Pharmaceutical Areas Research Articles

Assessment of client satisfaction with pharmacist services at outpatient pharmacy of Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital.

BackgroundClient satisfaction towards the pharmacist services is essential to measure the level of pharmacy services offered to clients and the implementation of pharmaceutical care in the hospital.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted to assess client satisfaction towards the pharmacist service from April 20 to 30, 2019 at OPD pharmacy of Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH). Clients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were interviewed by using a five scale Likert scale. Then data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 21. The results of the study were presented using table, frequency, and percentage. A binary logistic regression was also employed. The association was declared at p<0.05.ResultIn this study 250 study participants were included. Majority of the participants were males (56.4%, n = 141) with the mean (±standard deviation) age of 38.97±13.73. The mean satisfaction was 51.6%. Study participants perception on pharmacy staff number insufficiency (AOR = 0.32, 95%CI: 0.17, 0.59) and their perception towards the waiting area scored as somewhat fair (AOR = 0.50 (0.27, 0.94) and not convenient (AOR = 0.18 (0.06, 0.56) were negatively associated with their satisfaction.ConclusionIn this study, study participants have an overall satisfaction of above 50%. Respondent satisfaction for pharmacist approach or communication skill was higher than their satisfaction towards the medication guidance given to them. Study participants perception of the waiting area and staff number sufficiency for the service were significant predictors of their satisfaction. Hence, the TASH administration is expected to improve such pharmaceutical service areas to meet patient demands.

Agronomic Cultivation, Chemical Composition, Functional Activities and Applications of Pereskia Species – A Mini Review

The exploration of the plant biodiversity as a natural source to obtain sustainable food products and new bioactive pharmaceutical compounds has been growing significantly due to their abundance, safety and economy. Natural pharmaceutical and edible compounds present some advantages when compared to synthetic ones, such as being chemically inert and widely available. In this sense, plants of the genus Pereskia belonging to the Cactaceae family, have been studied. It is an unconventional wild edible plant that contains a large amount of protein and minerals. Studies have demonstrated their biological activities and potential application in different areas such as pharmaceutical, medicinal and food. This review is focused on the chemical composition, functional properties, applications on pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and food areas and formulation techniques to enhance the stability and bioavailability of bioactive compounds from the underutilized wild edible plant known as ora-pro-nobis (Pereskia aculeata or Pereskia grandifolia). The latest studies involving ora-pro-nobis demonstrated its great potential due to its biological activities, which could stimulate further investigations. The utilization of this plant as a natural source to supplement the diet, or to prepare new food products and pharmaceutical formulations is an attractive approach to explore and fully realize the potential of the rich biodiversity found in Brazil and in other countries.

6401 Published By: Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering &amp; Sciences Publication Retrieval Number C5611098319/2019©BEIESP DOI: 10.35940/ijrte.C5611.098319 Journal Website: www.ijrte.org Pollution Hazard Caused by Anti-Disease Drugs in Hospital Environments Near Chennai

This work focuses on the effect of various possible air pollutants emitted in hospital environments due to usage of anti-disease drugs to counteract various human disorders. Quantitative pollution survey was conducted for the area consisting of tuberculosis related hospitals and pharmaceutical areas near Chennai. In general, all these drugs may have adverse bad effects on the well health of human community. These anti-disease drugs could be thus named as toxic polluting gases. Healthcare workers and nurses in hospitals are directly inhaling these toxic polluting gases at a slower rate and could possibly suffer with various health complexities. Experimental statistical survey was done to observe the severity of pollution around the place. Time bound study and observation was conducted to know the pollution effect. Pollution survey was conducted for the time period of four consecutive months from January 2019 to April 2019 in three thoracic units each with three selected sites as general ward, special ward and common area. Air quality index (AQI) was calculated and remedial measures were suggested.

Microfluidic Devices and 3D Printing for Synthesis and Screening of Drugs and Tissue Engineering

Microfluidics and 3D printing will allow a faster research and development in pharmaceutical and medical areas, supporting new solutions for active pharmaceutical production and clinical tests with...

Self-Assembly and Thermodynamic Parameters of Amitriptyline Hydrochloride in Polar Organic Solvent–Water Mixed Media

Organic solvent–water mixed media find applications in industrial, chemical, and pharmaceutical areas. This work discusses the micellization and related parameters such as degree of counterion diss...

Pharmaceutical Applications of Iron-Oxide Magnetic Nanoparticles

Advances of nanotechnology led to the development of nanoparticulate systems with many advantages due to their unique physicochemical properties. The use of iron-oxide magnetic nanoparticles (IOMNPs) in pharmaceutical areas increased in the last few decades. This article reviews the conceptual information about iron oxides, magnetic nanoparticles, methods of IOMNP synthesis, properties useful for pharmaceutical applications, advantages and disadvantages, strategies for nanoparticle assemblies, and uses in the production of drug delivery, hyperthermia, theranostics, photodynamic therapy, and as an antimicrobial. The encapsulation, coating, or dispersion of IOMNPs with biocompatible material(s) can avoid the aggregation, biodegradation, and alterations from the original state and also enable entrapping the bioactive agent on the particle via adsorption or covalent attachment. IOMNPs show great potential for target drug delivery, improving the therapy as a consequence of a higher drug effect using lower concentrations, thus reducing side effects and toxicity. Different methodologies allow IOMNP synthesis, resulting in different structures, sizes, dispersions, and surface modifications. These advantages support their utilization in pharmaceutical applications, and getting suitable drug release control on the target tissues could be beneficial in several clinical situations, such as infections, inflammations, and cancer. However, more toxicological clinical investigations about IOMNPs are necessary.

Synthesis, Characterization and Antimicrobial Activities of Silver Nanoparticles coated [1,3] Thiazin-4-One derivatives

Heterocyclic compounds have been used extensively used in pharmaceutical research area due to their effective biological activities. Thiazine, a heterocyclic compound with four carbon atoms, one nitrogen and one sulfur atoms which have promising pharmacological activities that have attracted the attention of scientists and researchers. In this research [3-(4-Amino-phenyl)-2-(4-nitro-phenyl)-2,3-dihydro-benzo[e][1,3]thiazin-4-one [comp. (2)] was used as a synthone for the preparation of Schiff bases [comp.(3)-(7)]. The synthesis compounds were characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR and spectrophotometric methods. Furthermore, silver nanoparticles was prepared by chemical reduction and characterized by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), infra-red spectrum (FTIR), atomic force microscope (AFM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The Ag NPs was used as a base nano metal for preparing Schiff bases-Ag NPs derivatives. The pure Ag NPs and Ag NPs functionalized Schiff bases nano compounds were used to check their effectiveness against four different types of bacterial (Staphylococcus aurous, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella sp.) and one type of fungal (Candida albicans) by a serial dilution method.

Chitosan Applications on Pharmaceutical Sciences: A Review

Background: Chitosan (CS) is a biomaterial derived from chitin, known for its excellent biological properties. One of the most interesting features of CS is its potential for chemical derivatization, which makes it a versatile material and allows to expand its applications. In the last years, the interest on this polymer and its pharmaceutical applications has notably increased. This biopolymer is being widely studied for its interesting properties, such as bioadhesion, antimicrobial activity, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. Other promising properties of CS include its modulation of immunological response, hemostasis, and wound and bone healing activity. Objective: In this work, a critical review is performed covering its conventional and novel applications, specially focused on pharmaceutical area, providing a clear picture of the current state of art to serve as a basis to direct future research in this field. Conclusion: Despite all the qualities of this polymer, there are only few CS-based products in the market, so it is a priority to enhance the research to develop new technologies and CS-based systems to enforce this biopolymer in the industry.

Optimización de la biosíntesis de nanopartículas de oro utilizando Hypericum perforatum y evaluación de su actividad antimicrobiana

The functionality of metal nanoparticles is reported mainly in the pharmaceutical and biomedical areas. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have shown numerous activities among these the microbicidal capacity, as transporters of therapeutic drugs and in the treatment of genetic diseases. The AuNPs are synthesized by physical, chemical and biological methods; the green synthesis is a eco-friendly method based on biological principles that have functional groups serving as reducing agents and stabilizers in the reaction. The objective of this work was the optimization in the conditions for AuNPs synthesis using Hypericum perforatum and assess the antimicrobial activity of optimal treatments obtained. The AuNPs were synthesized by the combination of biological and physical methods, characterized by FTIR, spectrophotometry, TEM and DLS; and the antimicrobial effect of the optimized AuNPs was evaluated. The smallest particle size obtained was 20 nm, however not all AuNPs showed antimicrobial activity, the minimum inhibitory and minimum bactericidal concentrations were 0.42 and 0.84 μg AuNPs/mL, respectively. The information obtained presents a method of AuNPs synthesis in a fast and free of pollutants for the environment, providing an alternative to obtain antimicrobial compounds with no microbial resistance

Recent Advances in Enzyme Engineering through Incorporation of Unnatural Amino Acids

The development of new enzyme engineering technologies has been actively pursued as the industrial use of biocatalysts is rapidly increasing. Traditional enzyme engineering has been limited to changing the functional properties of enzymes by replacing one amino acid with the other 19 natural amino acids. However, the incorporation of unnatural amino acids (UAAs) has been exploited to manipulate efficient enzymes for biocatalysis. This has been an effective enzyme engineering technique by complementing and extending the limits of traditional enzymatic functional changes. This review paper describes the basic functions of the new functional groups of UAAs used in enzyme engineering and the utilization of UAAs in the formation of chemical bonds in the proteins. The recent developments of UAA-mediated enzymology and its applicability in industry, pharmaceutical and other research areas to overcome the limitations of existing enzymes is also emphasized.

Quantitative phase analysis using the Rietveld method: towards a procedure for checking the reliability and quality of the results

The quantitative phase analysis using the Rietveld method is one of the most used analytical protocols for the characterization of several types of natural and synthetic materials, and it can be performed both on fully crystalline multiphase systems and on materials containing even an amorphous fraction. Therefore, there are several applications of this method (e.g., to natural raw materials, traditional ceramics, bricks, glass-ceramics, cementitious binders, etc.). More recently, the application of the Rietveld method has disseminated also in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and other high added-value industrial areas, where it is exploited in the operational planning, formulation analysis, and in patent protection. Nowadays, in consequence of this diffusion, several academic and private laboratories provide phase quantitative analysis using the Rietveld method as customers service, but an accreditation procedure is still pending and lacks a protocol for checking the authenticity and quality of the analytical reports. In this letter, we focus on the principal elements that an analytical report of quantitative phase analysis, based on the Rietveld method, should contain, as well as some best-practice guidelines for sample preparation and data collection procedure.

Fabrication and Characterization of Plant Mediated Green Zinc Nanoparticles for Antileishmanial Properties

Infectious diseases outbreak caused by different pathogenic bacteria and the emergence of antibiotic resistance microbial raise new concerns. This situation triggered pharmaceutical companies and researchers to seek for alternatives antimicrobial agents. The discovery of green nanoparticle in pharmaceutical area not only proven to have a strong efficacy as antimicrobial but also promote an eco-friendly compound where the production does not produce hazardous chemicals and waste. In the present study, metallic nanoparticles (Zn) were synthesized using plants extract from Viola yedoensis and Curcuma longa species. The green nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by incorporating plant extracts with the zinc salt with different molar concentrations. The mixture were prepared at different pH, zinc salt (ZnSO4) concentrations and interval times of incubation. The result showed 15 mM concentration of ZnSO4 at pH 7 and incubation at the room temperature for 24 hours were the best conditions for green nanoparticles production. The color intensity changes during the reduction reaction of ZnSO4 by plant extract to form zinc nanoparticles (ZnNPs) was measure using UV spectrophotometer. ZnNPs with the highest color intensity (viola-358nm; turmeric-375nm) were further characterized to determine the elements and morphology of the synthesized ZnNPs using FTIR, XRD and SEM. FTIR analysis demonstrated the presence of aromatic rings and strong bond of O-H and C-H indicating the presence of alcohol and alkene in turmeric ZnNPs. While for viola ZnNPs, the presence of aromatic ring and strong bond of amine showed the existence of alcohol and alkene. The average size of turmeric and viola ZnNPs measured by XRD and SEM were 24-28 nm with spherical shape and 42–60 nm with hexagonal shape, respectively. The biological activity of both ZnNPs were validated by conducting antimicrobial tests towards Leishmanial tropical in which ZnNPs have strong antileishmanial activities.

Crystal phase effect of iron oxides on the aerobic oxidative coupling of alcohols and amines under mild conditions: A combined experimental and theoretical study

Selective catalytic oxidation using air as the terminal oxidant is an ecofriendly route for the synthesis of fine and commodity chemicals. However, the catalyst generally faces the challenges of the inertness of molecular oxygen, limited substrate scope, poor selectivity, and high cost. Moreover, the toxicity of the catalyst should also be considered when the products are used in pharmaceutical or biotechnological areas. Here, upon investigating the dependence of catalytic oxidation on the crystal phases of iron oxides, we find that naked γ-Fe2O3 particles exhibit excellent catalytic activity, selectivity, and stability in a series of imine synthetic reactions. The performance of γ-Fe2O3 particles is significantly better than that of α-Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 under mild reaction conditions, and the γ-Fe2O3 catalyst can be separated from the reaction mixture magnetically. Both experimental and theoretical calculation results show that γ-Fe2O3 possesses supercapability for oxygen activation. The inverse spinel structure of γ-Fe2O3 has abundant cation vacancies, which confers unique electronic properties on surface Fe species. These Fe species tend to transfer electrons to molecular oxygen to form O2− or O22− species. These oxygen species are favorable for the dehydrogenation of alcohols, which is responsible for the high activity of γ-Fe2O3 in this coupling reaction.

Dióxido de zirconio: alternativas de síntesis y aplicaciones biomédicas

Entre los diferentes materiales cerámicos, el dióxido de zirconio (ZrO2) se destaca, debido a sus aplicaciones en el área médica, química y farmacéutica. Esto es posible al ser un material de carácter anfótero, con tres fases cristalinas: monoclínica, tetragonal y cúbica, las cuales presentan distintas propiedades. El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar los fundamentos de los diferentes métodos utilizados para la síntesis del ZrO2 y sus aplicaciones biomédicas. Las principales metodologías empleadas son los procesos hidrotérmico, precipitación, solvotérmica y sol-gel. La energía de ultrasonido y la radiación de microondas permiten reducir los tiempos de reacción y proporcionar mayor eficiencia energética a los procesos. El método de síntesis modifica las propiedades del ZrO2, lo cual es aprovechado para desarrollar diferentes aplicaciones, entre ellas destacan reemplazos óseos, prótesis dentales y liberación de fármacos.

Gelatin Stabilized Silver Nanoparticle Provides Higher Antimicrobial Efficiency as Against Chemically Synthesized Silver Nanoparticle

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have become widely used nanomaterial due to its potential application in biomedical and pharmaceutical areas, as due to their antibacterial property. Even though it has antibacterial activity it also shows toxicity at higher concentration in humans and other organisms. Taking into consideration the above mentioned concern, we have performed a comparative antibacterial and hemolytic efficacy of gelatin stabilized/coated AgNPs (G-AgNPs) versus uncoated AgNPs. For G-AgNPs UV–Vis absorption shows λ max at 420–425 nm, FT-IR confirms that presence of amide group indicates AgNPs is stabilized/coated inside the gelatin and TEM analysis of G-AgNPs shows average particle size of 4.3 ± 1.3 nm that are mono dispersed in nature. AgNPs and G-AgNPs were demonstrated for their antibacterial activity using well diffusion method, Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and antibiofilm assay against 4 clinical pathogens. In addition, we have performed a hemolytic assay on human RBC cells. The results show that biocompatible polymer (Gelatin) coated silver nanoparticle (G-AgNPs) exhibits excellent antibacterial activity as well as a minimal hemolytic effect than uncoated AgNPs. Based on this study, we suggest that G-AgNPs can be used as a promising nanomaterial in pharmaceutical and biomedical applications.

Reduction of 4-Nitrophenol Using Ficin Capped Gold Nanoclusters as Catalyst

Conversion of nitroarenes to aminoarenes has attracted great attention in pharmaceutical industry, agricultural production, environmental protection and chemical catalysis area. In this work, ficin capped gold nanoclusters(ficin@AuNCs) were prepared for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol. The proposed catalyst was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, fluorescence spectra and UV-Vis spectra. With NaBH4 as the reducing agent, the reduction reaction could carry out completely within 10 min at 25 °C. Interestingly, the resultant catalyst exhibited size-related properties in the reduction, smaller ficin@AuNCs exhibited higher catalytic activity. Its present pseudo-first-order rate constant was found to be 2.95×10−3 s−1 and the catalytic activation energy was 27.7 kJ/mol. Moreover, ficin@AuNCs-based catalyst displayed good stability, heading to 4-nitrophenol conversion of 98.5%―100.0% after six consecutive cycles. It has shown a great potential in construction of unique catalysts based on AuNCs for reduction reaction.

Improvement of the characteristics of fish gelatin – gum arabic through the formation of the polyelectrolyte complex

The aim of this study was to evaluate and characterize the interaction between fish gelatin (FG) and Gum Arabic(GA) and its effects in obtaining optimal atomization conditions. The optimal conditions (D = 0.866) founded in this paper were: Gum Arabic concentration of 33.4% and inlet air temperature of 130 °C. These conditions afforded 6.62 g/h yield, 0.27 aw and 247 g of Gel Strength, that are considered as suitable characteristics for food grade gelatin. The complex formed (FG-GA) was successfully obtained, as demonstrated by the results of amino acid profile, SDS-PAGE, FTIR spectroscopy, zeta potential and morphology. It was also verified that the formation of FG-GA promotes positive changes, such as higher atomization yield, adequate Gel Strength, low hygroscopicity and high solubility. The technological properties of FG-GA shown high potential to be applied in the food industry as well in other industrial fields like chemical and pharmaceutical areas.

Formulation Development and Evaluation of Taste Masked Oral Disintegrating Films of Atenolol by Using Natural Polymers

Fast dissolving/disintegrating films/tablets have received ever-increasing demand during the last decade, and the field has become a rapidly growing area in the pharmaceutical area. Particularly the fast dissolving drug delivery systems formulated with natural polymers have more demand because natural materials like gums and mucilages have been extensively used in the field of drug delivery for their easy availability, ease administration, non toxicity, non irritant nature etc. Atenolol is β1-selective adrenergic blocking agent and widely used in the treatment of hypertension and angina pectoris. It has a bioavailability of 40-50%. The main objective of the study was to formulate taste masked oral fast disintegrating films of Atenolol to achieve a better dissolution rate by improving the bioavailability of the drug and providing quick onset of action thereby enhancing patient compliance. Oral FDF prepared by solvent casting method using water and 95% ethanol as solvents and HPMC as film forming polymer. PEG 400 was the selected plasticizers, Natural and synthetic superdisintegrants such as croscarmellose sodium (CCS), sodium starch glycolate (SSG) and fenugreek mucilage alone and also in combinations was incorporated to achieve quick onset of action, is to increase the water uptake with in shortest wetting time and there by decrease the disintegration time. The prepared films were evaluated for the drug content, weight variation, film thickness, disintegration time, folding endurance, percentage of moisture content and in vitro dissolution studies and taste mask studies on healthy human volunteers. Among all, the formulation F5 was found to be best formulation which releases 98.89% of the drug within 15 min and disintegration time is 59 sec. which was significantly high when compared to other formulation. When the regression coefficient values compared, it was observed that ‘r’ values of formulation F5 was maximum i.e 0.890 hence indicating drug release from formulations was found to follow zero order drug release kinetics.

Gated Mesoporous Silica Nanocarriers for Hypoxia-Responsive Cargo Release.

Mesoporous silica nanocarriers (MSNs) are appealing in terms of their large cavity surface area and high loading capacity, but they have been suffering from premature cargo release. Herein, we report a gated smart MSN that is sensitive to low oxygen concentration (i.e., hypoxia) via taking advantage of the superior electron-accepting ability of the azobenzene moiety. The azobenzene polymer was employed as the responsive gate-keeper that was deposited on the MSN surface, followed by coating with amphiphilic Pluronic F68 for steric stabilization. The obtained nanocarriers were less than 200 nm. The in vitro polymer degradation was spectrophotometrically witnessed via the employment of a reducing agent, namely, sodium dithionite, with astrong electron-donating ability. The hypoxia-responsive cargo release from the gated MSN was quantitatively demonstrated in breast cancer cells (MCF-7) using the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) technique where coumarin 6 and rhodamine B was selected as the FRET donor and acceptor, respectively. The FRET ratio was used as the index and decreased linearly over time under hypoxia, whereas it almost remained steady under normoxia. In addition, a model photosensitizer, namely, chlorin e6, was also loaded in the gated MSN whose toxicity under hypoxia was verified. This study developed a hypoxia-responsive MSN with the azobenzene polymer as the removable gate-keeper, which would expand the application of MSNs in pharmaceutical and biomedical areas since thelow oxygen concentration is a unique trigger in many pathological conditions.

Flax and wheat straw waxes: material characterization, process development, and industrial applications

Wheat and flax crops are widely available and responsible for tons of straw generation every year around the world. These straws are by-products with excellent characteristics to industrial sectors, such as chemical, paper, textile, and biofuel. On the other hand, difficulties on storage and transportation of the straw, together with complex industrial processes and low profits from the final products, make the straw commerce unattractive. One possibility to increase the market value of straw is the recovery of vegetal waxes from them, which could be done without significant alterations on their structure, allowing them to be used further. Vegetal waxes have been intensively studied during the last few years by researchers in food, pharmaceutical, and chemical areas due to its organogelation capacity. The aim of this work is to present a comprehensive review starting from wheat and flax straw structure, passing through wax extraction, and finishing at the possible applications of wax compounds. Attention will be drawn to greener processing alternatives and technologies to selectively separate epicuticular waxes.