Pharmaceuticals Caffeine Research Articles

Investigation of pharmaceutical and personal care product interactions of soil and beets (Beta vulgaris L.) under the effect of wastewater reuse

Although, several recent greenhouse studies are beginning to address the uptake of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) by a variety of crops, few studies have assessed the effects of exposure to complex, realistic wastewater effluents on uptake. Hence, in this study, a greenhouse experiment was conducted in order to study the interactions occurring exclusively between PPCPs in soil, and in the edible plant part of beets (Beta vulgaris) after exposure to treated wastewater effluent. According to the findings, the interactions between the pharmaceuticals caffeine (CFN) with bisoprolol (BSP), carbamezapine (CMZ), clarithromycin (CMC), metoprolol (MPL), sulfamethoxazole (SMX), and trimethoprim (TMP) occurring in soil were almost 99% synergistic; it was noted variability in the interactive capacity of the pharmaceuticals; the concentrations of pharmaceuticals which measured did not affect unfavorably beet yield; interactions between the PPCPs via the PPCPs contribution in plant and soil affect the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the beets.

Determination of Micropollutants in Water Samples from Swimming Pool Systems

The present study investigated the occurrence of selected micropollutants, including emerging contaminants from a group of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in water samples from swimming pool systems. The study area was selected based on the lack of available information regarding suspected contamination of swimming pool water by PPCPs. The variety and concentration of chemical compounds in these aquatic systems can be quite diversified, presenting a challenge in terms of both purification and quality control. Determination of PPCPs requires very sensitive analytical methods that make it possible to confirm the presence of tested compounds in a complex organic extract. In this field, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) can be used. With this system, selected ion monitoring can be performed, which reduces the detection limits of the investigated analyte. This paper aims to present an analytical method and strategy that can be adapted to obtain information on the composition of water in swimming pool systems. The sample preparation methodology, including Solid Phase Extraction, has been developed for the trace determination of two pharmaceuticals—caffeine, carbamazepine—and one sunscreen constituent—benzophenone-3—in swimming pool water samples.

Contaminants of emerging concern in the open sea waters of the Western Mediterranean

Pollution by chemical substances is of concern for the maintenance of healthy and sustainable aquatic environments. While the occurrence and fate of numerous emerging contaminants, especially pharmaceuticals, is well documented in freshwater, their occurrence and behavior in coastal and marine waters is much less studied and understood. This study investigates the occurrence of 58 chemicals in the open surface water of the Western Mediterranean Sea for the first time. 70 samples in total were collected in 10 different sampling areas. 3 pesticides, 11 pharmaceuticals and personal care products and 2 artificial sweeteners were detected at sub-ng to ng/L levels. Among them, the herbicide terbuthylazine, the pharmaceuticals caffeine, carbamazepine, naproxen and paracetamol, the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole, the antibacterial triclocarban and the two artificial sweeteners acesulfame and saccharin were detected in all samples. The compound detected at the highest concentration was saccharin (up to 5.23 ng/L). Generally small spatial differences among individual sampling areas point to a diffuse character of sources which are likely dominated by WWTP effluents and runoffs from agricultural areas or even, at least for pharmaceuticals and artificial food additives, from offshore sources such as ferries and cruising ships. The implications of the ubiquitous presence in the open sea of chemicals that are bio-active or toxic at low doses on photosynthetic organisms and/or bacteria (i.e., terbuthylazine, sulfamethoxazole or triclocarban) deserve scientific attention, especially concerning possible subtle impacts from chronic exposure of pelagic microorganisms.

Rank analysis and simultaneous determination of acetylsalicylic acid, paracetamol, and caffeine in pharmaceuticals using second-order data and multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS)

Mixtures of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), paracetamol (PAR), and caffeine (CAF) have been successfully analyzed by constrained multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS). The MCR-ALS methodology adequately exploits the second-order advantage which enables quantitation of analyte in the presence of unknown and uncalibrated interferences. The procedure simultaneously takes into account the spectroscopic and pH-dependent properties of the compounds, which leads to a higher selectivity. Specially, for CAF determination fully protonated or deprotonated forms of CAF are not dominant in the pH range of data acquisition but spectral changes with pH were recorded and used for accurate determination of CAF. Furthermore, quantitative determination of an analyte in a complex mixture is performed using a synthetic solution as standard containing only the analyte of interest. Even in the presence of the rank deficiencies, in most cases accurate quantitation with relative errors in prediction lower than 5 % was obtained. The procedure was successfully applied to the analysis of real samples (pharmaceuticals) using synthetic external standards. Percent relative errors of 4.03, 3.26, and 5.85 were obtained for ASA, PAR, and CAF, respectively, in A.C.A tablets and 4.49 and 2.75 for PAR and CAF, respectively in Novafen capsules.

Simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of paracetamol, ibuprofen and caffeine in pharmaceuticals by chemometric methods

In this study, the simultaneous determination of paracetamol, ibuprofen and caffeine in pharmaceuticals by chemometric approaches using UV spectrophotometry has been reported as a simple alternative to using separate models for each component. Spectra of paracetamol, ibuprofen and caffeine were recorded at several concentrations within their linear ranges and were used to compute the calibration mixture between wavelengths 200 and 400 nm at an interval of 1 nm in methanol:0.1 HCl (3:1). Partial least squares regression (PLS), genetic algorithm coupled with PLS (GA-PLS), and principal component-artificial neural network (PC-ANN) were used for chemometric analysis of data and the parameters of the chemometric procedures were optimized. The analytical performances of these chemometric methods were characterized by relative prediction errors and recoveries (%) and were compared with each other. The GA-PLS shows superiority over other applied multivariate methods due to the wavelength selection in PLS calibration using a genetic algorithm without loss of prediction capacity. Although the components show an important degree of spectral overlap, they have been determined simultaneously and rapidly requiring no separation step. These three methods were successfully applied to pharmaceutical formulation, capsule, with no interference from excipients as indicated by the recovery study results. The proposed methods are simple and rapid and can be easily used in the quality control of drugs as alternative analysis tools.

Simultaneous determination of phenytoin, barbital and caffeine in pharmaceuticals by absorption (zero-order) UV spectra and first-order derivative spectra—multivariate calibration methods

The quantitative predictive abilities of partial least squares (PLS-1) and principle component regression (PCR) on absorption (zero-order) UV spectra are compared with the results obtained by the use of these multivariate calibration methods on first-order derivative spectra. Both approaches were satisfactorily applied to the simultaneous determination of these drugs in synthetic and pharmaceutical mixtures. Significant advantages were found in the simultaneous determination of phenytoin, barbital and caffeine in binary and ternary mixtures, by application of different multivariate calibration methods when the calibration matrix was performed using the first-order derivative spectra. The proposed method was validated by applying it to the analysis of binary and ternary mixtures of phenytoin, barbital and caffeine. Determinations were made over the concentration ranges of 0.24–22.0, 0.01–27.0 and 0.049–27.0 μg ml −1 for phenytoin, barbital and caffeine, respectively, in the binary and 0.45–22.0, 0.05–26.0 and 0.05–20.0 μg ml −1 for phenytoin, barbital and caffeine, respectively, in the ternary mixtures. The relative standard errors in the determinations were less than 3% in most cases.

PLS-UV spectrophotometric method for the simultaneous determination of paracetamol, acetylsalicylic acid and caffeine in pharmaceutical formulations

A simple and fast analytical procedure is proposed for the simultaneous determination of paracetamol, acetylsalicylic acid and caffeine in pharmaceuticals by means the partial least square treatment of the spectrophotometric absorbance data between 216 and 300 nm, taken at 5 nm intervals. The method involves the use of 8 standard mixtures of the three compounds assayed, considered at two concentration levels, and the measurement of the absorbance of samples in a 20% (v/v) ethanol in water solution previously filtered. In the analysis of real and synthetic samples precise and accurate values were obtained by the aforementioned procedure, providing in all cases variation coefficients and accuracy errors lower than 5% which agree with the tolerance level established by the pharmacopoeia for this kind of samples which is ±10%.

Clean method for the simultaneous determination of propyphenazone and caffeine in pharmaceuticals by flow injection Fourier transform infrared spectrometry.

A procedure is proposed for the simultaneous FTIR determination of propyphenazone (PFZ) and caffeine (CAF) in pharmaceuticals. The method involves the dissolution of the active principles in CHCl3, followed by filtration of sample solutions to remove the excipients. PFZ is then determined by absorbance measurements at 1595 cm-1, using a baseline established between 2000 and 890 cm-1, and CAF by using the first-derivative values at 1712 cm-1, using solutions of PFZ and CAF for external calibration. The method was applied in both the stopped-flow and flow-injection modes, providing precise and accurate results for the analysis of real samples. The incorporation of a distillation unit for the on-line recycling of the CHCl3 used as carrier and solvent provides an environmentally friendly analytical methodology which makes possible an injection frequency of 120 samples h-1 and reduces the cost and side-effects of the production of laboratory waste.

Simultaneous stopped-flow determination of paracetamol, acetylsalicylic acid and caffeine in pharmaceutical formulations by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry with partial least-squares data treatment

A simple and rapid analytical procedure is proposed for the simultaneous determination of paracetamol, acetylsalicylic acid and caffeine in pharmaceuticals by partial least-squares treatment of Fourier transform infrared spectrometric data obtained in the wavenumber range 823 and 1775 cm–1(PLS–FTIR), using the 14 characteristic bands included in this interval for the three compounds under study (a total of 130 absorbance data points). The method involves the leaching of the compounds to be determined from the pharmaceutical formulations with a 10% v/v solution of ethanol in dichloromethane in an ultrasonic water-bath for 20 min, filtration and direct introduction inside a liquid flow cell, taking 16 cumulated scans obtained in the stopped-flow mode. For calibration a reduced set of eight standard mixtures of the three compounds assayed, considered at two concentration levels, are required. In the analysis of real and synthetic samples, precise and accurate values were obtained by PLS–FTIR, providing in all instances RSDs and accuracy errors lower than 5% and results comparable to those obtained by PLS–UV.

Simultaneous determination of acetylsalicylic acid and caffeine in pharmaceuticals by flow injection with fourier transform infrared detection

A fast quality control methodology has been developed for the simultaneous determination of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) and caffeine in pharmaceuticals by flow injection—Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry. The method is based on the solubilization of ASA and caffeine in CH 2Cl 2 and the use of a flow system to introduce samples and standards in the spectrometer. Two solutions, containing 90 and 110% of the reported concentration of the two active principles in the sample, were employed in order to control the extreme tolerance levels accepted by the International Pharmacopeia for the composition of formulations. A 300 μl volume of each solution was injected in turn, into a carrier stream of the sample, and their absorbances were measured at wavenumbers of 1770 and 1661/cm for ASA and caffeine, respectively. The absorbance values obtained for the carrier, at the same wavenumbers, were interpolated between those obtained for the standards. This rapid methodology provides a simultaneous quantitative evaluation of the concentration of ASA and caffeine in pharmaceuticals. The method permits us to carry out 53 injections/hr and provides a sensitivity of 0.231 absorbance units/mg ml/mm for ASA and 1.065 for calteine. Accurate results were obtained for the analysis of different samples containing one or both compounds in the presence of excipients which are insoluble in CH 2Cl 2 and also in the presence of other active principles, such as acetaminophen or ergotamine tartrate.