Applications In Pharmacy Research Articles

The Pharmacy Student Population: Applications Received 2014-15, Degrees Conferred 2014-15, Fall 2015 Enrollments

INTRODUCTION This report presents data that describe the 2014-15 pharmacy application pool, degrees conferred in2014-15, and fall 2015 pharmacy program enrollments. Data for this report were requested from the 135 U.S. colleges and schools of pharmacy recognized by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) using five separate survey instruments. There were previously two professional education programs at U.S. colleges and schools of pharmacy: one leading to a baccalaureate in pharmacy, and the other leading to the doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. However, June 30, 2005 marked the official expiration of the ACPE standards to the baccalaureate in pharmacy (B.S. Pharmacy) degree programs in accordance with the transition to the doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree as the sole professional degree program in the U.S. Some colleges and schools of pharmacy conferred degrees in the B.S. Pharmacy program until 2004-05. For the purpose of this report, students in doctor of pharmacy programs are categorized under Pharm.D.1 when the program leads to a doctor of pharmacy degree conferred as the first professional degree. Students who have already received a baccalaureate in pharmacy and are enrolled in a doctor of pharmacy degree program are categorized under Pharm.D.2. The following definitions refer to the race/ethnicity groups as used in this report. White refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. Black or African American refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. Hispanic or Latino refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. Asian refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. Prior to 2011, these students were included in the Asian category. American Indian or Alaska Native refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment. Two or More Races refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are not Hispanic or Latino and identify themselves by more than one race. Unknown refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents whose race and ethnicity are not known. Prior to 2011, this category was labeled Other/Unknown and students that were of two or more races were included in this category. Finally, International/Foreign refers to citizens of a foreign country/ permanent residents of a country other than the U.S. 2014-15 APPLICATION POOL The 2014-15 Application Pool Survey was conducted online in October 2015 with an announcement and request for participation sent to the survey coordinator at each of the 135 colleges and schools of pharmacy in the U.S. recognized by ACPE. After follow-up correspondence, 133 colleges and schools (98.5 percent) submitted the requested information. Included in the application pool are students who applied for admission and submitted all required application materials between September 2014 and August 2015 for the entering class of fall 2015. Numbers reported represent the number of applications, not applicants, and may represent multiple applications submitted by individual applicants. During the period September 2014 through August 2015 the reporting institutions received 76,525 applications for admission. …

A Sustainable, Semi-Continuous Flow Synthesis of Hydantoins.

Hydantoins are an important class of heterocycles with applications in pharmacy, agriculture, and as intermediates in organic synthesis. Traditional synthetic procedures to access hydantoins are target oriented with multiple synthetic steps and often use reagents that are not commercially available or sustainable. Herein, an efficient process is described for accessing hydantoins starting from commercially available amines using consecutive gas-liquid transformations (oxygen, carbon dioxide). This semi-continuous process produced ten benzylic/aliphatic hydantoins in good overall yields (52-84 %).

Production of para-aminobenzoic acid from different carbon-sources in engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

BackgroundBiological production of the aromatic compound para-aminobenzoic acid (pABA) is of great interest to the chemical industry. Besides its application in pharmacy and as crosslinking agent for resins and dyes pABA is a potential precursor for the high-volume aromatic feedstocks terephthalic acid and para-phenylenediamine. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae synthesises pABA in the shikimate pathway: Outgoing from the central shikimate pathway intermediate chorismate, pABA is formed in two enzyme-catalysed steps, encoded by the genes ABZ1 and ABZ2. In this study S. cerevisiae metabolism was genetically engineered for the overproduction of pABA. Using in silico metabolic modelling an observed impact of carbon-source on product yield was investigated and exploited to optimize production.ResultsA strain that incorporated the feedback resistant ARO4K229L and deletions in the ARO7 and TRP3 genes, in order to channel flux to chorismate, was used to screen different ABZ1 and ABZ2 genes for pABA production. In glucose based shake-flaks fermentations the highest titer (600 µM) was reached when over-expressing the ABZ1 and ABZ2 genes from the wine yeast strains AWRI1631 and QA23, respectively. In silico metabolic modelling indicated a metabolic advantage for pABA production on glycerol and combined glycerol-ethanol carbon-sources. This was confirmed experimentally, the empirical ideal glycerol to ethanol uptake ratios of 1:2–2:1 correlated with the model. A 13C tracer experiment determined that up to 32 % of the produced pABA originated from glycerol. Finally, in fed-batch bioreactor experiments pABA titers of 1.57 mM (215 mg/L) and carbon yields of 2.64 % could be achieved.ConclusionIn this study a combination of genetic engineering and in silico modelling has proven to be a complete and advantageous approach to increase pABA production. Especially the enzymes that catalyse the last two steps towards product formation appeared to be crucial to direct flux to pABA. A stoichiometric model for carbon-utilization proved useful to design carbon-source composition, leading to increased pABA production. The reported pABA concentrations and yields are, to date, the highest in S. cerevisiae and the second highest in a microbial production system, underlining the great potential of yeast as a cell factory for renewable aromatic feedstocks.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12934-016-0485-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The antiviral potency of Fagus sylvatica 4OMe-glucuronoxylan sulfates

Herpes simplex virus belongs to Herpesviridae family and causes infection of humans from ancient times. 4OMe-glucuronoxylans as the renewable biopolymers can be promising glycomaterials for various applications in pharmacy. Control enzymatic degradation of the native 4OMe-glucuronoxylan (GX1) followed by targeted sulfation procedure afforded a range of 4OMe-glucuronoxylan sulfates differed in the degree of sulfation (10–16%) and molecular mass (21,000–5000g/mol; GXS1>GXS2>GXS3>GXS4). Antiviral activity tests on GXS1–4 against herpes simplex virus (HSV) types 1 and 2 revealed the positive effect of all compounds against strains of herpes virus. Of them, the compounds GXS1 and GXS4 were shown to be the most active for both HSV serotypes. The antiviral activity of GXS1 and GXS4 was similar to those of heparin or dextran sulfate, used as reference compounds. It was found that GXS1 and GXS4 were active as well against Polio and dengue viruses, however, on a smaller scale. The mode of antiviral action of 4OMe-glucuronoxylan sulfates is due to inhibition of the virus binding to the cell receptors.

Optimization of Method for Determination of Swelling Factor of Ispaghula Seeds

An endeavour of present study is to optimize the method for determination of swelling factor of Ispaghula seeds, so it can be determined correctly with minimum errors which will be reproducible. The polysaccharides in the mucilage of Plantago seeds constitute a diverse class of biological macromolecules with a broad range of physiochemical properties which are widely used for applications in Pharmacy and medicine. Many official and unofficial sources described different methods for determination of swelling factor with variable results. The present work is undertaken to determine the effect of parameters such as quantity of seed, volume and nature of solvent, time interval of agitation, time of measurement of result, Effect of quantity of seeds on swelling factor determination. Swelling factor of different seeds like Lepodium sativum, Althia officinalis and Occimum sanctum has been evaluated by IP method and optimised method for 24 h. Optimized method gives superlative results over IP method. Plantago seeds moistened with 1ml of 90% alcohol followed by addition of distilled water at room temperature along with every 3 h agitation shows exceptional swelling as compared to other methods and conditions.

Stevia Glycosides: Chemical and Enzymatic Modifications of Their Carbohydrate Moieties to Improve the Sweet-Tasting Quality.

Stevia glycosides, extracted from the leaves of the plant Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, display an amazing high degree of sweetness. As processed plant products, they are considered as excellent bio-alternatives for sucrose and artificial sweeteners. Being noncaloric and having beneficial properties for human health, they are the subject of an increasing number of studies for applications in food and pharmacy. However, one of the main obstacles for the successful commercialization of Stevia sweeteners, especially in food, is their slight bitter aftertaste and astringency. These undesirable properties may be reduced or eliminated by modifying the carbohydrate moieties of the steviol glycosides. A promising procedure is to subject steviol glycosides to enzymatic glycosylation, thereby introducing additional monosaccharide residues into the molecules. Depending on the number and positions of the monosaccharide units, the taste quality and sweetness potency of the compounds will vary. Many studies have been performed already, and this review summarizes the structures of native steviol glycosides and the recent data of modifications of the carbohydrate moieties that have been published to provide an overview of the current progress.

Enhanced production of glycyrrhetic acid 3-O-mono-β-d-glucuronide by fed-batch fermentation using pH and dissolved oxygen as feedback parameters

Glycyrrhetic acid 3-O-mono-β-d-glucuronide (GAMG), the major functional ingredient in licorice, has widespread applications in food, pharmacy and cosmetics industry. The production of GAMG through Penicillium purpurogenum Li-3 cultivation was for the first time performed through both batch and fed-batch processes in bioreactors. In batch process, under optimal conditions (pH5.0, temperature 32°C, agitation speed 100r·min−1), 3.55g·L−1 GAMG was obtained in a 2.5L fermentor. To further enhance GAMG production, a fine fed-batch process was developed by using pH and DO as feedback parameters. Starting from 48h, 100ml 90g·L−1 substrate Glycyrrhizin (GL) was fed each time when pH increased to above 5.0 and DO was increased to above 80%. This strategy can significantly enhance GAMG production: the achieved GL conversion was 95.34% with GAMG yield of 95.15%, and GAMG concentration was 16.62g·L−1 which was 5 times higher than that of batch. Then, a two-step separation strategy was established to separate GAMG from fermentation broth by crude extraction of 15ml column packed with D101 resin followed by fine purification with preparative C18 chromatography. The obtained GAMG purity was 95.79%. This study provides a new insight into the industrial bioprocess of high-level GAMG production.

Caracterización bioquímica de hojas de clones de Theobroma cacao y su relación con los tricomas

<p><strong>Título en ingles:</strong> Biochemical characterization of leaves in <em>Theobroma cacao</em> clones and its relation with trichomes</p><p><br /><em>Theobroma cacao</em> L. es un cultivo de gran importancia por sus posibles aplicaciones en la farmacia y la agricultura. Contiene metabolitos que resultan de gran interés por sus funciones biológicas naturales en la respuesta de la planta a los diferentes tipos de estrés, tanto bióticos como abióticos. La presencia, tipo y concentración de los metabolitos (primarios y secundarios) pueden variar de acuerdo al genotipo analizado y se pueden acumular en estructuras asociadas a la arquitectura de la hoja como son los tricomas. El objetivo de este trabajo fue caracterizar 26 clones del banco de germoplasma de Padrón, INIA-Miranda, Estado Miranda, Venezuela y estudiar la relación existente entre los indicadores bioquímicos y el número de tricomas. Se determinó el contenido de compuestos fenólicos, proteínas solubles, prolina libre, carbohidratos totales, ligninas, el número de tricomas y la relación existente entre ellos. Los resultados mostraron que en el espacio bidimensional que explica el 46,68% de la variabilidad total, se definieron cinco grupos homogéneos: diez clones se asociaron con el máximo gradiente de prolina, carbohidratos totales y contenido de ligninas, nueve con alto contenido de proteínas y fenoles y siete con mayor número de tricomas en hojas. Se comprobó que el número de tricomas no se relacionó con la concentración de compuestos fenólicos.Los clones de cacao del tipo forastero mostraron mayor concentración de fenoles totales y carbohidratos, en tanto que los trinitarios presentaron mayor concentración de proteínas y prolina.</p>

Determination of germination cardinal temperatures in two basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) cultivars using non-linear regression models

Basil has many applications in industrial, cosmetic, pharmacy, foods, perfumery and culinary. Therefore, understanding of its temperature needs is necessary for its appropriate germination, growth and development. In present study three regression models (Intersected-lines model, Quadratic Polynomial model and Five-Parameters Beta model) were used for describing the relationships between germination rate and temperature in green and purple cultivars of basil. Temperature treatments were included of nine constant temperatures including 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40°C. The experiment was conducted at seed research laboratory of University of Birjand, based on a completely randomized design with four replications. Germination of purple basil started from 10°C (6%), reached to maximum at 20°C (73%) and then decreased with increasing temperature until reached to 0% at 40°C. The highest amount of germination rate was obtained at 25°C (10seedday−1), followed by 20°C treatment. Intersected-lines model was found to be the best model to predict germination rate of purple basil (R2=0.9). Based on model output, the amounts of base temperature (Tb), optimum temperature (To) and maximum temperature (Tm) for germination of purple basil were 7, 24.97 and 41.84°C, respectively. Germination of green basil was started from 10°C (15%), followed by 60–67% in 15-30°C and finally decreased to 7% in 40°C. The highest values of germination rate were obtained at 25–30°C (9.4–9.65seedday−1). Intersected-lines model showed most suitable fitness in the case of green basil (R2=0.91). Based on the regression between germination rate and temperature, the cardinal temperatures (Tb, To and Tm) for green basil were 6.11, 28.97 and 43.58°C, respectively. In addition, temperature range (Tm–Tb) for purple and green basil was obtained 34.84 and 37.47°C, respectively. Totally, the use of the three models confirms the generally known fact that basil needs higher temperatures for germination.

From design in rehabilitation units to the application in a community pharmacy of a pharmaceutical interview for stroke survivors: Results of a pilot study

After stroke preventive treatments are a primary determinant to avoid a recurrent cardiovascular event. However, patient's adherence to long-term treatment is quite low [1] . Collaborative with healthcare providers, the pharmaceutical intervention already showed impact on drug therapy (pharmaceutical care concept). This concept is established in Canada for a long time, and begin to emerge in Europe [2] . To develop pharmaceutical interviews with stroke survivors in hospital, and to bring this approach to community pharmacies. Individual semi-guided interviews were conducted in two steps: (a) evaluation of patient's knowledge, skills and self-care; (b) providing appropriate structured information according to patient's needs. For (a) a specific questionnaire incorporating problems relating to generic drugs and hygiene and dietary follow-up was developed; educational tools were used for (b): picture book, packages of drugs. At the end of the interview, information sheets and a management plan “how to take treatments” were given. This approach, developed in neurological rehabilitation unit, was then used in community pharmacy with ambulatory patients to test practicability of the method. A total of 26 interviews were conducted: 20 inpatients and 6 outpatients. (a) The level of drug knowledge varies and no difference between the two groups was observed. Some notions are well known such as treatment start-up date (respectively 85 and 83%), management plan of treatments (60 and 67%). On the other hand, therapeutic indication of treatment (40 and 33%), what to do in risk situations (37 and 33%) or in the case of adverse event (11 and 0%), and hygiene and dietetic rules (45 and 33%) were less known. (b) Patients were very satisfied with the counselling interview. Interviews with ambulatory patients confirmed the feasibility of this approach first developed at the hospital. Patient's knowledge remains partial, including patients treated for a long time. It is now necessary to assess the impact of this pharmaceutical intervention on long-term health care's quality.

Test for the Presence of Autocorrelation in the Buchanan-three-phase Model used in the Growth of Moraxella sp. B on Monobromoacetic acid (MBA)

Monohalogenated acetic acids usage are widespread in industry and agriculture. They formprecursors to chemicals and as herbicides, respectively. Monobromoacetic acid (MBA) is achemical intermediate for the manufacturing of various chemicals with application in agricultureand pharmacy. Bioremediation of monobromoacetic acid has been touted as a more economicaland feasible method compared to physical and chemical approaches. Previously, we model thegrowth of growth of Moraxella sp. B on monobromoacetic acid from published literature toobtain vital growth constants. We discovered that the Buchanan-three-phase model via nonlinear regression utilizing the least square method was the very best model to explain the growth curve. Nonlinear regression utilizing the least square method typically utilizes the idea that data points usually do not depend upon each other or the value of a data point is not determined by the value of previous or proceeding data points or usually do not display autocorrelation. In this work, the Durbin-Watson statistic to check for the presence of autocorrelation in the growth model was carried out.

Magnetic nanoparticles: Advantages of using, methods for preparation, characterization, application in pharmacy

Aspects of the development of nanotechnology in pharmacy using magnetic nanoparticles of ferrite materials were considered. Interest in these objects, as well as fullerenes and carbon nanotubes, is explained by the potential use of magnetic nanoparticles in catalysis, biomedicine, magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic separation and visualization, and hyperthermia of malignant neoplasms. The general characterization of oxide magnetic materials is given in the context of the feasibility of their use in magnetic drug delivery systems. The known synthetic methods for magnetic nanoparticles are systematized. Taking into account the initial stage of development of this direction, the actual material on the development of synthesis conditions, methods for the analysis of magnetic nanoparticles, and drug delivery systems as a whole is of scientific and practical interest.

The Pharmacy Student Population: Applications Received 2013-14, Degrees Conferred 2013-14, Fall 2014 Enrollments

This report presents data that describe the 2013-14 pharmacy application pool, degrees conferred in 2013-14, and fall 2014 pharmacy program enrollments. Data for this report were requested from the 133 U.S. colleges and schools of pharmacy recognized by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) using five separate survey instruments. There were previously two professional education programs at U.S. colleges and schools of pharmacy: one leading to a baccalaureate in pharmacy, and the other leading to the doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. However, June 30, 2005 marked the official expiration of the ACPE standards to the baccalaureate in pharmacy (B.S. Pharmacy) degree programs in accordance with the transition to the doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree as the sole professional degree program in the U.S. Some colleges and schools of pharmacy conferred degrees in the B.S. Pharmacy program until 2004-05. For the purpose of this report, students in doctor of pharmacy programs are categorized under Pharm.D.1 when the program leads to a doctor of pharmacy degree conferred as the first professional degree. Students who have already received a baccalaureate in pharmacy and are enrolled in a doctor of pharmacy degree program are categorized under Pharm.D.2. The following definitions refer to the race/ethnicity groups as used in this report. White refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. Black or African American refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. Hispanic or Latino refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. Asian refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. Prior to 2011, these students were included in the Asian category. American Indian or Alaska Native refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment. Two or More Races refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are not Hispanic/Latino and identify themselves by more than one race. Unknown refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents whose race and ethnicity are not known. Prior to 2011, this category was labeled Other/Unknown and students that were of two or more races were included in this category. Finally, International/Foreign refers to citizens of a foreign country/permanent residents of a country other than the U.S.

Implication of nanofibers in oral drug delivery.

Nanofibers has gained significant prominence in recent years due to its wide applications in medicinal pharmacy, textile, tissue engineering and in various drug delivery system. In oral drug delivery system (DDS), nanofibers can be delivered as Nanofiber scaffolds, electrosponge nanofibers as oral fast delivery system, multilayered nanofiber loaded mashes, surface modified cross-linked electrospun nanofibers. Nanofibers are of 50- 1000 nm size fibres having large surface area, high porosity, small pore size, low density. Various approaches for formulation of nanofibers are molecular assembly, thermally induced phase separation, electrospining. Most commonly used by using electrospining polymer nanofibres with different range can be produced collective usage of electro spinning with pharmaceutical polymers offers novel tactics for developing drug delivery system (DDS). Different polymers used in preparation of nanofibers include biodegradable hydrophilic polymers, hydrophobic polymers and amphiphilic polymers. Electrospun nanofibers are often used to load insoluble drugs for enhancing their dissolution properties due to their high surface area per unit mass. Besides the water insoluble drugs freely water soluble sodium can also spun into the fibers. The most commonly polymers used for nanofibers are gelatin, dextran, nylon, polystyrene, polyacrylonitrile, polycarbonate, polyimides, poly vinyl alchol, polybenzimidazole. Delivery systems reviewed rely on temporal control, changes in pH along the GIT, the action of local enzymes to trigger drug release, and changes in intraluminal pressure. Dissolution of enteric polymer coatings due to a change in local pH and reduction of azo-bonds to release an active agent are both used in commercially marketed products. In vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that the release rates of drugs from these nanofiber formulations are enhanced compared to those from original drug substance. This review is focused on the different type of polymers used, different used in the preparation of nanofibers, cytotoxicity studies and application of nanofiber by using oral drug delivery.

Feature-driven linguistic-based entity matching in linked data with application in pharmacy

The web becomes an overwhelmingly huge repository of data. At the same time, users demand access to the information on the web in a more natural way. In other words, users require interaction with the web using natural linguistic terms and expect human comprehensive answers. The introduction of Resource Description Framework (RDF) is a promising step towards significant changes how systems can utilize the web. The very nature of RDF format that ensures high interconnectivity of pieces of data creates an opportunity to process and analyse data in a different way. In this paper, we address the problem of processing web information using fuzzy-based technologies. In particular, we adopt a linguistic representation model to determining alternatives that match a given reference with the highest possible degree and satisfying some specific criteria. The process of comparing alternatives to the reference is feature-driven while an entity is described by its features. The proposed methodology is able to deal with features of different nature and utilize comparison mechanisms suitable for each type of features. The utilization of 2-tuple allows for comparing and aggregating linguistic-based descriptions of features, especially when the reference does not specify values of features explicitly. In experiments, we show the utilization of our approach in the domain of pharmacy. The obtained results show the advantage of using the feature-based comparison process and linguistic aggregation procedure over results obtained using the RDF query language SPARQL (SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language).

Encapsulation of Functional Lipophilic Food and Drug Biocomponents

Lipophilic biocomponents pose a real challenge to food and drug researchers because they have weak solubility in water and cannot be easily included into the food and drug matrix. Biomaterials with new functional properties, i.e. biodegradable, biocompatible and stimulus responsive, have been tested for the purpose of improving the solubility and bioavailability of lipophilic components in recent years. Also, high-performance micro- and nanotechnologies were involved. These were used to prepare microcapsules and nanocarriers with multiple applications in food industry and pharmacy. The micro- and nano-encapsulation of lipophilic components is used to increase and maintain solubility in physiological fluids or the food matrix, to improve bioavailability and to protect the bioactive compounds against the aggression of some factors such as pH, enzymes, temperature, light and oxygen. The microcapsule and nanocarrier delivery systems guarantee the controlled and targeted delivery of bioactive molecules, thus increasing the therapeutic potential of drugs, along with food safety and security. The purpose of this review is to synthesize the newest information about the lipophilic biocomponents’ encapsulation. The first part of the paper is devoted to data on the solubility and bioavailability of lipophilic components used for food and drug formulations. The second part deals with the main methods of lipophilic compounds encapsulation, evincing the preparation of nanoparticles with applicability in the food and drug industry.

Spectroscopic and viscometric studies on the interaction of ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide with polyvinyl pyrrolidone

Polyvinyl pyrrolidone, a nontoxic biocompatible polymer, has broad applications in pharmacy, cosmetics, and detergent industry. Although PVP is easily soluble in water, some recent findings indicate that water is not a thermodynamically good solvent for PVP. In this research, interaction of PVP with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ionic liquid was studied via FT-IR, UV–vis and viscometric methods. The flow activation energies were found from the linearization of Arrhenius equation and correlated in terms of polymer concentration. Thermodynamic quality of solvent was investigated using the sign of initial slope of the activation energy versus polymer concentration at zero concentration. For this purpose, viscosity and density of polyvinyl pyrrolidone in aqueous solution of ionic liquid at the temperature range of 288.15–313.15K were measured. Results suggested that the thermodynamic quality of water is increased by addition of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide in aqueous solution of polyvinyl pyrrolidone.

Preparative Purification of Liriodendrin from Sargentodoxa cuneata by Macroporous Resin.

The preparative purification of liriodendrin from Sargentodoxa cuneata using macroporous resin combined with crystallization process was evaluated. The properties of adsorption/desorption of liriodendrin on eight macroporous resins were investigated systematically. X-5 resin was selected as the most suitable medium for liriodendrin purification. The adsorption of liriodendrin on X-5 resin fitted well with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model. Dynamic adsorption/desorption tests were performed using a glass column packed with X-5 resin to optimize the separation process of liriodendrin. After one treatment with X-5 resin, the content of liriodendrin in the product was increased 48.73-fold, from 0.85% to 41.42%, with a recovery yield of 88.9%. 97.48% liriodendrin was obtained by further crystallization and determined by HPLC. The purified product possessed strong antioxidant activity. In conclusion, purification of liriodendrin might expend its further pharmacological researches and further applications in pharmacy.

Use of cannabis in medicine and pharmacy

Therapeutic properties of cannabis have been known since ancient times, although the application has been limited mainly due to narcotic characteristics of this plant. Nowadays, the pharmacologically active substance in cannabis - cannabinoids, presents a very interesting group of compounds with potentially significant applications in medicine and pharmacy. Research studies have clearly shown that cannabinoids are highly efficient, primarily in the treatment of nausea and vomiting and the management of chronic pain. For patients who suffer from severe, chronic diseases, such as cancer and AIDS, cannabis has been shown to relieve several symptoms at the same time, in more efficient way than some registered medicines. Besides, there is a great potential of cannabinoids to be applied for the treatment of many other pathological conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, hype­rtension, glaucoma, although it is necessary to complete the last phases of clinical trials in order to register these compounds as drugs, i.e. in order to assure the safe therapy for these diseases. Although tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) proved to be very efficient in the treatment of numerous diseases, new drugs have been intensively developing that tend to possess improved selectivity, better pharmacokinetic properties, and favorable relationship between desired pharmacological effect and side effects. Legalization of cannabis use for medical purposes is a hot topic at the global level and in most countries there have been initiatives to amend the existing laws in order to make drugs based on natural ingredients of cannabis, as well as other related products, synthetically produced, available to patients, that would certainly, based on the results of investigations, contribute to a better quality of patients' lives.

Photosynthetic and extracellular production of glucosylglycerol by genetically engineered and gel-encapsulated cyanobacteria.

Glucosylglycerol (GG) has a range of potential applications in health, pharmacy, and cosmetics due to its physiological, protein-stabilizing, and antioxidative properties. In addition to chemical synthesis and enzymatic catalysis, GG can be produced as a protective osmolyte in salt-stressed bacteria, such as the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Here, we presented an efficient GG production and secretion by genetically modified and encapsulated Synechocystis cells grown in a semicontinuous manner. We improved the production and secretion of GG in Synechocystis by first disrupting both the ggtC and ggtD genes, which encode the subunits of a GG uptake transporter, as well as the ggpR gene, which encodes a repressor for GG synthesis. Then, we confirmed that the rapid GG release from salt-stressed cells of Synechocystis depended on the ion gradient across the cell membrane. Finally, we proved the feasibility of an agar gel encapsulation method in supporting cell growth and the GG production of Synechocystis under semicontinuous culturing conditions.