000 loading compared to 2 . 5 Ã?â?? 1 05 for PHB films was observed. Furthermore, while cytotoxicity of the films as measured by lactate dehydrogenase release was unaffected, biocompatibility, as measured by mitochondrial activity, was found to increase. It is anticipated that fine control of PEG composition in PHB-based composite biomaterials can be utilised to support their applications in medicinal and tissue engineering applications....
A promising strategy to improve the therapeutic efficiency of antimicrobial agents is targeted therapy. Although vancomycin has been considered a gold standard for the therapy of MRSA pneumonia, clinical failure rates have also been reported owing to its slow, time-dependent bactericidal activity, variable lung tissue penetration and poor intracellular penetration into macrophages. Liposomal encapsulation has been established as an alternative for antimicrobial delivery to infected tissue macrophages and offers enhanced pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics and decreased toxicity compared to standard preparations. The aim of the present work is to prepare vancomycin in two different liposomal formulations, conventional and PEGylated liposomes using different methods. The prepared formulations were optimized for their particle size, encapsulation efficiency and physical stability. The dehydration-rehydration was found to be the best preparation method. Both the conventional and PEGylated liposomal formulations were successfully formulated with a narrow particle size and size distribution and % encapsulation efficiency of \n9 �± 2 and 1 2 �± 3, respectively. Both the formulations were stable at 4�°C for 3 months. These formulations were successfully used to evaluate for their intracellular killing of MRSA and in vivo pharmacokinetic and bio-distribution studies....
In this study, turpentine oil was used for enhancing the transdermal penetration of diclofenac\r\ndiethylamine (DDEA) from matrix patches prepared using carboxypolymethylene (CPM) and ethyl\r\ncellulose (EC) by solvent evaporation technique. The drug matrix film was subjected to different\r\nphysical testes like moisture content, moisture uptake and flatness, in vitro release and permeation\r\nstudies and ex vivo permeation studies. In vitro permeation studies were performed across artificial\r\nskin, while ex vivo across rabbit abdominal skin. The effect of increasing concentration of turpentine oil\r\non transdermal permeation of diclofenac diethylamine was studied on Franz cell apparatus. The results\r\nobtained were encouraging showing an increase in transdermal permeation with an increase in\r\nturpentine oil....
Use of excipients from plant origin has gained importance in formulation of dosage form due to their easy availability, eco-friendly nature and cost effectiveness compared to synthetic additives. Mucoadhesive polymers that bind to epithelial surface are useful in drug delivery for purpose of increasing the intimacy and duration of contact of drug with absorbing membrane. An attempt has been made to isolate and characterize mucilage from Coccinia grandis (Ivy Gourd). Isolated mucilage was tested for various parameters as per Indian Pharmacopoeia to confirm the characteristics of mucilage. The mucoadhesive efficiency of separated mucilage has been compared with synthetic polymer carbopol by performing tests for in vitro bioadhesion force and in vitro residence time. The study revealed that mucilage powder in 7% concentration range showed results comparable to carbapol 934. Thus, it can be concluded that mucilage from Coccinia grandis can be a good option for synthetic polymers with mucoadhesive properties....
Loading....